Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, there are several ways to keep your employees engaged and socially connected while working from home. As a business owner, you likely know that your company culture and team morale is directly related to social interactions. However, new remote working environments have forced businesses to reinvent the ways they connect with employees they no longer see in-person. Though this type of staff connectivity is entirely different, it can be equally as productive when properly planned. In fact, the best team social connection techniques promote loyalty, team building, and positivity across your organization. To help you get back on track, here are some ways to stay socially connected with employees while working from home.
Virtual Holiday Parties
Hosting a virtual holiday party is an excellent way to promote team bonding, building, and social interaction. To organize your party, designate a virtual location, design some e-invites, and set up a dress code. Then, plan some holiday-inspired team building games and interactive activities. For example, you may want to schedule a Secret Santa exchange for your remote Christmas party, or a costume contest for your virtual Halloween celebration. Naturally, these remote gatherings provide you the perfect opportunity to recognize employees for their hard work, boost morale, and promote your positive company culture.
Weekly Virtual Happy Hours
Many business owners are beginning to host weekly virtual happy hours to promote social connection and bridge the gap while working remotely. To host a successful happy hour, choose a reliable online meeting technology and create a guest list. To keep things exciting, consider choosing a theme or game to focus on. For example, many successful happy hours include trivia, charades, or even Simon Says. Once you have figured out the logistics of your gathering, you can promptly send out invitations to all of your team members. Of course, these informal meetings allow employees to express themselves, learn more about each other, and meet new people in other departments. To fulfill your employees social connection needs throughout remote working, try hosting a virtual happy hour.
Mention Team Member Events & Accomplishments
To keep your employees engaged and socially connected, be sure to mention team member events and accomplishments. Simply remembering employee birthdays, newborns, marriages, and other personal events is an excellent way to foster social connections remotely. Instead of just saying “Happy Birthday” on a team meeting, try making them a card or buying a gift to make the occasion a bit more special. For example, you an easily use a digital generator to create online birthday cards with a huge variety of templates and unique personality. Certainly, this can help your remote employees feel valued in a way that is entirely dependent of their performance targets. This way, you can show employees that they truly are an important aspect of your team.
Conduct Routine Team Meetings
Of course, routine meetings are an excellent way to foster social connections from remote working environments. To host a team meeting virtually, establish your objectives, identify key participants, and determine a reasonable timeframe. Then, you can focus on setting your agenda, writing an action plan, and forecasting any concerns over the course of your meeting. Surely, these meetings foster a form of direct communication, promote cost efficiency, and allow you to connect from anywhere in the world. Moreover, routine virtual meetings help you to achieve a stronger, more structured sense of communication. Conducting routine team meetings is an excellent way to improve productivity when working from home.
Hold Frequent One-On-One Meetings
Now that your remote employees are starting to get settled in their virtual working environments, it is the perfect time to conduct a one-on-one meeting. To host an organized meeting, decide on the proper conferencing technology to use and be sure to budget enough time. Then, start off your meeting with general updates and basic agenda items. This way, you can gradually lead into performance evaluation information, compensation, and suggestions for the future. Needless to say, routine one-on-one meetings strengthens relationships with leadership, improves productivity, and builds team loyalty. It gives employees the chance to express how they feel and anything they need. Moreover, these frequent sessions help you check-in on employee goals and deliver meaningful, personalized feedback.
There are several ways to maintain team cohesion and keep employees socially connected while working remotely. Hosting a virtual holiday party is an excellent way to promote team bonding, building, and social interaction. In addition, many business owners are beginning to host weekly virtual happy hours to promote social connection and bridge the gap while working remotely. At the same time, be sure to mention team member events and accomplishments. Of course, routine meetings are an excellent way to foster social connections from remote working environments. Furthermore, conduct a one-on-one meeting to strengthen relationships with leadership, improve productivity, and build team loyalty. Follow the points highlighted above to learn about the creative ways to stay socially connected with employees while working from home.
Katie Simpson
