How our team stays connected while working remotely

While the heart of a company’s culture is not dependent on in-person facetime, it often manifests in ways that bring people together in the same space. So what happens when connecting in person is no longer an option? 

We still need human connection. It’s more important than ever to find ways to connect with customers and one another—even if it’s just via video, Asana, or Slack.”

At Asana, we saw the shift to remote working as an opportunity to double down on building workplace relationships and even remote community. Here’s how we’re keeping our global, distributed team connected from anywhere. 

Create spaces for remote connection

With a little creativity, you can turn practically any event into a remote one. At Asana, our remote get-togethers have taken shape in a few ways including:

• Remote Employee Resource Group (ERG) lunches: These gatherings are such an important part of our culture. More than half of our employees belong to one or more ERGs, and these lunches are a safe space for real talk about feelings on current issues and events. 

• Remote happy hours: Giving our team an outlet to meet with each other in a casual setting allows them to connect with people they may not normally interact with. Plus, when a happy hour is virtual, everyone can attend from the comfort of their own home—kids and pets included!

• Remote interviews: Hiring without meeting in person is a unique challenge for both interviewers and candidates. In order to ensure a smooth and consistent candidate experience, we created clear technical directions, communication tips, and FAQs for everyone involved.

• Remote onboarding: It takes a village to make new hires feel seen and connected from the moment they join our team. That’s why we transitioned our immersive onboarding program to a completely remote experience using a mix of video conferences, interactive workshops, and new hire team channels.

Brand your remote office environment

Just like office decor helps convey your company’s brand in a tangible way, there are tons of opportunities to infuse branding or personal flair in your day-to-day remote work. Some of our favorite ways to do this include: 

• #WearAsanaWednesday: A common piece of advice for people working from home is to get dressed in the morning as if you were going to work. It helps get you in the right frame of mind to focus, and sets more boundaries between work and home. To make it fun, we started #WearAsanaWednesday, which gives people a chance to don their swag and show their company pride.

• Remote desk inspiration pics: In order to give Asanas a little inspo for their at-home workspaces, we started a Slack channel for people to share photos of their new desk setups and give each other tips on how to make working from home fit their needs. 

• Branded backgrounds: A custom background can be a game changer for livening up a recurring meeting and showing team spirit. Our Business team loves to use Asana-fied backgrounds when conferencing with customers to give them a more authentic Asana experience.

Ramp up the communication from leadership

Even when leaders can’t be physically present for their teams, internal communication channels can still be used to inspire confidence and alignment for remote team members. Our own leadership team has been diligently sharing information and context in Asana conversations nearly every day since we started working remotely. Asanas have engaged heavily with these posts, sharing that the transparency makes them feel supported. Our biggest communication wins have included:

• Real talk: We’re transparent about what’s going on in the world and what employees are facing. Doing so is grounding and provides a safe space for people to share their true feelings and experiences.

• Quick hellos: Even the smallest post in Slack or in Asana from someone’s manager or team lead goes a long way in making someone feel seen and a part of the team.

Provide new ways to support the world’s teams

We are constantly inspired by our customers—they’re the reason we do what we do. Teams everywhere are navigating a new world of work and an uncertain climate. Asanas want to help, so we have put together ways for them to engage with customers and offer support: 

• Raising awareness of organizations in need: We created an Asana board to track all the remarkable work our customers are doing around the world and how we can help.

• Asana Advisors program: Asana employees are volunteering their time to be directly connected with our nonprofit customers and provide consultative sessions on how to best use Asana for their organization. These Asana Advisors play an important role in Asana for Nonprofits to get these teams up and running quickly so that they can accomplish their biggest goals.

After a one-hour conversation with a nonprofit customer, I felt incredibly inspired, humbled, and motivated learning about their work and seeing how Asana is helping them move work forward.”

We’re all in this together

All of these initiatives large and small have helped our global team remain connected and engaged while being remote. If you’re interested in joining the team, take a look at all of our open positions and apply today.

Is your team working remotely? Learn how Asana can help and sign up for free.