A moment of truth: How a crisis reveals your true company culture

By Emma Andersson

Until fairly recently, working from home was seen as a luxury by some, a useful way to support health and work/life balance by others – but no one was calling it a necessity.

Now, we are all adapting, or at least trying to adapt, to working from home. Naturally, many firms are wondering how they can sustain their company culture without the obvious benefits of the office, its perks and surrounding cafes and pubs: how can a dispersed staff collaborate, retain relationships and stay focused in the same way?

Whether you have a winning company culture or not, culture matters now more than ever – and now is the time to reconnect with your core values. Having a strong internal compass and inspiring employees is key during a time of crisis.

Ever since I put my foot in the Aspectus offices for the first time, I’ve been amazed by the warm culture I’ve been welcomed with, and especially the smooth transition to working from home. Here’s why:

Innovation on the agenda

At Aspectus, this crisis has ushered in a new generation of working from home perks – from motivational speaker sessions every Wednesday to meditation on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From organising monthly virtual learner lunches to provide ongoing training, to attending virtual pub quizzes and hosting weekly competitions – but what is driving this? A positive employee mindset – the core of a winning company culture.

Visual internal comms is a must

The power of video has never been as crystal clear as now. Replacing traditional comms with video conferencing is proving to be an insanely good way to empower staff and boost communication – all from home. Like many others, I would avoid video comms and preferred calls, but now it feels strange having a call without seeing them. And if you haven’t set up weekly virtual coffees with your colleagues yet, I suggest you do it now.

Invest for the best

The world might be on pause, but it doesn’t mean your growth needs to be. Even if you have a team with a dazzling skill set, they still need to stay challenged. A way to motivate your remote workforce is by focusing on personal improvement. Now is the time to focus your team on their potential. In our team, we have been encouraged to pursue any areas we want to upskill and attend any webinars we want during work hours.

Overall, even though this is sure to be a challenging time for many, the new perspective gained from working from home may well have changed internal communications and company culture for the better. We may not have exquisite local coffee from Nepa or free bar Thursdays, but we might have gained new valuable insights in how to keep people motivated. If anything, it has shown that there is much more that binds a company together than just the perks of the office.