According to research from Owl Labs and Global Workplace Analytics, 74% of employees said they feel happier when working remotely. The reasons for this are wide and varied and include less time spent battling traffic and more flexibility, and time, balancing work with family.
The biggest challenge most of us do face though, is how to help busy remote teams stay connected. When we’re busy it can be difficult to come up with new and inventive ideas to combat challenges so we have put our thinking caps on for you.
Here are just 5 very simple ideas for you to consider that are quick and easy to implement.
1. What’s new introductions
Take a few minutes at the start of each scheduled conference call to socialise with fellow call attendees and catch-up on how everyone is doing before talking shop. It doesn’t have to take long, 2-3 minutes small talk can have an impact on how you each connect on a human level. No good at small talk? Take time before the call to prepare a question of the week to keep the conversations fresh.
2. Don’t be camera shy!
If the norm is audio calls only at your workplace, try switching it up and turning on the webcam once in a while. For example you can introduce a WebCam Wednesday policy when all scheduled conference calls between 9am and 5pm will be hosted via video. Always give plenty of notice to attendees and never force anyone to switch their camera on or shame them for not complying. Just lead by example and chances are once they feel comfortable with the idea they will occasionally join in. By hosting a video call rather than just audio, it will help attendees warm to you, relate to you and see you as a human, whether they switch on the camera or not.
3. Video chit-chat!
If we were in the office, chances are we would be stopping by someone’s desk or meet colleagues by the water cooler or coffee machine, and take the opportunity for a bit of a chit-chat, work related or otherwise. This has a huge impact in forging human connections as we look into someones eyes, feel their energy and identify common grounds and interests.
Unfortunately, this just is not viable when working remotely. But as an alternative consider scheduling a regular cadence of video calls with colleagues or work family purely to chat about anything and everything. Try to avoid work related matters and instead focus on social aspects of each others lives to foster that connectivity.
4. Let’s meet-up!
Better than video calls and brief water cooler chance liasions, make the effort to organise in-person meet-ups with colleagues, either in groups or on a one-to-one basis. This could be for coffee, lunch or recreational pursuits and events. The workplace has traditionally been where adults make new friends and connections, but we are in danger of missing out on these opportunities if we don’t make the effort to get out of our home offices and meet in person. Set yourself the challenge of offering at least one invitation this month.
5. Organise a fun contest
Ever heard of anyone who had too much fun in their life? Consider creating a fun contest to help your busy remote teams stay connected. This could be a 5-a-side football game, a pub style quiz, a crazy hat creation contest for your next WebCam Wednesday call. Make it more interesting by adding a prize such as the losing team each donate £1 to charity, or the winner of a contest is responsible for organising the next one.
A study in 2017 suggested that people that laugh together, like each other more and the laughter acts as a social glue and strengthens our relationships. So consider a contest that get’s a giggle for a double whammy!
I hope you have found at least one idea here you can try and see how it goes. Let us know if you have any other suggestions, we’d love to hear! Let us know if you need help on your next communications campaign, we are always here to help.
