Re-Imagining Company Culture in Challenging Times

Author’s Note: I originally published this article on LinkedIn on March 24, 2020.

In the midst of a pandemic that’s crumbling the global economy and changing the way we work, there’s a lot of blaming and shaming going around. Yet instead of blaming and shaming, we can use this crisis as an opportunity to support each other through financial hardship, come together across generations, foster our collective public health, and re-imagine our company cultures. Here are a few ways to lead a multigenerational remote workforce and be culture champions in these turbulent times.

1. Lead with empathy.

People are going through a lot right now. The increased stress from worried about sick parents and older relatives, having to take care of children that can’t go to school, spouses and friends losing their jobs, losses in investments and retirement accountants, figuring out how you’re going to pay rent next month; it means many workers are feeling exhausted; physically, emotionally, and mentally. Remember that stress, anxiety and fear affect employees, regardless of their age or background. Check out resources from mental health start-up Coa, currently offering free virtual workshops led by professional therapists on connection, founder stress, and anxiety.

2. Prioritize mental health, not OKRs and KPIs.

If your primary concern right now is whether your team is staying “on-track” to meet your quarterly sales targets, you’ve missed the memo. Productivity will not get us through this crisis; love and support will. Follow the footsteps of Basecamp CEO and co-founder Jason Fried who gave all of his employees last Friday and Monday off from work, so they could have a 4-day “get prepared” weekend. He wanted to give his team time to think about childcare, elderly care, go get groceries and prepare for many weeks of working at home with their families. If you are an employer who can afford to do this, give your employees a mental health day (or two!). Furthermore, support paid sick leave, access to mental health services, and a stronger safety net for workers. Your employees aren’t thinking about KPIs right now; they’re trying to make sure they can take care of their loved ones.

3. Communicating across generations starts with listening.

Give your employees a platform to share their feelings. Start every Zoom meeting or conference call with a short “whip around,” giving each participant a minute to share where they are at, what’s coming up from them, or a lowlight/highlight from the week. This will help foster belonging and encourage us not to make assumptions. We might incorrectly assume that it’s easy for Gen-Z and Millennial workers to work from home every day, since they grew up with digital technology; but most of the younger employees I’ve talked to recently are struggling with remote work. They are lonely and miss their co-workers and being in the office. When we start listening, we stop making assumptions and realize that we have a lot more in common than we think.

4. Prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts

In a climate of increased racism and scapegoating, it's crucial to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Belonging happens when tough conversations happen. Start by hosting a weekly intergenerational virtual conversation series that includes perspectives from diverse ages, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. If you want to create a company culture where everyone belongs, then the best place to start is listening to the people who don’t feel seen or heard. Organizations like ReadySet and Awaken offer remote trainings on inclusive communication for distributed teams and inclusive culture building, as well as 1-on-1 coaching for leaders. Also check out Innovators Box, which shares best practices for virtual communications and emotional intelligence tools.

5. Now is the time for coaching, mentorship, and interpersonal connection

Research by The Energy Project and Harvard Business Review has shown that employees who have supportive supervisors are nearly 70 percent more engaged. In the time of coronavirus, increasing access to coaching and mentoring opportunities will make your employees feel more cared for by their supervisor, which will in turn increase productivity. If you don’t have a formal coaching program, invest in mentorship relationships so your staff can connect 1-on-1 while they are working from home. Suggest that your team “eat lunch with someone” via a phone call or FaceTime. Give executives the chance to host “Zoom office hours” so they can connect via video conference call with junior employees. To maintain human connection and foster morale, encourage workers to take afternoon walks while having phone calls with co-workers.

6. Create co-leadership opportunities so millennials and Boomers can learn from each other

Another way to foster intergenerational collaboration is to encourage co-leadership opportunities, where early talent and more experienced talent have the opportunity to co-lead a project that is of paramount value to the company. This way, a young and hungry millennial has the ability to step-up and take ownership of an important project, while learning from someone who is an expert in their field. Co-leadership acknowledges that while millennials are motivated and have a lot to give; they also don’t know everything (in fact they often might know very little), and have a lot to learn from the wisdom of their elders. At the same time, co-leadership values the great wealth of experience and knowledge Baby Boomer employees have, while accepting that Baby Boomers may benefit from seeing a new initiative or new way of thinking from the perspective of a younger employee. This is ever more important right now, when we need to increase empathy and synchronicity between younger and older generations.

7. Emphasize self-care, self-exploration, and creative growth 

Encourage your employees to take care of themselves. Research shows that employees who take a break every 90 minutes report a 30 percent higher level of focus in their work. Allow time for breaks, exercise, eating well, and daily rituals like meditation, reading books, journal writing, and pursuing their creative passions. If someone is having an off day, let them “go offline” a few hours early. Encourage teams to host Zoom “Lunch & Learns” or “Show-and-Tell Sessions” to teach other about something they are working on, or something that doesn’t have anything to do with their day-to-day work (like a cooking class, home gardening tips, art tutorials, tricks for cleaning your closet, or lessons from a recent trip abroad). Creating time for learning and sharing will keep your employees connected, motivated, and inspired; which is essential right now.

8. Make remote work fun

Just because conferences, events and meetings have been cancelled due to COVID-19, doesn’t mean team building efforts should be cancelled too. Folks need to play and have fun right now. The Go Game and Custom Camps offer remote team building games that you can play over video conferencing. These “Virtual Recess” activities keep water cooler talk going, and make folks feel engaged and remember what their company culture is all about.

9. Company culture must evolve with the times

Company culture is not a mission statement or words on a piece of paper. It’s a living, breathing set of people, priorities, and programs that evolves every time you hire a new employee or every time something new happens in the world (like a pandemic). Sarah Nahm, founder and CEO of Lever, a tool for helping companies recruit and grow their teams, says, “Don’t preserve culture. Evolve it.” Use this time to re-imagine your core values, your company culture and your people strategy. Don’t get stuck in the “way we used to do things before coronavirus.” This is the moment to re-imagine your employee engagement strategy, prototype new solutions quickly, and come back to what matters most: the people we spend our days with, inside and outside of the office.

10. Double down on purpose

Crises like COVID-19 are a reminder of why company culture must be aligned with social impact. Purpose brings employees together. Employees who find their work meaningful are 150 percent more engaged and 1.3 times as likely to stay with their organization. Like Zoom CEO Eric Yuan providing K-12 schools Zoom’s videoconferencing tools for free; the current climate requires leaders and managers to take a fresh look at their company mission, values, and vision, to make sure they are updated to reflect the business priorities, employee needs, and societal imperatives of the moment.

Author’s Note: I originally published this article on LinkedIn on March 24, 2020.