Clearly, remote work is working. Six of 10 employees with jobs that can be done remotely say they prefer working from home at least part of the time, says Gallup. Why? They cite improved work-life balance, better time management, lower burnout, and higher productivity, among other factors.
And for employers, the perks are obvious: You get access to a huge pool of talent. If you’re like me and live in a town of 4,000 people, hiring virtually is a no-brainer. Given the obvious benefits, it’s no great shock that in 2025, 4 in 10 companies follow a remote or hybrid model.
Building a team culture remotely is the top challenge for remote companies—which has led to the belief that it can’t be done well. But that’s absolutely false. With the right approach, a remote or hybrid company can absolutely build a thriving culture.
In this post, we’re going to bust the myth that you can’t build culture remotely by looking at proven strategies for doing it right. Learning how to build team culture remotely will help you reach new levels of success as you scale.
Design Strong Communication Channels
Establishing clear channels of communication will play a big role in building culture in remote teams. Here are a few key areas to focus on.
Team Communication Pathways
Outline how communication should flow during a project. When and how should team members check in with each other? With you? Set a calendar of key milestones, along with team updates about them.
Use platforms that allow for asynchronous communications while keeping everything in a central place, like Trello or Slack. This will help everyone stay dialed in to a project’s status and next steps.
Virtual One-on-Ones
Hold one-on-ones regularly with the people you manage. Follow these practices to make the most of each session.
- Focus more on feelings than facts. Instead of just asking what they did this week, ask about what felt stressful or time-consuming — and what brought a sense of pride.
- Be vulnerable by sharing stories about how you’ve struggled in similar ways in the past — or even more recently. This will make you more relatable, forging genuine connections with your people.
- Pause frequently to give the other person space to talk or ask questions.
Through these coaching practices, you’ll hold one-on-ones that build people’s confidence and self-awareness.
Feedback-Sharing Processes
Eighty percent of people who have received meaningful feedback in the past week are highly engaged. So, make sharing constructive feedback — and asking for input in turn — a priority. But how you deliver feedback matters—especially across cultures.
Different cultures have very different ways of approaching feedback. For some, being direct and forthright is expected. For others, that feels harsh and abrasive — or people might hold back from sharing candid thoughts with leaders due to respect for authority. In some cultures, people find ways to share feedback more indirectly or subtly, requiring others to read between the lines.
Given all of these factors, here are a few ways to offer and invite clear feedback:
- Tailor your feedback to the other person’s cultural preferences, whenever possible. Consider what will help them hear your message most clearly.
- Use a feedback-sharing model to make sure you’re highlighting the most crucial points. In the situation-behavior-impact (SBI) model, for instance, you state the context, describe the behavior that occurred, and then say how it affected you or others.
- Create shared norms for providing feedback in all directions. Invite feedback regularly, expressing gratitude for it, and encourage others to do the same. Share constructive feedback and praise routinely with everyone on your team, too.
- Give employees different options for sharing feedback with you or their manager, and for providing feedback about the organization. Hold virtual town halls where you invite input, for instance. But also create alternative channels for sharing opinions and ideas, like a virtual suggestion box.
Through these culturally inclusive practices, you’ll ensure everyone receives clear and supportive feedback — including you.
Trust Your Team
On a remote team, managers might worry about how their people are using their time. But micromanaging people on a remote team — or any team — is a huge mistake. Instead, signal that you trust them by giving them autonomy in how they manage their time. Check in about milestones and evaluate deliverables, rather than expecting a play-by-play on how they complete tasks.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about time management. During one-on-ones, you can ask about challenges they face in prioritizing work or handling tasks efficiently. Create a supportive space where they can bring up these issues; then, coach them in how to boost their productivity.
Hire People Who Align with Your Culture
Capable people with the right mindset help one another grow. So, when hiring, pay close attention to people’s personal ethics and values. Look for those who align with your core cultural values. Importantly, this doesn’t mean hiring people who are an exact clone of you. They could have an entirely different background, while still sharing your commitment to integrity or your spirit of innovation.
So, how can you figure out who truly aligns with your culture? In interviews, your hiring team can ask for concrete examples of how they’ve demonstrated these qualities. This will give you a good sense of whether they fit in well with your culture.
Foster Cultural Awareness
A virtual team often includes people of several different cultures. While cultural diversity is increasing rapidly, cultural understanding doesn’t automatically follow. Teams typically need some guidance in navigating cultural differences. Consider facilitating discussions with your team that foster understanding of cultural norms on things like communication and decision-making. And as a leader, take time to learn about these norms on your own, too.
For instance, people from some cultures are perfectly comfortable with interrupting or talking over one another. To them, it doesn’t feel rude. Meanwhile, those from other cultures may feel silenced and disregarded by this kind of treatment.
Attitudes toward hierarchy and time can differ as well. In Scandinavian culture, people prefer to avoid a strict hierarchy, using first names and more informal communication. Meanwhile, in Chinese culture, people tend to prefer more formal language that conveys respect for authority figures, as Mille Langaas and Bahaudin G. Mujtaba write in the Open Journal of Social Sciences. Scandinavian culture also prioritizes shorter-term results, while Chinese culture focuses on longer-term goals and relationships, they note.
To bridge cultural differences, you can also observe how people respond to one another’s communication style during meetings. You can always call for a pause or do a round-robin-style check-in to get everyone’s thoughts on a topic, if needed.
Remember Moments That Matter
Celebrating meaningful moments will go a long way toward building culture in remote teams. Recognize key milestones in people’s personal and professional lives, like these:
- Completion of onboarding or a training program
- Job anniversaries or other career milestones
- Birthdays or other personal milestones that they’ve mentioned
- Team achievements, like completing a big project together
Give someone a shout-out during a meeting for successfully completing a workshop, for instance. Recognizing these milestones will help create a positive culture where people notice one another’s successes.
Support Ongoing Development
By prioritizing each person’s growth, you’ll build a supportive culture. In turn, that will prompt each person to give their best effort in everything they do. Point people toward resources that will benefit them at this stage of their career. This could include workshops or books, but most importantly, strive to be a good mentor. Being a supportive coach who gives clear, consistent feedback is the best way to guide everyone in fulfilling their potential.
Building a team culture remotely requires effort, but it will pay big dividends in terms of productivity, relationships, and job satisfaction. By taking these steps, you’ll build a culture centered on trust, communication, and understanding. Though you may be in different time zones, you and your employees will forge strong and lasting bonds that let you work together seamlessly.
A great culture begins with exceptional staff. Want to discuss how hiring the right virtual assistant can help you build an outstanding culture? Let’s set up a call. By hiring remotely, you can tap into a vast pool of talent with the potential to help you take your organization to the next level.t to know who you are and what you need, we’ll be able to find exactly the right person for your company.