Transparency, Trust and Sharing: The Three Secret Ingredients for Remote Work Success

When it comes to remote work, employees and leaders have to work that little bit harder to make sure there is a strong and positive work culture within their business. But, if done well, remote work can easily keep up with in-office culture, with the added benefit of freedom and flexibility.

Three core traits can significantly improve the culture of a remote-first company. Transparency, trust and sharing. When combined, they create an environment that is fueled by learning, skills-sharing and human connection. An environment that will ultimately be a positive and profitable place to work.

Why gatekeeping knowledge won’t help anyone

The urge to gatekeep knowledge and skills (especially for minority employees and leaders) is a tempting one. After all, we’ve had to work extremely hard to achieve them. But the idea that sharing your learnings will somehow make them less valuable is a myth. In reality, building trusted connections with people and being transparent about how we got to where we are in our careers is a much more useful practice than keeping our achievements locked away.

When it comes to women in business, for example, research by Harvard Business Review found that “while both men and women benefit from having a network of well-connected peers across different groups, women who also have an inner circle of close female contacts are more likely to land executive positions with greater authority and higher pay.” In short, community breeds success.

Practical ways to cultivate transparency, trust and sharing

So, how do we attach real, practical actions to these words? What steps can you take right now to encourage transparency, trust and sharing?

• Hold monthly company-wide meetings. Use them to informally discuss how the business is doing, and invite everyone (no matter their level or role) to share ideas for improvement.
• Be transparent with salaries and performance. Make sure you’re publishing going salaries for new joiners, but also being transparent with current employees by being clear and current with how their overall performance. No one likes nasty surprises!
• Stop micromanaging your employees and colleagues. Set the standards for excellence and success but trust that they have what it takes to do their job—people perform better when they feel trusted and valued.
• Invest in fun group activities that encourage collaboration and friendship. Friendly employees are far more likely to help, encourage and support one another, but this won’t happen by sitting at a desk. Even if you’re remote, it’s a good idea to offer the occasional face-to-face meet-up.
• If you’re a leader, lead with empathy. It sounds simple, but it’s still fairly rare to find leaders who are compassionate and kind. And yet, we all know that we’re less likely to be transparent, trustworthy and honest if we fear our leaders.

At Remotify, we partner with companies to get the best out of remote work, helping them to create a Great Place to Work for all—no matter where they are in the world. If you’d like to find out more about our services, why not book a call with our friendly team? We’d be happy to help!