Brandwoven On-Sites: Improving Engagement & Culture for Our Remote Employees

In this article, we’ll explore why Brandwoven believes on-sites are not just “nice-to-haves,” but essential moments of strategic and cultural alignment. If you’re a remote leader, team member, or interested in how we’ve improved company culture and employee engagement, this one’s for you.

Today’s Remote Office

The workplace of today has changed for many of us — and for some, it’s a lot closer to home. Since early 2020, Brandwoven has embraced the remote-first model wholeheartedly, building a company culture of flexibility, autonomy, and digital engagement. Yet, even in a world powered by Zoom/Teams, Slack, and project management tools, there’s still something that’s irreplaceable about being in person. [In steps the “on-site”]

Brandwoven’s move to be fully remote was a decision finalized by the onset of the pandemic, but one that’s been proven in our ability to hire experts, and service happy clients. With the barriers of geography removed, we’ve expanded our team across the nation and time zones. Great talent with niche experience once felt specifically bi-coastal but is now a part of our everyday Teams grid. As we gained reach, we knew we couldn’t sacrifice connection.

The Shift to Remote Work and What Can Get Lost

Remote work is a hotly debated topic, but for those that experience it, companies and employees agree that they have greater flexibility, broader talent pools, fewer commutes, and more autonomy. But for all those gains, something inherently gets lost when we work behind a screen full-time: the uniquely human, unscheduled interactions. A hallway conversation or a shared laugh in the breakroom used to be the glue that held teams together. In a fully remote setting, there are far fewer of those casual run-ins. Communication becomes compressed; a few minutes of casual conversation snuck away at the beginning or end of a call. Collaboration can feel sterile. Onboarding may feel like joining a Slack channel, not a team. This is why Brandwoven ensures connection is part of our Onboarding process.

But over time, this leads to a deeper cost that has a name: “affinity distance,” which refers to the quality of connection among coworkers. Even remote teams with great employee engagement risk turning their connections into transactions. We knew early on that we wanted to build in an intentional pause button, to make that connection happen.

Intentional Connection: Trust & Belonging to Improve Our Remote Company Culture

In a remote-first workplace, trust is built in small actions and over time. While digital tools maintain workflows, they don’t cultivate relationships. That’s where intentional connection comes in, and why we prioritize time for connection and being together in-person.

At the start of every Brandwoven on-site, we do an icebreaker. “Sounds silly – don’t you all know each other already?” Sure, but ask someone about the best meal they ever ate or their favorite vacation memory and tell me that won’t get people talking! Whether we’re sharing about our families, life experiences, or irrational fears (spiders, anyone?), these moments invite vulnerability, nurture relationships, and spark laughter; they set the tone for honest conversations and meaningful collaboration.

These experiences deepen team bonds. When you know someone beyond the 5-minute check-ins, you’re more likely to assume positive intent, collaborate openly, and show grace when things get tough. This trust isn’t just feel-good—it’s mission-critical. It drives remote employee performance, engagement, and loyalty. In a remote world, you don’t stumble into connection. You build it with purpose.

Aligning Strategy with Our Remote Company Culture

When a team works remotely, culture can become invisible. Brandwoven’s on-sites serve as more than just meetups—they’re intentional moments of cultural calibration.

Each year, we design our on-sites to revisit and reinforce our core values. We ask big-picture questions and spend time connecting in meaningful ways. We use these on-sites to host trainings, share company updates, and roll out initiatives together.

During our December 2023 on-site, we announced our Core Value employee awards and recognized our Employee of the Year. At our 2024 on-site, we rolled out new workflows for our Product Management toolset, held breakout trainings tailored to each role, and introduced our new branding while treating the team to custom-curated dinners and fun company swag. Goals achieved! Our remote employees walk away from each on-site with greater team engagement, feeling appreciated, more connected to one another, and with a genuine interest in where Brandwoven is headed.

The ROI of Remote Employee Face Time: Engagement, Satisfaction, Retention, and Clarity

On-sites are certainly costly; time, money, and planning – but the return is tangible. In-person time pays dividends across three major dimensions:

1. Improved Remote Employee Engagement

Employees who attend on-sites report feeling more connected, energized, and aligned. They come back to work with greater engagement and feeling recharged. They remember why they joined our team in the first place—and why they stay.

2. Greater Employee Satisfaction and Retention

In a competitive talent market, people don’t just stay for pay—they stay for belonging; in-person moments solidify that. Our team knows they’re not just faces on a screen—they’re part of something real, and part of our collective success.

3. Clarity

On-sites aren’t just about syncing strategy – they’re about employee engagement. We align on strategic priorities, role clarity, cross-team workflows, and upcoming initiatives. Together, we’re ready to take on what’s next!

When you compress what could be weeks of digital back-and-forth into one powerful session in a room together – that’s time well spent.

Beyond the qualitative outcomes, we’ve tracked quantifiable impact. After each on-site, we measure remote employee sentiment and engagement using pulse surveys. Time and again, our surveys consistently show jumps in confidence, clarity, and satisfaction after on-sites. Following a recent on-site, 95% of employee respondents shared that the combination of training and shared experiences strengthened their sense of connection and pride in being part of Brandwoven.

What Makes a Great On-Site?

Here’s the secret: it’s not just about picking a nice venue. A great on-site is one that blends clarity with engagement, and strategy with employee celebration. We’ve evolved our playbook over the years:

Making the Case to Leadership

If you’re advocating for on-sites internally, here are the points that resonate:

• Strategic Alignment: Eliminate confusion, re-center priorities, and build shared language.
• Team Building: Accelerate connections and belonging among cross-functional teams.
• Employee Satisfaction & Retention Impact: Employees who feel connected stay longer and perform better.
• Remote Employee Engagement Boost: On-sites improve morale with a reset on focus.
• Leadership Visibility: In-person time with leadership builds transparency and trust.

Remote-First, People-Always

At Brandwoven, we believe in the flexibility of remote work – and we also believe that connection is critical – which is why we make the time and space to be together.

We’ve seen firsthand that on-sites aren’t just a perk; they’re a performance lever. They bring clarity, connection, employee engagement, and company culture into sharp focus. They give people a reason to believe in their work—and in each other.

If you’re considering investing in your first on-site or trying to improve your current model, start with your people at the center of your intentions. Ask, “what do we want them to walk away feeling? What conversations only happen when we’re together?”

In a remote world, face time matters more than ever. And when we show up for one another, we do better work—together.