Rashida
Remote work has many incredible perks. When you work remotely, you may be able to walk your dog midday, skip on the commute, and even work in sweats.
But, remote work is not without its drawbacks.
Working remotely can get lonely, fast.
In the office, you bump into people organically. You walk by other peoples’ desks, see them at lunch, or chat in person before or after meetings. As many employees and companies have shifted to remote working due to COVID-19, social interaction has become a pretty clear challenge.
Hope is not lost!
While social interaction online may look a little different, it’s still possible to promote organic social interactions and keep your team connected.
Happy Hour/Coffee Hour
Online work meetings tend to skip the chatter and personal conversations present in in-person meetings. Most teams want to keep Zoom meetings quick and on track, but that can cut out a lot of the personal interaction that takes place in offices.
One great way to facilitate social interaction is to have an office meeting that’s just for fun. Set a time at least once a week to just catch up and have fun with your team. We do this with our remote team via a “Virtual Meeting.” The Virtual Meeting is a time to chat about our work, personal lives, interesting articles we’ve seen, and anything else.
Bravo or Kudo Points
Another great way for teams to stay connected and interact while working remotely is to use a bravo or Kudo points system. Give each employee a certain amount of points that they can assign out. When you notice another team member go above and beyond, send them the points as an acknowledgment and thank you. Employees can save up points to trade in for prizes via an online store or however your company chooses to set up rewards. This system will encourage your team to pay attention to the work of others, and gives them an easy way to virtually pat each other on the back!
Facilitate Leadership
An employee who just stares at the screen as “boss” talks for every meeting is not going to feel empowered or connected. While leadership is always important, it’s even more vital that you foster leadership in remote offices. When employees are able to take on leadership roles and responsibilities, they will feel more confident and engaged. Some ways to do this include:
- Rotating who leads the meetings.
- Allowing employees to share information and questions about their current projects
- Asking for volunteers to lead certain projects or events, even if they are not directly work-related. For example, “who’s interested in planning the virtual Valentine’s Day event this year?.”
- Give everyone a chance to speak and voice their opinions.
Photo of the Week
In the office, you may see a photo of a colleague’s child or pet and that can spark a connection or conversation. Bring back an adult version of “show and tell” by having employees share their favorite photo/video around a certain topic. For example, one week may be “pets” and the other could be “vacation.” This is a quick exercise that will give everyone a chance to know more about each other and share about themselves.
Create a Fun Slack Channel
Slack is a great communication tool for important updates, reminders, and announcements, but it can also be an excellent place for remote social interactions. Create fun Slack channels that encourage employees to chat about interesting topics and share their favorite content. For example, here at Content Cucumber, we have the “random” channel. Our team shares anything they desire here, from memes to shower thoughts and beyond. You could create channels for recommendations, recipes, memes, and more!
Check-In
Be an example for your team by leading the crusade for social interaction. Schedule short 1 on 1 check-in meetings with your team. Of course, these meetings are a good time to inquire about your team’s work and projects, but it’s also a time to just connect. Before asking questions about work, show your team members that you care and are invested in them as people. By taking the initiative to check in with people 1 on 1, you set the precedence and will likely see other team members doing the same.
The biggest advice for promoting social interactions in remote offices is to make it clear that social interactions have a place. If your team feels like it must be all business 100% of the time, they are unlikely to chat about other things. While it’s great to be productive, teams that feel connected and seen as people are more likely to perform better work. Social interactions look a little different online than in the office, but it’s still very possible for remote companies to bond and interact with some of the strategies above.
As a fully remote team, Content Cucumber is always looking for more ways to interact and connect with our team. What are your favorite strategies for interacting from a remote office? Tag us on Twitter!
