by: Darcy Herlihy
Company culture is quite a hot topic. In the last decade it has become the buzzword on which to stake your identity as an organization. So…what is it? And how does a company foster a strong, healthy culture when their employees work remotely? One local company, Infotech, is setting the standard for maintaining a strong culture in a hybrid work environment.
Culture is not defined by requiring people to work from a central office location. Since culture is made up of values that influence all the things people do, all the processes they create and the community they build, it is not really tied to a physical space. Culture is not a game room. It is not free coffee or the snack bar. It is not happy hours or annual celebrations. It is not employees working at the office, working from home or working from a hotspot on the beach.
Rather, the traditions, atmosphere, training, benefits, opportunities, and everything a company uses to show what they stand for and believe in, all stem from the umbrella of the culture. Culture is the reason these things exist, not the outcome.
Often initially set by the leaders of an organization, culture is maintained by teams and individuals as they use those values to guide their day-to-day work. When those teams are made up of hybrid workers, it is important to make sure people have the knowledge, autonomy and support to build the culture up in their own way.
At Infotech, a Gainesville-based software company who did not require employees to permanently return to the office after reopening their building post-pandemic, guiding their employees toward that intentional participation meant defining the core of their culture – without physical workplace structures.
To this end, Infotech has spent the past few years researching, building and implementing an outline that defines the four basic principles of culture in their new hybrid work environment.
Connection is about making the workplace pleasant, somewhere people enjoy their jobs and their coworkers, with opportunities to build and strengthen those relationships. Whether employees work primarily on-site, hybrid, or remotely, making a shift toward connecting with intentionality means creating consistent shared experiences and programs both online and on-site for everyone to unite and engage.
Creativity is more about doing the job at hand, or rather how to do the job at hand. Whether embracing a creative brainstorming style, a creative workflow or even a creative outlet that’s unrelated to work, a culture of creativity gives people the space to be their authentic selves. The comfort and freedom necessary to “ask the dumb questions” can act as a disruption to the focus on rigid productivity often found in many a workplace, resulting in better work in the long run.
Clarity is strongly linked to communication. If clarity is a part of the culture, it will be seen broadly in a company’s vision, strategy, understanding of individual impact and return on investment. It is also one of the best ways to improve organizational equality, trust, and engagement.
Cultivation is another way of talking about a growth mindset. When you pursue a culture of growth, it encourages everyone to work toward the success of the whole (team, division, company at large) rather than individual success – though they will hopefully find plenty of that along the way. By equipping employees with tools and knowledge of these key concepts, which they can then use to reinforce the culture and make it their own, Infotech found that work location does not impact productivity. Either way, their people are part of a culture where they belong.
Investing in a positive and well-defined company culture fosters engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. When employees feel valued and connected to the company’s mission, they contribute their best work, resulting in greater efficiency, growth, profitability and ultimately stronger businesses.
Learn more about the values upon which Infotech’s culture is built at infotechinc.com/culture.
