Let’s be honest—remote culture isn’t easy.
When you don’t have a physical office, team lunches, or hallway chatter, staying connected takes work. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t take a massive budget or elaborate HR programs to build a team that feels connected, motivated, and aligned.
What it does take is intention.
This week on the ShopTalk podcast, we’re talking about building culture and connection in a remote agency—what we’ve tried, what’s worked, and how even the smallest gestures can make a massive difference. Below, I’ll walk you through some of our favorite strategies and give you a free resource to make it easier to implement in your own agency.
Why Culture Matters (Even More Remotely)
When we merged our agencies and went fully virtual, one of our biggest fears was losing the feel of a team. No more daily check-ins in the office. No impromptu high-fives or watercooler moments.
That’s when we realized: if we wanted a strong culture, we had to build it on purpose.
And we’re not just talking about Slack emojis and Zoom happy hours. Real culture is built on relationships, shared values, and intentional communication. That’s what makes people feel part of something—not just another cog in the machine.
5 Ways to Build Culture in a Virtual Insurance Agency
Here’s what’s worked for us—and what we recommend to other agency owners trying to strengthen their remote teams:
1. Start with Recognition
People stay where they feel seen.
We kick off every team meeting with a 2-minute shoutout session. It’s simple, but powerful. Whether it’s a teammate crushing it on service calls or someone helping out behind the scenes, that moment of recognition builds camaraderie.
Other easy wins:
- Celebrate birthdays with a fun GIF and $10 DoorDash gift card
- Highlight team members in a weekly spotlight
- Acknowledge work anniversaries in your internal newsletter
2. Create Real Connection
Small, consistent touches build deep trust over time.
Try this:
- Start Monday meetings with “What’s the best thing that happened to you last week?”
- Host monthly virtual coffee chats by randomly pairing team members
- Let team members do a casual “Show & Tell” of something personal from their desk or life
These may seem small, but they break down barriers—and help people show up as their full selves.
3. Add a Little Fun
Culture should be fun. Period.
Games and light competition go a long way in remote settings. Some of our favorites:
- Trivia or Jeopardy (you can theme it around your core values!)
- Guess the workspace
- Would You Rather
- Two Truths and a Lie
You don’t have to run these every week, but rotating them in keeps things lively and builds buy-in across the team.
4. Protect Energy
A healthy team is a productive team.
We’ve learned that burnout sneaks up faster in remote work. That’s why we’ve started doing things like:
- No-Meeting Friday afternoons
- 5-minute stretch breaks at the start of long meetings
- Water/step challenges to keep wellness top of mind
- One-minute breathing exercises to reset between calls
These small breaks help your team stay sharp, focused, and energized.
5. Encourage Growth and Ownership
Want your team to care more? Help them grow.
People want more than just a paycheck—they want to feel like they’re progressing. Here’s what we do:
- Lunch & Learns (insurance-related or personal topics)
- Mini brainstorms about what’s working and what’s not
- Job shadowing across roles to build empathy and perspective
- Book or podcast clubs that spark discussion and development
Download the Free Team Building Guide
We’ve packaged up our favorite ideas—across recognition, connection, wellness, and growth—into a simple PDF you can use with your own team.
You don’t need to do everything. Pick 2–3 ideas to start with and commit to doing them consistently. Culture doesn’t build itself—but you don’t have to overthink it either.
Stay in the Loop
This post is part of our 6-week podcast series on building and running a high-performing virtual insurance agency. Every Friday, a new episode drops—paired with a blog like this and a free resource to help you take action.
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It’s where we go deeper, share our tools, and show you what’s actually working in real remote agencies—like yours.
Let’s build something worth showing up for.