The “Water Cooler” Doesn’t Exist Anymore (And That’s Actually Fine).
There’s a persistent myth in business circles that great company culture requires a physical space—that meaningful connections can only happen around water coolers, in conference rooms, or during spontaneous hallway conversations. As someone who’s spent years building a strong remote company culture at Fortified Data, I’m here to tell you that’s simply not true.
Fortified Data has always been remote—we were pioneers in remote working before the world knew what remote work was. But being a trailblazer in the remote work environment had its challenges. When I first started working with the company, we had a really high attrition rate. Team members didn’t necessarily feel a sense of belonging; we weren’t just remote, we were isolated. We’d come together once a year in person at a retreat, but that wasn’t enough to build the workplace culture our remote employees needed.
I was tasked with figuring out a recipe to build a culture that people actually wanted to be part of. The mission was clear: help our remote workers feel connected, engaged, and valued while maintaining the flexibility that makes remote work so appealing to both employees and organizations.
My approach was methodical. First, I focused on getting to know the team—where they were from, their backgrounds, hobbies, DISC profiles, what made them tick, and what made them feel valued. Next, we developed a company vision, mission, and core values that became the true pillars of our strong culture. Then I began incorporating activities and feedback loops that allowed team members to form genuine connections. We started living the idea that our people are everything.
The result? Intentional culture beats accidental proximity every time. This principle has become central to our strategy—every business initiative is weighed against how it will help or impact our workplace culture.
The Foundation: Values That Actually Mean Something in a Remote Setting
Beyond the Poster on the Wall Syndrome
Most companies have values posted somewhere—on their website, in their employee handbook, maybe even on an actual wall. But in a remote work culture, you can’t rely on physical reminders. Values need to translate into daily remote interactions, and that requires intentionality for building a strong remote company culture.
Fortified Data’s core values—Respect, Results Driven, Unique Experiences, Curiosity, and Give Back—aren’t just words we throw around in company meetings. They’re actionable principles that guide how our remote team operates every single day.
Take “Respect,” for example. In virtual meetings, this means being an active listener rather than multitasking across multiple screens. It’s surprisingly easy to appear present while mentally checking out, but true respect requires being physically and mentally present. When team members feel heard and valued during virtual interactions, it strengthens the entire remote work environment.
Making Values Actionable in Digital Spaces
The “Curiosity” value plays out beautifully during team problem-solving sessions. Being open to others’ ideas and respecting the passion that might lead to disagreement is often part of the curiosity process. In remote settings, this means creating space for diverse perspectives and understanding that healthy debate can happen just as effectively over video calls as it can in person.
Our remote workers have learned to embrace the collaborative nature of curiosity, even when they can’t physically gather around a whiteboard. Digital collaboration tools become extensions of our values, not replacements for human connection, helping to foster a strong remote culture.
Traditions That Transcend Geography in a Remote Company
Creating Rituals That Matter
Building a strong remote company culture requires rituals that create shared experiences, even when team members are scattered across different time zones. We started incorporating monthly activities that employees and families were invited to participate in, designed to provide unique experiences and help team members get to know each other beyond their professional roles.
These activities range from physical challenges to creative pursuits to mental health and well-being initiatives. We’ve hosted virtual scavenger hunts where entire families huddle around computer screens racing to find household items. I’ve led watercolor painting classes after sending each employee their own art kit, and we’ve tackled cooking classes where everyone learns to make chicken pot pie from their own kitchen.
Our Couch to 5K challenge was a six-week interactive team challenge complete with t-shirts and medals. We kicked off one New Year with a step challenge to promote wellness and activeness. During Shark Week, we organized trivia, Pictionary, and other themed challenges. One of my favorite innovations was our Virtual Art Museum—we built a 3D model and lined the digital halls with employee artwork.
Personal Stories That Become Company Legend
Sometimes the best traditions start accidentally. One year at our annual retreat (yes, even remote companies need in-person time), we were at a state park outside Nashville, Tennessee. We were sitting around a campfire at a pavilion in complete darkness, sharing stories and eating s’mores when someone brought out glow sticks.
I got a wild hair and decided to tape some glow sticks to my shirt. This quickly spiraled into several of us taping glow sticks to ourselves, and before we knew it, we were in the field performing a skit as stick figures. The darkness made the glow sticks pop brilliantly. Eventually, even more people got involved as we spelled out “FORTIFIED” on our shirts—a group of adults running around with glow sticks taped to their clothing.
That spontaneous moment became part of our company lore, reminding us that the best culture moments often can’t be planned—they just need space to happen.
Celebrating Wins Without the Conference Room
Recognizing achievements across time zones requires creativity. We do quick shout-outs called “Cheers to Peers” that feed into Slack, each tagged with core values and accompanied by celebratory GIFs. We also have a peer-nominated “Fortified With Excellence Award” for team members who exhibit our core values and go above and beyond.
Last year, we launched a virtual awards night modeled after the Oscars, complete with nominations for Core Value Awards. The Senior Management team dressed up and put on a virtual awards show. We mailed out boxes marked “don’t open until instructed,” and winners could open their awards when their names were announced. Coordinating 40 people for a virtual celebration has its humorous moments, but the effort creates lasting memories, reinforcing our remote company culture.
First Impressions in a Digital World
One thing we don’t budge on is requiring in-person onboarding. We meet with new hires for two days to share our culture, set up their technology, and address any initial jitters. This immediately creates a sense of belonging and eases the fears that can come with joining a fully remote team.
During one onboarding session, I had researched various activities and somehow landed on a pottery wheel class. The instructor sounded professional and enthusiastic on the phone, but in person, she was much more… colorful. She threw around F-bombs with abandon and really laid into us with her unique sense of humor when things didn’t go right. I had a few moments where I worried our new employees might think we were crazy, but it ended up being a hilariously memorable night that perfectly embodied our “Unique Experiences” value.
Connection in the Age of Muted Microphones: Intentional Remote Culture
Intentional Communication Strategies
Moving beyond surface-level check-ins in team meetings requires knowing your people deeply. We conduct DISC assessments on every team member to better understand their natural personality and work personality. This helps us understand how they prefer to be communicated with, how they like to hear about potential changes, and what drives them.
Reading the room when the room is a grid of faces on a screen requires different skills than in-person leadership. That’s why we have a cameras-on policy for all meetings. So much communication is nonverbal—having cameras on allows us to get a full picture of what’s being communicated. We can see who’s fully engaged, who might be distracted, and who could potentially be upset. It gives us a much better overall picture of team dynamics in a remote work environment.
Building Relationships One Video Call at a Time
Managing relationships across our Senior Management Team remotely takes intentional effort. At every quarterly in-person meeting, we start each day with conversation starters—activities designed to help us think outside the box, get outside our comfort zones, and get to know each other beyond our narrow swim lanes. These exercises build trust among team members who spend most of their time collaborating virtually.
Creating space for non-work conversations in a work-focused environment requires structure. We encourage folks who want non-work chitchat or a few minutes to catch up to pop into meetings a few minutes early. Since remote workers don’t have natural water cooler time, arriving early creates built-in opportunities for casual connection, fostering remote team building.
Authentic Leadership from Behind a Screen
Leading authentically in virtual environments requires vulnerability and presence. As a leader managing remote employees, I’ve learned that being an active listener is crucial. Without those spontaneous in-person moments, you have to be able to show that you care, that you value team members, and that you’re invested—all from a distance. This means making time for employees and being fully present when you’re meeting.
Sometimes virtual leadership moments go hilariously wrong. We once had a relatively new employee who was incredibly upset because our CEO had sent back their file with only “BAD” added to the filename in all capital letters. It took me a moment to realize those were actually the CEO’s initials—his version notation system. What could have been a very bad situation (no pun intended) became a funny learning moment. We learned that the CEO shouldn’t use his full initials for file naming, and we all learned to ask clarifying questions before jumping to conclusions.
The Ownership Mindset: When Everyone’s the CEO of Their Home Office
Empowerment Without Micromanagement
Our “Results Driven” core value helps each person become their own CEO. We focus on outcomes rather than processes, giving team members the autonomy to choose their path and be creative about how they achieve goals. This approach prevents remote work isolation by ensuring employees feel trusted and empowered rather than monitored and controlled.
When remote workers feel isolated, it’s often because they feel disconnected from decision-making or impact. By fostering an ownership mindset, we help employees engage with their work in meaningful ways, understanding how their contributions fit into larger company objectives. This is vital for building a strong remote company culture.
Trust as the Ultimate Remote Work Currency
In a remote work environment, you can’t always see what everybody is doing, which can lead down a dangerous path of suspicion and wondering if work is actually getting done. This is why trust is absolutely crucial. We have to trust that we’re choosing the right people for our team, trust that our team is diligent in their work, and trust that they’ll communicate when they encounter roadblocks.
Building systems that demonstrate trust rather than surveillance requires careful balance. We focus on accountability and autonomy—measuring results and impact rather than hours logged or keyboards clicked. This approach supports both work-life balance and employee well-being by respecting the flexibility that makes remote working attractive in the first place.
Collaboration Over Competition (Even When We Can’t See Each Other)
Creating Psychological Safety in Virtual Spaces
Making it safe to ask questions when you can’t just walk over to someone’s desk requires intentional systems. We have several Slack channels where team members can easily drop questions for group input. When someone’s not comfortable asking questions in group settings, we encourage them to reach out individually with something as simple as “Do you have a minute to look at something with me?”
Our team rallies around the “Give Back” core value—they’re willing to drop what they’re doing to help a colleague at a moment’s notice. This collaborative spirit prevents the isolation that can plague remote workers and ensures that employees engage with each other regularly.
Knowledge Sharing in a Distributed World
Preventing information silos when everyone’s literally in their own silo requires systematic approaches. Client-related information gets shared through knowledge base articles, and we maintain an intranet where departments share various information. We hold company meetings every other month to disseminate company-wide updates, supplemented by regular team meetings.
The key is creating multiple touchpoints for information sharing so that important knowledge doesn’t get trapped in individual home offices or forgotten in private conversations.
Practical Tactics That Actually Work for Remote Culture Building
The Small Things That Make a Big Difference
Building a strong remote culture often comes down to consistent small actions:
- Being on time for virtual meetings shows respect for others’ schedules.
- Showing up mentally and physically demonstrates commitment.
- Taking time to say “I appreciate you” creates positive connections.
- Telling someone when they’re doing a good job reinforces good behaviors.
- Being ready to lend a hand when somebody needs help builds team cohesion.
These might seem obvious, but in remote work environments, these small gestures carry extra weight because they’re often the primary ways team members interact.
Measuring Culture When You Can’t Measure Hallway Conversations
Knowing if your remote culture is working requires different metrics than traditional office environments. We measure culture through anonymous surveys, employee referral rates, one-on-one feedback sessions, and participation levels in activities and company meetings.
Warning signs that culture is slipping include declining survey responses, sliding feedback scores, dropping employee Net Promoter scores, and sometimes just intuitive sensing that something’s off. In remote environments, these indicators often appear before problems become obvious, making regular pulse-checks essential.
Culture is a Verb, Not a Noun
Building a strong remote company culture is an ongoing process, not a destination. You have to be intentional, focus continuously on culture, talk about it regularly, and have a senior management team willing to live and breathe the culture as role models.
As our team grows larger, I’m learning that team dynamics will continue evolving. Just because our culture shifts doesn’t mean it’s deteriorating—it means we’re growing and must continue putting intentional thought into who we are today and who we want to be in the future.
The best remote cultures aren’t trying to replicate office culture—they’re creating something entirely new and often better. They understand that remote teams represent diverse workforces, and that diversity goes far deeper than what you can see. Embracing and celebrating that diversity allows for much richer unique experiences and stronger connections than traditional office environments often provide.
Culture doesn’t happen to you—it happens because of you. Every interaction, every decision, every moment of connection contributes to the overall culture you’re building. In remote work environments, this responsibility is shared among all team members, making everyone a culture creator.
The future belongs to organizations that can build strong cultures without relying on physical proximity. Those that master this art will attract top talent, retain excellent employees, and create work environments where people thrive regardless of where they’re located. The water cooler may not exist anymore, but the connections, growth, and sense of belonging that great cultures provide are more accessible than ever—if you’re willing to be intentional about creating them.