Visualizing the culture of remote teams with Notion: Techniques for improving engagement in the era of multiple locations
As remote work accelerates around the world, the number of “multi-location” teams that work beyond geographical and time constraints continues to increase. While flexible working styles are becoming possible, and productivity and work-life balance are improving, major issues are emerging in terms of “human connections” and “team culture”.
Simply managing tasks and sharing information is not enough to create a spontaneous culture or engagement among members working in different locations. Organizations that have realized this fact are beginning to experiment with using the “digital space” to deliberately foster culture.
The all-in-one workspace tool called “Notion” is worth looking at. Notion is well known as a tool for organizing information, managing databases, and tracking projects, but it also functions as a “digital archive of culture” that visualizes and weaves together the foundations of organizational culture, such as “team values,” “understanding between members,” and “informal communication,” in a digital format.
In this article, we will introduce specific strategies and techniques for using Notion to foster team culture and increase engagement in remote work, as well as the thinking behind them.
Why can't “culture” be fostered just by organizing information?
In the age of remote work, a number of project management and information sharing tools have emerged, such as Slite, Google Docs, Trello, and Asana. Using these tools, tasks and progress can be visualized, and work efficiency can be improved. However, the fundamental problem that many organizations face is not efficiency or productivity, but cultural elements such as a sense of unity as a team and shared values.
Conventional wisdom:
“If you can visualize the progress of work, then naturally relationships and culture will be fostered.”
But in reality:
A tidy list of tasks and project management board are just a “business landscape”, and they don't adequately express the thoughts and backgrounds of the “people” there, or the spiritual foundation that the organization should share.
As a result, members are unable to deeply understand “why we are doing this work” or “what the meaning of working in this team is”, and they are overwhelmed by simple tasks, and their engagement decreases without them realizing it.
What is the idea of turning Notion into a “digital archive of culture”?
Notion's flexible structure, which includes pages, databases, blocks, and relationships, allows you to weave information together as you like. Here, we will create new value by reframing Notion from a “task management tool” to a “digital archive of team culture”.
Key perspectives:
Notion is a “database” and at the same time a “canvas” that can abstract and visualize the “ideology” and “background” of an organization.
By combining “team values”, “mission”, “vision”, “member individuality and stories”, “history of informal dialogue”, “success stories and failure stories”, etc. online, it is possible to foster a common identity and engagement even in remote situations.
Specific measures: How to weave team culture with Notion
Create a page to “visualize” the organization's philosophy and values.
On Notion, create a page that summarizes the company's mission statement, values, and background to the business strategy. On this page, clearly state questions such as “Why are we making this product?”, “What value do we want to provide to our customers?”, and “What should the team be like in three or five years' time?”. This will enable members to always refer to the “North Star” of the organization and link their own actions to the values.
Introduction of member cards and “self-introduction pages
In remote work environments, casual conversations and chats in the break room are rare. Therefore, we have created a ‘member profile’ page in Notion, where each member can freely write about their background, areas of expertise, interests, favorite music and reading, work attitude, etc. It is also effective to have a system where each individual can update articles and reference materials they want to share within the company, as well as lessons learned from past projects.
These types of pages help to foster human connections that transcend the boundaries of work roles, and increase psychological safety.
Creating a “Chat Space” for Informal Communication
Notion doesn't have the same immediacy as chat tools like Slack, but you can create a “chatting room” type page on purpose and create a place where you can share small topics of conversation on a daily basis. By having members post information about their favorite cafes, games they're into recently, or photos of their hobbies, you can create a human connection that transcends distance.
Add “context” to project information
In addition to task management, contextual information such as the background to the project, the expected impact, the decision-making process used in the past, and research articles used as reference, is all compiled on Notion. By using the link function and relationships to connect tasks with the background knowledge surrounding them, it becomes easier for members to understand “why we are doing this?” and to increase motivation.
Success stories, knowledge sharing, and regular reviews
A page is prepared for reviewing completed projects, and the lessons learned, areas for improvement, and factors behind success are organized and shared. This allows the organization to accumulate knowledge, and members can feel that they are continuing to evolve. In addition, by setting up a “shout out” corner for mutual praise and a page where you can leave thank you messages, a culture of appreciation and praise can take root even remotely.
Effects on improving engagement
The above measures are expected to have the following effects on remote teams.
Establishment of a shared identity:
Notion, which consolidates organizational philosophy and background information on team members, becomes a “cultural repository” that everyone can access, creating a sense of unity that transcends geographical distance.
Fostering psychological safety:
Profiles that show people's personalities and chat spaces help to create a relaxed environment for remote teams, making it easier to make mistakes and express opinions. This is directly linked to engagement.
Circulation of knowledge and deepening of organizational learning:
By leaving the background of projects, success stories, and knowledge in a form that can be accumulated and searched, teams can more easily go through the learning cycle and continue to improve and evolve.
Sharing not only results but also “meaning”:
By sharing the story behind tasks and deliverables, members can more easily see the value of their role and their intrinsic motivation will increase.
Practical Issues and the Improvement Cycle
Of course, using Notion won't solve everything. In a remote environment, the following issues may arise.
Lack of clarity in operational rules:
There is a possibility that problems such as confusion due to too many pages or delays in updating will occur. It is necessary to set up regular information organization rules and a person in charge.
Noise due to excessive information volume:
If there is too much mixing of casual chat and business information, it can become difficult to find the information you want. It is a good idea to devise a hierarchical structure and tagging system, and to establish guidelines for information dissemination.
Cultural elements are only complementary:
Cultivating culture online is not a substitute for real-life human interaction, but a complement to it. If possible, you can deepen the culture by combining it with real-life interaction, such as regular online social gatherings and regular offline meet-ups.
When you face these issues, it is important to maintain a regular “reflection page” and “issue improvement log” within Notion, and to make improvements based on feedback.
Summary: The new possibilities for remote teams that Notion brings about
In the age of remote work, in order for members scattered across multiple locations to develop a common sense of values and culture, it is necessary to deliberately “visualize culture”. By elevating Notion from an information organization tool to a “digital archive of culture”, it becomes possible to establish engagement and team identity that transcends geographical distance.
By clearly stating the organization's mission, values, and other principles, a common language and guidelines can be shared
By visualizing the individuality and backgrounds of members, human connections can be strengthened
By creating a culture of informal chat and praise on Notion, psychological safety and trust can be fostered
By contextualizing project background and learning outcomes, the learning cycle and motivation can be improved
By achieving these things, the culture-building that has been considered difficult because of remote work will instead turn into a new opportunity. Culture design using Notion can be the key to creating sustainable growth and strong teamwork in your organization.
Now that remote work is becoming more common, why not pick up the “cultural loom” that is Notion and take team engagement in the multi-location era to the next level?
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