5 tips to working in a growing multisite team

Modern organisations are part of a changing, growing and dynamic world. It’s not just about keeping up with the latest technology and trends, it’s also about ensuring that your people are equipped with the right tools and frameworks to support them.

As many organisations respond to new challenges and opportunities, the scope of growth and expansion is often beyond what was possible historically.

With the rise in remote work and workplaces moving to decentralised and hybrid workplaces, it’s important to be able to communicate effectively and maintain culture as you scale an organisation.

How do you continue to maintain a strong culture while growing in number and scale?

As organisations move from having one central point of contact to multiple, there are unique  challenges that come with it. There are new dynamics and ways of working that can affect how you maintain the culture you’ve created.

The questions many leaders are asking include:

• How do we keep our culture strong when we’re growing in number and scale?
• How do we communicate with each other as a larger collective?
• What can leaders and team members do to make workplace experiences better?

Here are five ways leaders and team members can work together to improve the experience and outcomes of a growing, multi-site team.

1. Instruct

Instruction is not about micro-managing but giving clear direction; this is especially important where visibility and access is limited.

Leaders, give clear, concise and easy to follow instructions to team members, this is especially important in decentralised contexts, where spontaneous interactions and guidance are more difficult.

Team members, be proactive to seek out instruction from team leaders. Initiate conversations around ways of communication, workflow preferences and allocated times to contact.

2. Inspire

Inspiration is a crucial part of building a healthy culture in an organisation. Being inspiring goes beyond a pep talk in the weekly meeting or just being positive.

Leaders, see your role as proactively speaking into your team members work and place in the organisation. A great leader seeks to build their team members beyond their role and job description. Where appropriate, inspire them beyond their work – encourage them personally, connect them to the bigger picture and cast the vision.

For team members, be an inspiring employee – that is, create a feeling of confidence in those leading you by sharing your growth, proactively leading yourself and showing ownership in your role and in the organisation overall. Contribute meaningfully to the positive and motivating culture of the organisation.

3. Inform

In order to manage teams in a decentralised environment effectively, leaders need to be in the know. In this context, team members can better support a healthy culture by being diligent in ‘informing up’. This builds trust where visibility it limited. Higher and intentional communication goes a long way.

However, there is a balance to be found between annoying and silence. For both team leaders and members, discuss the level of informing that is helpful.

4. Inspect

People won’t always do what you expect, but they will do what you inspect.

Leaders, don’t be afraid to inspect – many employees can actually find it reassuring to know that work is being checked, supported and collaborated on. Building a culture of accepting and inviting inspection amongst your team is not a license to micro-manage but could well reinforce a culture of excellence.

Team members, be proactive to inspect yourself, especially in a decentralised environment where visibility is limited. Develop an independent ability to hold yourself accountable.

5. Impart

To ensure a thriving culture is present in every location and context of an organisation, imparting organisational values and ethos is paramount to building a culture that lasts. As an organisation grows, it is crucial to see that culture is a two-way process. Leaders, this means actively making sure that the culture, values, and vision of the organisation is known, and is a high priority.