august2022 - 22

THE LEADERSHIP ADVISOR
Making a Remote Workplace
Culture Work
LEADERS OFTEN SEEM mystified when it comes to creating and directing culture when
employees are working remotely. The first step is acknowledging that you can no longer
forge culture in the same way as in an office-centric model. Once that is understood, you
can develop unique strategies to improve your firm's remote culture.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR REMOTE WORK CULTURE
Work culture affects how your employees and clients perceive you-which
significantly determines your business's success. Without a positive work
culture, your firm could see a decrease in employee retention and client
loyalty.
Organizations adapting well to this massive remote work shift have
invested in reinventing their processes and touchstones to align with
their desired cultures. Recruiting, onboarding, career paths, performance
reviews, and collaboration are factors to consider when building a remote
team. There are many ways to improve your firm's work culture, even when
remote. To get started, follow the tips below.
CREATE A CULTURE OF TRUST
An excellent company culture delivers a work environment characterized
by trust and mutual respect. Take the proper time to give attention to
building trust between leadership and employees.
When there is a baseline of safety and confidence in the relationship,
emotionally connected teams can be more vulnerable
to one another. This means they're more willing to share a
crazy idea or push back when they see something they
disagree with. Easy ways to increase trust are showing
up to virtual meetings, creating Slack channels that
foster water cooler chats, and being present as you
onboard new employees.
COMMUNICATE THE MISSION
AND GOALS CLEARLY
Creating a high-performing remote
culture is much easier if everyone on the
team understands the company's vision
and goals. What defines your organization's
culture are the beliefs and behaviors that exist
within it.
Your mission must be clearly defined, communicated
to your teams, and reinforced constantly. There must be
more to your company values than the words printed on a website
or posted on the wall. By doing this, your team is reminded of
the importance of what they are achieving together. Easily define
22 AUGUST 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
AMY VETTER, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Mindful Technologist &
Keynote Speaker
@AmyVetterCPA
your mission and goals by seeking employee feedback, speaking with
managers early and often, and checking in with yourself to ensure you're
leading by example.
IMPROVE TEAM COMMUNICATION AND
RELATIONSHIPS
Your remote team culture will flourish or fail purely on communication.
Get communication wrong, and you'll find that your culture won't stick.
A remote team that communicates effectively can dramatically impact
its overall productivity and long-term viability. Even though everyone is
separated, teams can build great communication cultures by bringing
their office cultures to the virtual space.
Open communication channels within your firm will promote transparency
and enable the kind of team communication that firms sorely need.
I'm not talking just online meetings that people dread, either. The goal
should be to create an environment where everyone contributes, not
just the outgoing or vocal ones. Reduce any red tape or formality
associated with communication to avoid employees just keeping
quiet, which isn't healthy for employees or your team.
COLLECT FEEDBACK REGULARLY AND
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS
Onboarding new employees and adjusting them to
your practice's culture is particularly of concern.
If you're not experienced with managing
remote teams, chances are you won't
get everything right the first time. And
that's okay as long as you learn from
your hiccups and mistakes. Ask each
remote employee to pay close attention to
onboarding and other internal processes and
tell you what worked and what didn't. Continually
improving this process will make it easier to hire new
employees in the future.
While improving your remote practice's culture may
seem daunting, with effort and consistency, your firm's culture
will not only improve but also thrive. ■
http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
august2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of august2022
