How to build a connected work culture between remote and office workers

Work no longer happens in a single place or within a static time block. Today, many organizations operate in hybrid models where the workforce is distributed: some employees are in the office, some are fully remote, and many move between both.

On paper, this flexibility looks like progress, but in reality, it often creates a silent division. Many companies still rely on legacy habits designed for fully in-person teams, such as finalizing decisions in physical conference rooms rather than documenting them in digital channels. This creates a functional gap not just in communication, but in overall team dynamics. Over time, remote employees not only feel out of the loop, but they also stop feeling like they belong to the team entirely.

A connected work culture is paramount for hybrid environments, as it directly determines how well an organization performs. However, building a sense of connectedness between office and remote employees does not happen by accident. It is established through clear systems, fair protocols, and daily choices you make to value people equally, no matter where they work.

Why engaging both remote and office employees is vital

Engaging both remote and office employees is essential to keep your entire workforce aligned, motivated, and effective. Conversely, gaps form quickly when engagement efforts focus only on one group. Remote employees may feel excluded from critical decisions made in passing, while office-based staff can become overloaded with the burden of informal coordination and expectations. This imbalance weakens trust and creates silent frustration on both sides.

Beyond morale, maintaining this connection is a strategic driver for business growth. Organizations that invest in inclusive engagement practices see higher productivity, faster decision-making, and better customer experiences. Collaboration naturally improves when information is available asynchronously, and discussions are transparent.

Strategies to build a connected work culture between remote and office employees

Here’s how you can create a connected work culture for your hybrid team:

Hold equitable meetings

When you’re working to build a connected work culture between team members, it’s vital that no one feels left out of the decision-making or creative process. Teams often make big decisions around the water cooler or in face-to-face meetings, which can leave remote employees feeling excluded.

A big part of creating a connected work culture is ensuring everyone—remote or not—has equal opportunity to participate in meetings, make decisions, and feel heard. There are some simple things to do when organizing equitable meetings—and some things to avoid.

• DO: Be transparent about how and where decisions are made. If you have a standardized process for making big decisions, preferably one that includes remote and in-office employees’ input equally, communicate those to every employee in a similar way. For example, if the CEO makes decisions after hosting a company-wide meeting each week, send the whole team an email or a group message and let them know what the plans are and that you’ll be taking their input into consideration.
• DON’T: Make significant decisions that affect the whole team by holding informal water-cooler discussions with only in-office teammates. That can make remote workers feel left out or undervalued.
• DO: Have everyone log into the meeting from their computer or other electronic devices, even if they’re in the same room. That way, the meeting format is the same for all team members, and everyone has an equal opportunity to give input. A standardized meeting format will make everyone feel like they’re on equal footing.
• DO: Consider holding weekly team meetings specifically to see what colleagues are working on and offer support. If a teammate is running into administrative roadblocks, a colleague elsewhere might have insights to push it through.
• DO: Trust your people through transparency. In your daily or weekly standups, simple questions can keep everyone aligned: What did you do yesterday? What are you going to do today? Is there anything standing in your way? This ensures everyone is accountable to the team, not just the boss.

Create a unified communication culture

Creating a standard form of communication, like weekly check-ins that take place in a centralized group chat, can go a long way toward leveling the playing field between team members and creating a connected work culture. But this only works if it applies to all team members, whether remote or on-site.

Here are some best practices for a unified communication culture:

• DO: Create daily or weekly rituals that allow remote and on-site employees to report on their work progress in the same way. That could be a spreadsheet that everyone adds notes to on Mondays or a weekly status update that everyone sends to their manager on Fridays. The point is that the reporting expectations are the same for everyone. Not only will this help CEOs and managers have insight into what everyone is doing, but it will create a connected work culture by letting everyone know they have to live by the same expectations and standards.
• DON’T: Make different rules for remote workers than you would for on-site employees. For example, if you ask remote teammates to report their weekly progress, don’t assume that in-office employees don’t have to do the same since their managers can see what they’re doing. Communication requirements should exist company-wide. Treating all employees equally and setting identical expectations for remote and in-office employees will help create a unified, connected work culture for your team.
• DO: Refine your values and documentation. Company culture is about shared values. If you haven’t formulated your values yet, now is the time. But simply having them isn’t enough—you must document and communicate them. Create a digital employee handbook that carries your company branding. You can add welcome videos to educate new hires on culture and policies, ensuring that remote onboarding feels just as personal as in-office onboarding.
• DON’T: Don’t over-communicate. It is important to respect natural boundaries. Establish norms: utilize email for documentation and tasks, but use instant messaging for quick, casual discussions. Leverage status indicators (e.g., “Deep Work,” “Lunch”) in your apps so colleagues know when you are available, helping to prevent the “always-on” burnout common in remote work.

Optimize training and development

Successful engagement starts during training. As new employees join your team, focus on providing the tools, information, and experience they need to thrive. For specialized roles, such as customer service agents, training should include a thorough familiarization with core operation tools like your virtual contact center platform. Prioritize confidence and competence with every aspect of their work to encourage satisfaction and retention.

During the training process and as employees begin handling interactions on their own, offer your continued support every step of the way. Though you can’t sit with them physically, supervisors can use chat coaching and whisper feature tools to guide agents through customer conversations. This will help remote workers feel more confident about working on their own. No matter what happens, they’ll know that support is available whenever they need it.

Organize ways for employees to socialize

Creating online events where in-office and remote employees can bond and build social connections is a great way to develop and nurture a connected company work culture.

Host online happy hours and celebrations

After-work happy hours are a common way for employees and teammates to bond. But when everyone doesn’t work in the same office or even in the same city, it can be difficult to organize these informal gatherings in person. Remote happy hours can provide the kind of setting that connects team members, builds cohesion, and, ultimately, improves working relationships.

Employees also appreciate when their colleagues can celebrate their birthdays with them, and remote employees can join in on the fun too. Through your team messaging app, employees can leave “happy birthday” comments and GIFs for remote employees and vice versa to make them feel as included as in an office celebration.

Organize regular one-on-one meetings between in-office and remote employees

Weekly one-on-one meetings are a great way for team leaders to connect with their employees. Use these meetings to check on daily tasks, understand their progress for the week, discuss upcoming assignments, and build rapport. It’s also a great opportunity to encourage employees to share their milestones and recognize their successes.

You can also build bonds and a connected work culture between remote workers and on-site employees by organizing virtual one-on-one meetings. Designate a 30-minute online session once a week during which a remote and in-office employee can have an informal get-to-know-you chat.

Beyond casual chats, consider pairing new hires with experienced mentors. Mentorship programs are particularly beneficial for contact centers to improve employee efforts for a better experience for employees and customers alike. The combined efforts of mentors and supervisor coaching will ensure every agent is equipped to succeed.

Hold remote competitions, games, or trivia events

These friendly online activities can break the ice and help teammates get to know one another by bringing out people’s competitive side. They can also build teamwork between colleagues who don’t already know each other through work interactions. Virtual gameshows, word association games, or photo caption competitions are examples of activities that teams have used to build trust and get to know one another. These are especially useful if you make an effort to pair people who don’t already know each other on the same team.

Host remote events that include swaps or submissions, like baby photos or book exchanges

These activities build a connected culture between teammates by pushing them to think about a person on their team whom they might not already know well. What kind of book or piece of art would that person like? How do you decide on a specific item to gift to your teammate? These activities force employees to think deeply about how they perceive their colleagues and how they want to represent themselves. They consequently build deeper bonds that teammates can refer back to during work hours.

Plan yearly or semi-yearly retreats to get the team together

Off-site events like holiday parties and happy hours are excellent at helping employees let loose, but remote employees don’t have those same luxuries when they’re separated from their teams. That’s why it’s important to get teams together at events dedicated to both work and leisure, like a company or department retreat.

Retreats allow all employees to get together and share ideas, align goals, and socialize. But be careful of making retreats too work-centric—retreats are opportunities for team building, versus getting specific projects done.

Use the right tools to coordinate workflow and foster teamwork

Your organization’s digital adoption strategies can greatly influence workflow and teamwork. It’s the process through which you streamline how your teams connect, ensuring that technology bridges the physical gap rather than widening it.

Using the right suite of tools to communicate, share assets, and track schedules is vital for keeping everyone on the same page. It also enables team members to always know where to find critical updates and what their teammates are working on.

Here are four essential platforms to consider investing in:

• RingCentral provides comprehensive unified communications and contact center solutions that connect your entire organization.
  • RingEx (for internal collaboration): It allows you to message your colleagues or clients or speak to them via video or telephone—all from the same app. This creates a centralized hub for connection, meaning you won’t have to worry about how to connect with people when you need them. Crucially, RingCentral levels the playing field for remote staff by providing enterprise-grade sound quality, ensuring they sound just as professional in meetings as their in-office counterparts.
  • RingCX (for customer service): It offers an omnichannel contact center solution that empowers agents with instant access to customer information and integrates with social media. RingCX also supports supervisors with data-driven insights and real-time coaching tools like whisper coaching and call barging assistance to guide agents through complex interactions, no matter where they are working.
• Google Drive is a cloud-based storage solution that enables seamless sharing of documents and spreadsheets with colleagues and clients. It enables multiple people to work on the same file simultaneously, effectively replicating the “whiteboarding” experience digitally. Google Drive’s automatic versioning technology provides a safety net for fast-moving teams, as it allows them to revert to previous drafts.
• Asana is a project management platform designed to visualize work. It helps you keep track of who is working on what and when. With streamlined project oversight, you get a clear view of your team’s workload and bandwidth without spending valuable time chasing status updates.

RingCentral’s role in creating a connected work culture

A connected culture needs communication that is reliable, inclusive, and effortless. RingCentral helps you:

• Create parity with high-quality video, live transcription, and instant AI summaries that keep remote and in-room contributors aligned.
• Streamline work with integrated phone, SMS, team chat, and meeting features in one app.
• Scale securely with enterprise-grade controls, global coverage, and 300+ integrations.
• Close the loop with analytics, call recordings, and conversation intelligence that surface trends and coaching opportunities.

Bring your remote and office teams together on one platform designed for connection. Contact us today to see how our AI-powered communication platform can energize your culture and accelerate results.

Updated Feb 01, 2026