I’ve hired a few members of staff to work for me and they all operate from home. What can I do to foster a good sense of the business’ culture despite the fact everyone operates on their own?
Every small business starts as an extension of the personal hopes, wants and expectations of the customers that it serves and the psychology of the entrepreneur who is developing a commercial response to those requirements.
The process of developing the goals, vision and mission for the business plan and leveraging the marketing plan is the starting point for the emergence of a sound business culture.
As a business grows it is like a family – there are the core values of the parents but the children must be encouraged to develop their own personality and independent skills if the family is to stay together.
Each new member of the business family adds a new dimension and new complexities that require consistent role modelling and transfer of skills to build up a common culture – “the way we do things around here”.
Encourage each home-worker on your team to stay in touch with you as the hub of the business culture but feel that they can treat other staff members as a way of overcoming the sense of isolation and drift that can be a feature of moving from the kitchen table to the business environment.
If you have taken on the task of adding more team members it helps to convey the first key message: TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More.
A regular team meeting with you as the coach and team leader should be held as part of the conditions of employment and this should be used as a sharing and caring session that builds staff confidence and helps you to convey the core culture of the business.
The emergence of personal and corporate relationships will emerge from these sessions and shared trials and tribulations act as the cement that binds each individual into the collective company.
