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From the Experts: Building a Relatable Culture
In this week’s episode of America Back to Work, S2Verify co-founder and chief strategy officer, Arnette Heintze, sat down with Shane Spraggs, CEO of Virtira.
For more than 25 years, Spraggs has been driving successful projects for a variety of notable media and software startups, and some of the world’s largest brands, including Disney. As CEO of Virtira, Spraggs’ focus on process improvement has generated immense value for Fortune 100 clients, and he plays a vital role in developing and implementing cutting-edge systems and strategies that consistently boost the productivity of their remote work teams.
During the last two years, Spraggs and Virtira executive chair Cynthia Watson have been working together to develop and document remote work best practices. Their transformative research is featured in their book “The Power of Remote,” published through Forbes Books in 2023.
In his conversation with Heintze, Spraggs shares the fascinating history of remote work, which started to gain traction in the early 90s (even endorsed by the U.S. government as a way to reduce carbon emissions) before Marissa Meyer, former president of Yahoo, made a very public mandate to bring everyone back to the office in 2013. A lot of other large companies then followed suit, and remote work numbers took a plunge—until the pandemic brought it back into popularity in 2020.
Spraggs admits that he sees the value of in-person collaboration, but sees more value in working from home–uninterrupted and without distraction. In order to drive engagement and get the most out of your remote workforce, he recommends focusing on two things: building a culture of relatability and hiring for that culture.
When it comes to culture, Spraggs encourages employers to get really clear on their mission, vision, and goals–and to talk about it openly so that there is one singular strong impression that employees can relate to. After all, modern employees are looking for purpose-driven work to stay motivated—work that they can feel related to. According to Spraggs, relatable culture-building is a positive feedback mechanism in the ways that it helps attract and retain employees that also believe in the direction the company is taking.
When it comes to recruiting and hiring, Spraggs recommends looking for employees with a strong social life outside of the office. “People who have a passion outside of work generally do better [in a remote setting],” he says.
It’s all about changing the framework; remote employers no longer need to foster a social culture, just a relatable culture. Employees need to be able to relate to each other, company culture, and company goals, but they don’t need to be friends.
Get more valuable insights from Spraggs on how to create a successful remote work culture. Click here to listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts.