I entered the workspace in a remote setting and went through the entire onboarding process virtually. I still haven’t met my manager in my 10 months of working, and honestly, it isn’t the most ideal situation. Having to interact and connect with my peers without having ever met them has left me overwhelmed on more than one occasion.
And I’m sure I’m not the only one out here. Thousands of graduates and first time job seekers have gone through a similar experience in the past two years. Even seasoned employees who’ve been working in an office environment for years may reach a point where they find it difficult to adjust to a remote setup.
Now more than ever, it’s important to foster a healthy social environment where your entire team can interact and build interpersonal relations, even if it’s virtually.
Here’s what you can do to get started:
Virtual catch-ups
While most team meetings are work-related and help in building team cohesion, you should also plan catch-ups that aren’t work-related. Bring the team together to just interact and get to know each other.
These catch-ups can also have themes like Women’s Day, Holi, or any other festivities, giving the discussions a certain direction and also making it more interesting.
It might not be most convenient for everyone, but adding the video element always adds to the effectiveness of a virtual meeting.
Company talent show
Most people shy away from sharing their interests and talents outside of work, but these can be great conversation starters and confidence boosters.
Virtual Game nights
Platforms like HatQuest allow teams to create and host fun virtual games like trivia quizzes, Pictionary, spin-the-bottle, and more. These game sessions are great icebreakers and also a great way to kick back after a long week
Non-work related Slack channels
Having Slack channels where your employees can talk about non-work related things is a great way to let people open up to each other and find common interests among the team.
These channels can be anything from pets to travel and photography related, but the aim is to allow people to showcase their personalities and interests beyond work to the team.
Another advantage of these random Slack channels is that team members can always access them and don’t need to dedicate a specific time of their busy schedules to be able to bond and communicate with others.
This is not an exhaustive list and it is important to find an effective team-building strategy that’s in line with your company culture and indulge in activities that make sense for the whole team.
Stay true to the culture that makes your company unique and try to push the boundaries of what can be done with the virtually-connective technology that’s available out there.
