With Hannah Larsson – Future of work expert

It’s fair to say that most people intuitively understand how shared values and a common purpose are most likely to deliver positive organisational outcomes.  But what are those values and how can they be achieved in an early stage, fast-growth environment?  We talk to Hanna Larsson, a Remote work expert in order to discuss what strategies technology companies follow for the highest cultural impact.

At the outset of the pandemic, no one had any time to plan how to deploy remote working. It just happened. It’s not much of a stretch to suggest that few businesses, if any, aced remote working the first time.

But now it’s different. Businesses have had the time to work out how to evolve remote working into a successful model. What’s more, employees are forcing their hand.  Growth-orientated tech companies need to demonstrate clear flexibility of approach in order to continue to deliver growth and attract the most impactful talent.

To make a success of remote work you need to develop a culture tailored for the unique scenarios that occur in remote workplaces and, crucially, this means developing brand values that are built for remote working. 

What are the potential benefits of an effective remote-first culture? 

There are many reasons why businesses should look to improve culture working remote-first, including;

1. Productivity boost 
2. Improve employee well-being 
3. Make sure people feel connected and included 
4. Attract and retain top talent 
5. Widening the talent pool beyond geographies and time zones

The last two are particularly important. Attracting and retaining talent is more important now than ever.  Businesses have to work extra hard to stand out and attract top talent. Not only does a remote-first culture help to attract new employees but it can also be used to extend the talent pool available. With remote working you are no longer restricted by geography, i.e. being restricted to considering people who live within a commutable distance from your headquarters.

So if Remote working is not as simple as simply running a few meetings online, what should companies be doing for maximum impact?

We asked Hanna Larsson author of the  Future of Work Newsletter for her 3 top tips on how to build a cohesive remote working culture;

“You need to instil a set of remote-first values and processes that help employees flourish wherever they are working from. Here are my 3 values that should companies need to consider: 

Communication 

Always important, but now critical, communication cannot be allowed to suffer in a remote workplace. This might mean putting more effort into internal comms than traditionally was required, regular updates, news, and meetings can keep everyone talking. 

Organisation 

Develop consistent and standardised processes so that everyone is always on the same page. It’s easier for things to fall through the gaps outside of an office environment. But with everyone working with the same systems and processes, you can plug these gaps. 

Transparency 

Trust and transparency go together. A remote-first culture must be one where people feel trusted to always give 100% wherever they are working from. You’ll get more from your employees if you have a company culture that treats everyone with trust and respect. 

Teamwork 

Keep up the camaraderie by encouraging people to stay social and get together online. Collaboration requires technology and processes to make working together seamless. But more than this, you need to give everyone a shared vision they truly believe in. 

Remote and ready 

Ambitious technology companies rely on the right people to help them succeed.  It’s therefore essential that organisations actively promote strong internal values and processes. These will provide the platform to create a dynamic remote-first culture helping these same people succeed and thrive.

Hanna Larsson is a Remote work expert and is a former Director of Sales at the company Remote and has also worked at LinkedIn Talent Solutions.

Tim Hosking is a Co-Founder at talent.ai and an expert in international talent search and delivering global hiring programs on behalf of fast-growth technology organisations.