Transitioning from On-Site to Remote Work Culture

Work culture is the relationship between people and the company with the work environment itself and how it influences both production and the company’s image, as well as the employee experience. This set of beliefs and values due to the change caused by COVID 19 led to rethink the scheme of face-to-face work to a remote one.

Everything that happens in a company is the result of its work culture, accomplishments, decision making, internal communication, earnings and layoffs. But there has been a change from a face-to-face workplace where all these situations were visible to a virtual one where the interaction occurs differently. Now, we are going to analyze firstly the change of habits in the daily routine.

From 5 to 10 minutes to get ready for work.

Saving of travel time to the work place

Self-organization of time

Taking these 3 issues, that are directly related to fatigue and work stress prior to entering the workplace, an employee can rest more and be better prepared to start his day. Regarding the organization, remote work allows certain flexibility and comfort that is not found in a physical place, it has an entry, lunch and exit schedule that must be respected daily.

It also provides for companies useful tools to achieve remote work.

Tools:

Meetings are quick to organize and conduct, which saves time and resources. Previously, these were held in conference rooms, which required organization and staff travel.

Direct communication with senior management, previously to reach them we needed to go through the direct superiors, or through administrative channels, which was sometimes a cumbersome process that was difficult to achieve or generated conflictive situations.

The importance of communication, vision and common goals has a direct implication on the production and retention of talent. The aim is not to have constant communication, but good communication, if the right communication is established.

Building a healthy work environment, in the sense of keeping bad practices such as unfair competition and informal communication to a minimum and encouraging good practices related to motivation and teamwork.

Creating a community

There is a belief that relationships will not happen in virtuality, for example, meetings at lunchtime, however, the constant interaction through portals, games, or proposed topics in common allows this. The usual platforms are Work Place, Slack, Google Meet, Discord and Zoom, which establish easy connectivity via PC or cell phone.

In this issue, it is crucial the role of human resources and communication with leadership positions, since the latter are the ones who carry out the connection, motivation and retention of talent in the company. It is not about “happy employees work better” but about creating a workspace where people can perform efficiently. Moreover, this alludes to their development in a work environment where constant support is provided and work stress is avoided.

Now, the work culture refers to a set of values set by an organization and accepted by its members. The aim is to keep the people who are committed to their work. A large part of the daily challenge is to maintain this value.