Introduction

In the new normal shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, company culture and collaboration have become more crucial than ever. As employees rapidly transitioned to remote work, prioritizing effective connection and communication within organizations became essential.

Now, with 80% of company leaders planning to allow employees to work remotely at least part-time post-pandemic, and 47% agreeing to full-time remote work, remote collaboration is here to stay. Understanding what keeps individuals engaged is fundamental for any enterprise collaboration platform or app.

Before the pandemic, the millennial workforce already valued company culture highly. However, more than half (51%) of Americans now feel less connected to their company culture while working from home. In the work-from-home era, fostering employee connection is vital not only for recruitment and productivity but also for overall well-being.

At Brightspot, we believe in creating ‘community and culture experiences,’ with company intranets playing a key role. These experiences offer personalization and foster human connection, helping employees feel more connected to their companies and coworkers.

Your employees are your most important stakeholders, a fact amplified in a remote or hybrid-remote environment. With one in four employees considering quitting due to poor business processes worsened by the pandemic, businesses need to provide excellent digital experiences to engage and retain their workforce. Transparency and proactive communication are essential to remind employees why they chose to work for you.

This engagement and connection start with your company intranet.

Hurdles in building organizational community and culture

Today’s businesses face unprecedented challenges in building organizational community and culture. Some of these challenges are direct results of the pandemic, while others are exacerbated by its effects.

Information Overload

Information overload within companies is more prevalent than ever. Many people can personally relate to managing multiple subscriptions and digital services. Ironically, this has led some to need another application to manage all these subscriptions because it’s become too overwhelming to remember everything.

These technological advancements in connectivity, while beneficial, sometimes come at a cost. Many people are now seeking “digital cleanses”—having one login, profile, or virtual destination for everything they need. This digital fatigue and information overload are precisely what today’s organizations are facing in the era of remote work. Both small teams and large enterprises are dealing with more communication channels than ever, including employee chat rooms, collaboration documents and drives, emails, video calls, and more. Additionally, changes within companies are occurring faster to keep up with our evolving world, making timely news and information even more crucial and frequent across channels.

Remote Onboarding

Onboarding new employees remotely means less face-to-face interaction. In a work-from-home environment, new team members start their jobs with the added challenge of not being able to meet or see anyone in person. Simple benefits like meeting direct supervisors in person, asking questions over the desk, or hosting new clients in an office setting to build rapport are now less feasible. This makes new and veteran employees alike feel less connected to their peers from the start, not knowing when they’ll be able to collaborate and meet in person.

Increased Meetings, Lost Information

Unsurprisingly, studies show that people have more meetings now during the pandemic than before. Although the time spent in each meeting has decreased, the need to prepare for and join calls still disrupts workflow. This means people have less ability and headspace to catch up on missed announcements or information. Combined with the information overload across channels, employees have less time and motivation to search for and read missed updates.

These challenges underscore how the pandemic has made building community and culture more difficult for today’s organizations. However, with the right content and technology, these challenges can be mitigated.

Discover how to overcome remote work challenges and build a stronger organizational culture. Continue reading and download the guide now!

Related article: Communication Tools to Help Your Team Work Remotely

• Introduction
• Hurdles in building organizational community and culture
• Rethinking the intranet as a ‘community and culture experience’
• How Brightspot helps deliver community and cultural experiences

Number of Pages:

• 13 pages

Pricing: 

• Free