Making it work: Creating company culture in a virtual world

Germania Insurance’s Lance Ondrej addresses how to build successful remote & hybrid workforces in this Insurance Speak podcast.

Many companies transitioned to a virtual work environment during the pandemic, proving their employees could operate and serve their clients successfully from remote locations around the country. Now, as companies begin to reopen, many businesses are finding that employees want to continue working virtually or at least have the option for a new hybrid environment that combines remote and in-person opportunities.

This raises the question: how can managers create and maintain a company culture in a virtual world? In the latest Insurance Speak podcast, Lance Ondrej, executive vice president and chief claims officer for Germania Insurance, offers his insights on the long-term impact of remote work, how it will affect company culture and identity, and how businesses can successfully support virtual workers.

One of the key factors to making working from anywhere successful involves having the right technology. “It lets us communicate effectively,” shares Ondrej. He emphasizes that workers will need the right technology whether they are working remotely or in person, and it’s vital to keep the equipment and programs updated.

“It also takes a special personality to work remotely,” he concedes, but the benefit to a company is that it can hire people from outside the geographic area to engage the best candidates.

Maintaining company culture

It doesn’t take long for an employee to pick up on a strong company culture, but Ondrej recommends spelling out to new workers what this encompasses. He also stresses the importance of following up with new hires to ask what they think the culture is after 60 to 90 days.

As far as ideas on how to strengthen a company’s culture and promote employee involvement, he suggests that companies consider pairing a new employee with a mentor who can help the individual navigate various aspects of the firm’s operations and provide them with direct access to someone who can answer questions quickly.

For more ideas on how to successfully navigate a remote or hybrid workforce, listen to the podcast above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play or Libsyn.

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