Organizations continue to struggle with the retention and engagement of employees, who play a major role in productivity and revenue growth. That's why company culture is more than a buzz phrase—it can make or break a business.

One of the biggest obstacles to a strong culture is navigating a remote environment. Today's leaders must learn how to settle strong remote workforce quickly.

In an office, you can manage people by sight and create community by osmosis. With a remote workforce, you have to be intentional. Learning how to manage and train on target is the key. You can no longer rely on someone learning the job by shadowing a colleague. You need to train and onboard people so they feel connected to the rest of the organization and grow as professionals and as people.

Another challenge is aligning remote teams with a central goal. United, they stand; separate, fall.

Connected: 7 Essential Elements of a Thriving Remote Company Culture

Consequences of a remote impoverished culture

The two biggest consequences of these barriers are effectiveness and turnover:

• effectiveness: Team members are not as effective when they are not able to collaborate with each other. And the lower performance of one individual affects the motivation of others. High performers have to deal with extra workloads, which creates negative tension.

• turnover: of turnover cost is high – half to two times the employee's annual salary. And replacing someone is usually more expensive than hiring them in the first place. In the offshore industry, where turnover rates can be higher, costs increase.

Change your processes or repeat these costly mistakes.

Being intentional with your process

Address these challenges and consequences with intentional processes. Start with the desired outcome – for example, what is your organization's acceptable turnover goal? Discuss which inputs are thriving as well.

Retention comes from finding people who match the role, preparing them properly and setting clear expectations. Carefully train people on your processes and systems, making sure they feel integrated with the team, connected to the customer and connected to leadership.

People also need to see their career path; otherwise, they will not remain in the organization. Let them know that their short-term and long-term goals matter to you, even if they eventually leave. The goal is to keep them as long as possible while preparing them for their next role.

When someone leaves, find out why. Collect feedback and have honest conversations. Follow these reasons, learn from the feedback and keep improving.

Ensuring cultural integration

The goal of hiring people who fit the culture is to make them feel a sense of connection. This is especially important for today's remote workers. Here's how:

• Focus on values: Ask candidates what their values ​​are in interviews. How do they inform their decision making? Tell them about your company's values ​​and ask how they interpret them.

• Improve onboarding: Boarding it must be intentional with a dedicated process that sets milestones and goals, highlighting opportunities for collaboration. Categorize urgent tasks (like signing HR documents and reading the employee handbook) versus important tasks (like meeting with every manager in the first two weeks).

• Establish a process beyond the first day: Set goals for the first week, the first month, and more. This helps break down what is most important and what success looks like beyond one's initial days with the organization. What should the company provide to ensure the success of the new hire?

• Keep the engagement: Plan beyond the first 90 days. Start by defining your culture. People need to feel connected to the larger purpose, to make connections with teammates, customers, leadership and their career growth. Regular maintenance one on one meetings it is also essential for maintaining engagement. Think of ways to promote team building remotely, such as virtual games and additional video meetings.

Time and resources can be major obstacles, especially without an HR department or enough hours available to create and track all of these processes. Be specific about role expectations. Provide visibility into training along with the resources each remote team member needs to be effective. Start small and keep collecting feedback to keep improving.

Connected: How to build team culture in a remote work world

Overcoming the hybrid job trap

Hybrid environments are becoming more common as companies try to accommodate employees. These arrangements are not always optimal because remote workers can feel disconnected from their teams. It is easy for them to be forgotten or overlooked, disrupting communications.

If a dual workforce develops, then neither in-person workers nor remote workers will become best in class. This arrangement also ends up costing more. Committing to a fully remote team ensures everyone is on the same page, further empowering a team that works in harmony.

Decide: Is the future the same as it's always been, or is the future limitless?