How to Foster Company Culture with Remote EmployeesCreating and fostering the character of your company is imperative, even if your employees don't all share the same four walls.
ByChris Brogan•
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My company is split up over several physical locations. There are offices in Massachusetts and Maine, plus employees and contractors in Chicago, Milwaukee, Las Vegas and many other places. Keeping in contact is simple. I'm more concerned with how to develop and nurture my company's culture.
Lest you think of "culture" as a luxury, know that it is everything to your business as an entrepreneur. Company culture acts as the DNA that helps shape your operational efforts. Here, then, are some tools and processes I've implemented that might prove useful in helping your company culture thrive.
Technology That Unites
We use Yammer as an internal "chatter" channel for Human Business Works. If you aren't familiar withYammer, it's kind of like Twitter, but it's private for organizations. You can use it in lots of effective ways, from cutting down on internal e-mailing to creating a virtual water cooler. The latter is part of what keeps us happy. We share jokes. We talk about non-work stuff that we might want help promoting. (When she's not our project manager, Liz runs a bead store, and we help publicize her events). Generally, it gives us the sense that we're together.
