We all remember how much of an adjustment working remotely was back in 2020. Zoom fatigue, lack of communication, complete loss of culture. But some companies were remote before the pandemic, and HyperSocial is one of them.

We’ve been a remote company since the start, and not to toot our own horn, but we’ve gotten pretty good at it. Over the years, we’ve found that the remote lifestyle actually added to our culture.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best and easiest ways to keep company culture without an office space. Whether you are a new remote employee or a remote company looking for some fun things to add to your workplace culture, check out our tips for some ideas!

Happy Hours

Every month, our team gathers on a Thursday afternoon for a Happy Hour. We chat and play online games through jackbox.tv. No work talk is allowed! We sometimes offer prizes – Starbucks gift cards galore – to the winners of our games.

This monthly meeting allows everyone on the team to spend some time together without any pressure from work. It’s also really fun to play the games and get to know each other outside of our work context.

Watch a TV Show Together

Who doesn’t love discussing a TV show? If you can find a TV show that’s popular amongst your employees, start a slack group to chat about it!

Our team did a fantasy bracket for The Great British Bake Off. We all guessed who we thought the winner would be after watching one episode, and whoever was right won a cake. It was so much fun.

Reality TV shows with followings like Survivor or The Great British Bake Off are great options because there are tons of online fantasy brackets that you can use to make it easy to track, like this one for Survivor and this one for The Great British Bake Off.

We used the slack channel to post updates and discuss episodes as well as our favorite sweets that were baked.

Slack Channels

Speaking of slack channels, try making some that aren’t just for work topics! If we were working in person, general office chatter would occur. But since we aren’t, it’s fun to have designated areas to banter about certain topics.

Some examples to get the creative juices flowing!

  1. #dogs-of-work: a channel designated to pictures of employees’ dogs
  2. #general-fun: a channel where you can be a silly goose. Anything you find fun can be posted here
  3. #travel-channel: a channel designated to vacation pictures.
  4. #movies-chat: a channel for movie buffs to give film recommendations.
  5. #sports-chat: a channel for sports fans, this can be a channel to chat about games, you’d probably need a couple depending on the sport of discussion.
  6. #calls-of-fame: Ever had a major mess up on a recorded zoom? This channel would be designated to recording bloopers and moments to poke fun at yourself.
  7. #look-what-I-cooked: any chefs in the house? This channel can focus on recipes and things people cooked for dinner, breakfast, Thanksgiving, or anything else!

Celebrate Wins

Our team goes around on our weekly call to discuss our wins of the week, both personal and work-related. The positivity and encouragement to have a life outside of work is great and fostered by our work-from-home policy.

Chit-Chat

This may sound straightforward, but don’t be afraid to chit-chat! Work meetings are of course for work, but it’s always nice to start a meeting by chatting about what coffee you’re drinking or how someone’s weekend was.

My manager and I call our weekly check-ins “Vibe Checks.” We always start the meeting by asking each other about our daily vibe. Are we energized? Are we exhausted? Are we in a good or bad mood? Addressing this at the beginning sets the mood for the rest of our meeting to be as productive as possible.

Without culture, work can be pretty bleak. Employers should strive to make work a place people are happy to be.

And most importantly, having a positive work environment rubs off on clients too.  A happy employee makes a happy client. Joy and positivity are contagious, and screens don’t stop the contagion.

Make sure your employees feel valued and able to be real people at work, and they will work harder and better.

How HyperSocial can Help your Business

HyperSocial’s goal is to help B2B businesses to humanize their outreach while keeping a positive presence on LinkedIn.

Check out more about it here!

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