How to Create an Engaging Culture in a Remote-first Team

Discover how ApyHub, a fully remote-first company, built a strong remote culture that drives collaboration, engagement, and productivity. Learn actionable remote leadership and team-building strategies.

Nikolas Dimitroulakis

Last updated on May 24, 2023

How to Create an Engaging Culture in a Remote-first Team

Working at a remote first company sure is a lot of fun. The advantages are countless, and the impact to a good work life balance has been proven. However, being able to keep up the pace is not a walk in the park. Especially when the team leaders of the company have not made sure that the remote culture is based on strong foundations, from the hiring process, ensuring that every new employee is onboarded properly. A strong remote work/company culture is the glue of every successful virtual team.

Introduction to remote company culture

As a remote-first company, ApyHub has experienced every challenge that comes with managing distributed teams. The shift toward remote work culture has accelerated rapidly in recent years, and especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Startups and companies alike are now looking for ways to boost employee engagement, enhance remote team collaboration, and establish strong remote leadership practices that keep teams productive and connected.

Building and growing remote-first company culture involves doing everything to build trust, clarity, and meaningful relationships across time zones and locations. Of course, technology is also here to support.

The Foundations of a Strong Remote Work Culture

A successful remote team culture starts with intentional design. At ApyHub, we focus on:

Onboarding every remote employee effectively, making sure each new hire feels welcomed, aligned with company values, and equipped with the tools they need.
Setting clear expectations for communication, availability, and project ownership.
Creating a psychologically safe environment, encouraging open dialogue, feedback, and collaboration.

How to Engage and Retain Remote Teams

Keeping remote employees engaged requires consistent practices that build trust and connection:

Availability tracking: We maintain a dedicated Slack channel showing who is online, busy, or away across different time zones.
Flexible scheduling: Overlapping hours ensure collaboration while respecting personal work rhythms.
Structured virtual meetings: Daily standups, weekly team syncs, and monthly all-hands meetings help everyone stay aligned.

These practices not only improve team collaboration in remote settings, but also reduce burnout and frustration.

A new way of working

Not everyone has experience working in an office, and remote work can feel very different depending on your background. For those who have never worked in a traditional office, remote work might come more naturally. For others, like me, who remember commuting an hour every day in Athens, Greece, it can require more adjustment.

To support all team members, we have created a comprehensive course that introduces the ins and outs of remote working. The course covers essential topics, including:

Setting up a productive home workspace
Running effective virtual meetings
Building a morning routine that maximizes productivity
Prioritizing self-care to avoid burnout
Incorporating fun home workouts

Think of it as a virtual handbook. It provides the guidance and tools our team needs to navigate remote work with confidence and ease.

Here are some resources we found particularly helpful:

How to Set Up Your Workspace
21 Virtual Meeting Etiquette Tips - Dos and Don’ts | Notta
Build Your Own Morning Routine Working from Home That You Love
How to combat poor at-home work posture | CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/22/health/poor-posture-work-from-home-remote-wellness/index.html)

Availability

When we are working remotely with team members spread across the globe, keeping track of everyone’s availability across different time zones can be quite the challenge. So we came up with a solution where we’ve created a special channel on Slack where we can display our status and availability. It’s like our own virtual hub where we can easily see who’s online, who’s busy, who’s away for lunch and out for a walk. This helps us to stay in sync and ensures smooth communication, no matter where we are in the world! We also value flexibility and strive to find overlapping timings that accommodate everyone’s needs. It’s all about teamwork and making sure every member’s voice is heard.(if you’re looking to work at a startup, we’ve put together this guide on what startups like ours look for when hiring developers)

Bringing people together

One challenge of remote work is the lack of spontaneous office interactions, which can lead to isolation. At ApyHub, our team is spread across multiple time zones, so we prioritize team-building activities to create trust, encourage collaboration, and foster a sense of belonging.

Friday Drinks and Virtual Games

We use informal virtual events to connect after a long week. Activities include casual conversations, sharing interests, and playing games. Our favorite online games:

Skribbl.io

One of our favorite virtual games to play is Skribbl! We had a blast playing Skribbl, it’s a game that shows our team’s drawing skills and leaves us guessing what on earth they’ve doodled! It’s all about unraveling the mystery behind their creations and having a good laugh along the way.

TypeRacer

Another virtual game that we like to play is Typeracer, where we engage in friendly competition to showcase our speed and accuracy in typing. This seems easy but it's a thrilling and challenging experience that keeps us on our toes! While it may be a bit of nerve-wracking, we find it incredibly fun and a great way to push our limits and gauge our typing skills. Type on!

Scrabble

When it comes to wordplay, our team knows how to bring the heat with online Scrabble battles! We dive into the world of letters, strategically piecing them together to create words and rack up points. It’s a battle of wits and we aim to make as many words as possible, all while keeping an eye on the scoreboard to see who’s leading the pack. This exciting game not only tests our vocabulary and creativity but brings our competitive spirit!

Other games

There is no shortage of online games. The only thing required is some energy and pure curiosity. You can find games for all the tastes and make sure you dedicate some time to each one of them so you can find the team's favorite.

Group and 1:1 Discussions and employee feedback

Regular group and one-on-one discussions are vital for communication, relationship building, and feedback. These sessions allow the team to align on goals, address concerns early, and strengthen remote team cohesion.

Real-time Collaboration

Effective remote collaboration requires the right tools. At ApyHub, we use Slack and Asana for day-to-day communication, combining real-time and asynchronous communication. This enables team members across four time zones to exchange ideas, track projects, and progress autonomously. Project management is a core part of maintaining a healthy remote work culture.

In-Person Events and Open Communication

Nothing replaces face-to-face interactions. While remote work has many benefits, occasional in-person events, such as team retreats, hackathons, or conferences, strengthen connections, deepen trust, and turn asynchronous relationships into meaningful ones. These events are also ideal for sharing experiences on social media and highlighting your company culture.

Conclusion - Remote work is here to stay

Building a strong remote first culture is a continuous journey. It requires dedication to company values, open communication, and clear expectations across all team members, from new hires to managers and executives. While virtual happy hours and games help, the foundation is a psychologically safe, engaging, and productive remote work culture.

Message to remote leaders

Remote work success begins with leadership. Policies and best practices are only effective if supported by a culture that encourages connection, accountability, and collaboration. Invest in your remote first culture and your teams will thrive.

Open positions:

P.S: Looking to work for an inspiring role in a remote-first company? Check out ApyHub open positions here.

FAQs

Q: What are best practices for remote team communication?

A: Use tools like Slack, Asana, or Notion for real-time collaboration, establish daily standups, and create transparent channels for status updates.

Q: How can I build culture in a remote-first company?

A: Focus on onboarding, virtual team-building activities, regular feedback, and occasional in-person events to strengthen relationships.

Q: How do I keep remote employees engaged?

A: The best is to try to combine autonomy with structured communication, provide growth opportunities, and foster social interactions through games, team chats, and shared projects.

Q: How often should remote teams meet in person?

A: There is no rule. Once or twice a year is ideal for retreats, hackathons, or conferences, depending on your budget and team size.

Next Steps for Leaders & Startups

Review your remote onboarding and engagement practices.
Introduce structured team-building activities for distributed teams.
Experiment with in-person events to deepen human connections.
Continuously monitor employee engagement, feedback, and collaboration efficiency.