Why LottieFiles Will Stay Remote: Building a Culture Around The New Norm

Since the pandemic, many companies have chosen to operate as a remote or hybrid workforce. Working in this new norm, it is important for companies to leverage resources in creating a strong remote culture. This is to promote your employees to stay connected, build trust and foster stable relationships.

LottieFiles was not initially a remote company but had to embrace the challenge when the pandemic hit. However, we have grown to be a remote-first company and will continue to stay that way. Operating as a remote start-up with employees in 17 countries worldwide, we got some tips from Grace Kim, the People & Culture Lead to give you the scoop on how we do it.

1. Trust your employees & their capacity to work (anywhere!)

A company must cater to the needs of a fully remote working team, and it is crucial to practice patience and compassion to foster a trusting work environment. It begins when the company trusts their employees to bring their best to the table. In return, employees trust that the company has their best interest at heart.

Always communicate and align with your team. Kevin Eikenberry, a leadership and remote-work consultant said, “In a remote environment we may need to make a point of vocalizing our motives, exhibiting competence, and consistently clarifying the team's common purpose.” 

Once this is commonly practiced, team leads do not need to micromanage or be worried about their team meeting deadlines. The mutual trust allows everyone to bring their very best to the workplace and further strengthen the bond among the employees.

For us at LottieFiles, we provide flexible working hours with the trust that everyone will deliver their tasks. Many have worked while traveling as we understand and embrace the need for travel especially as the pandemic comes to an end. As long as you have access to the internet, you can work anywhere in the world. This has given our employees freedom and fulfillment to perform better in the company. Furthermore, we provide unlimited time-offs so that employees can take good care of themselves and their personal lives. 

2. Adapt a people-first mindset and create space for employee feedback

It’s harder to gauge the satisfaction or issues of your employees while working remotely. Therefore companies should create an open communication channel for everyone to be able to express their doubts or concerns. Also foster a safe space where employees can be vulnerable because individually, they might have challenges in juggling remote working life on top of the countless demands of modern day life. 

Conduct one-on-one meetings when necessary for check-ins whether that is with the direct superior or the HR department. Set regular feedback sessions as well that allow your employees to be heard. This will indirectly give you constructive information to help adjust and grow the remote company culture.

The startup journey for us at LottieFiles isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and we take care of our runners and how they’re doing on and off the track. We encourage our employees to reach out if there are any concerns or conflicts at work, hearing them out to find the best solution. Their feedback has been crucial to the growth of the company as we learn from our mistakes and foster a more efficient company culture. When employees are happy, healthy, and fulfilled in their personal life, they are then able to show up as their best in the workplace.

3. Make it fun by conducting culture-building activities online

With remote working, it is important to keep your employees connected. This applies to work-related communication but should also be extended to things outside of work. We’re talking about the fun stuff! This shows that you care about the employee's well-being while helping to build meaningful relationships. Thankfully, there are many options out there for virtual gatherings that companies can easily apply. 

In LottieFiles, we utilize the Donut platform where each worker is paired with other employees every 2 weeks. Once paired, they spend 30-45mins on a video call to better know each other. Once a month, we also organize a virtual hangout on Gather Town where the Lottie family can mingle and play games together. 

We hope that these tips have helped! If you run a remote organization – or work in one – we’d love to hear from you too. What do you appreciate about your work culture, or what do you wish was better? Share us your best tips for building a strong remote work culture in the comments below. 

About LottieFiles

LottieFiles is the creator platform that unlocks the expressive power of motion. We imagine a world connected through motion where everyone from the layperson to gamers, creators, and developers can express themselves and bring their ideas to life.