It’s no secret that working arrangements are changing. But what does the employment lifecycle look like in a virtual or remote setting? In our video series, Potentia Director, Julian Lambert, sits down with experienced People and Culture Advisor, Vanessa Radich to chat through it from start to finish.
Our remote working video series continues with Julian and Vanessa putting the spotlight on two topics that we’ve been asked a lot about in recent weeks: management styles that best reflect remote environments, and how to go about building a virtual culture.
Management styles
In describing the management styles that work best, Vanessa explains that it can be hard to switch your ‘professional’ self on in remote environments, and managers need to be interested in their employees (as a whole person, not just at work).
She discusses that the type of people you hire isn’t much different from an office situation – if you have a large team, you’ll probably need to manage them differently anyway. Vanessa touches on the fact that more extroverted people can struggle in remote situations, as they don’t always have the energy from others to draw upon. So, as a manager, how can you create those environments for social interaction?
Creating a virtual culture
Vanessa explains that it’s about giving people deliberate opportunities to express who they are over virtual platforms. It might be dedicated Slack channels for different hobbies and non-work topics, lunch and learn sessions etc. She emphasises the importance of ‘Slack banter’ – a lot of non-work comms happen in a work environment, so it’s perfectly natural and should be encouraged.
If you'd like to discuss any of the topics discussed in this video, I'd love to chat - reach out to me here!