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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Remote company culture is the set of behaviors employees can reliably see in how decisions are made, information is shared, people are managed and colleagues connect. To build one, translate values into specific expectations, write down how work happens, teach those practices during onboarding, and make communication fair across time zones. Social rituals can help people meet, but they should be optional rather than a substitute for clear policies or good management.
What remote company culture looks like in practice
A values statement only matters when employees can recognize it in everyday choices. GitLab’s handbook argues that values should be stated prescriptively and reinforced visibly, with no unwritten rules for remote employees to discover by accident. That principle applies whether a business is fully remote or hybrid: people need to understand not just what the organization says it values, but what those values mean when work gets done.
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Gallup’s May 1, 2026 snapshot of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs found 26% worked exclusively remotely, 52% hybrid and 22% fully on-site. Those figures describe that population on that date, not every workforce or country. Whichever arrangement a company chooses, culture is easier to experience consistently when access to decisions, expectations and opportunities does not depend on being near a particular office or manager.
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Translate each important value into choices employees can recognize. If transparency matters, state which decisions, updates and documents are shared. If flexibility matters, explain how availability, response times and handoffs work. If accountability matters, make ownership and follow-through clear.
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Consistency matters as much as the wording. GitLab connects its values to hiring, onboarding, feedback, recognition, compensation, promotions and management decisions. Employees learn what is genuinely valued from what leaders reward, tolerate and act on—not just from a page in a handbook.
Write down the working agreements
A shared, searchable handbook gives employees in different locations a place to find the operating rules without relying on a colleague being online. Document the information people repeatedly need, including:
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- Where decisions, project updates and meeting notes are recorded.
- Which communication channels are used for urgent requests, discussion and durable information.
- When a response is expected, and how employees can signal that something is urgent.
- How work is handed off across time zones and who owns the next step.
- How to ask for help, raise a concern or propose a policy change.
- Who maintains each policy and how employees are told when it changes.
Make the handbook accessible, searchable and integrated into the work employees already do. Remote, a company that provides global employment services, says its handbook and meeting notes are in Notion and its engineering source of truth is GitLab. Those are examples of its workflow, not requirements for other organizations; choose tools that suit your team and make ownership of the documentation clear.
Choose synchronous and asynchronous communication deliberately
Not every conversation needs a meeting. Use live discussion when people need to work through ambiguity together, make a time-sensitive decision or resolve an issue that is difficult to handle in writing. Use asynchronous updates when people need time to think, work different schedules or consult a record later. In either case, document decisions and next steps where affected colleagues can find them.
GitLab recommends asynchronous practices to reduce time-zone bias. A useful test is whether an employee outside the manager’s working hours can understand the issue, contribute where needed and learn what was decided without being in the room. A meeting may still be the right choice, but it should not become the only place important information exists.
How do you collaborate and whiteboard in a remote environment?
For a shared problem-solving session, state the goal and provide relevant context before the call. Use a shared digital canvas or document so participants can contribute during the session, including people who may be less comfortable interrupting. Record the decisions, open questions and owners afterward. If schedules do not overlap, invite people to add ideas asynchronously before or after a shorter live discussion.
Make onboarding an introduction to how the company behaves
Onboarding is often a new employee’s first sustained experience of the organization’s culture. GitLab’s all-remote guidance describes onboarding across organizational, technical and social dimensions; its handbook also recommends giving new hires time to understand values and pairing them with a mentor or onboarding buddy to discuss how those values appear in daily work.
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A useful onboarding plan helps a new employee understand the organization’s goals and decision-making, get access to the tools and documentation needed for the role, and identify people who can answer practical questions. Give them time to read the handbook and ask about unclear expectations. A buddy can explain context and norms, but should not be the only source of essential information: recurring expectations belong in shared documentation.
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Offer connection without making it compulsory
Remote teams can make informal contact easier to find through coffee chats, virtual lunches, social hours, coworking calls or interest groups. GitLab documents these as options, including coffee chats intended to help colleagues build relationships. GitLab co-founder Sid Sijbrandij has described the rationale this way: “When working remote it is important to formalize informal communication. Explicitly plan time to create, build, and maintain social connections and trust.”
Offer a menu rather than a mandatory calendar of cheerfulness. Employees differ in their appetite for non-work conversation, and schedules, accessibility needs and personal boundaries vary. Make participation genuinely optional, provide alternatives across time zones where practical, and respect employees who prefer fewer social calls or messages. These practices are ways to create opportunities for connection, not proven cures for loneliness or guaranteed performance improvements.
Check whether employees experience the culture you describe
Use regular manager conversations and appropriate feedback channels to find out whether employees understand priorities, can locate information, feel included and can raise problems. Look for specific friction—such as decisions that repeatedly happen in inaccessible meetings or policies that different teams interpret differently—rather than treating one engagement score as a complete measure of culture.
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Gallup’s current guide reports that managers account for 70% of the variance in team-level engagement. That is context for the importance of manager quality, not a prediction that any one culture practice will change engagement by a particular amount. Leaders and managers shape employees’ experience through communication, decisions and performance management, including how they connect day-to-day work with organizational goals.
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