We’ve entered a new era of work. The shift to remote working has driven humanity to reimagine how businesses and teams operate when in-person meetings aren’t possible. Organizations are now examining how to move forward by establishing flexible working arrangements. Despite the challenges, we now have a unique opportunity to fundamentally improve how people work and connect —wherever they are.
Even though the situations we face will continue to evolve, research shows what people want now and in the future. They want technology to help them throughout their day. They want to connect to the company and the culture. They want flexibility. The workplace is wherever you are—it’s no longer a place, but an activity. It’s your home office, it’s on the go, and it’s the flexibility to choose where and how you want to work.
But being a remote worker has its challenges – you don’t always get to engage in those “non-work” conversations as you might when passing colleagues in the office, you don’t get to share chit chat around the water cooler or over your mid-morning coffee. Managing remote employees can also be challenging for this reason.
Stay Connected with Webex
Cisco Webex makes collaboration possible. It allows everyone to get their work done faster, connect teams across the world, create extraordinary outcomes for businesses, and so much more. It’s easy to forget that it is also a tool that can help build strong relationships – relationships with people outside of your geographical location and those that you work with every day. It is a tool to help bring remote teams together, build a team culture no matter where you’re located.
Building Team Culture Virtually
When working remotely, scheduling virtual team-building meetings offer workplaces many benefits such as:
- Providing workers with more humanly interaction than other mediums
- Offering more support to remote workers
- Reinforcing a strong team identity
It’s important to remember that a meeting doesn’t always have to be a work-related meeting! Be sure to have a little fun with your teams: Not every meeting has to be all business. A lot of in-person plans are getting disrupted this year, but you can get creative and still celebrate together. During these touchpoints, try to leave the looming project deadlines for your next work-related call.
The following are some ways that you can foster a positive team culture while your team is working remotely:
- Bring the team together for some Webex Pictionary
- Host weekly team trivia on Fridays during the last half hour of the day
- Celebrate monthly birthdays, accomplishments, and years of service
- Connect 1:1 with a teammate virtually to have a coffee chat or brainstorming session
- Engage in icebreaker activities such as giving everyone on the call an opportunity to share something about their day or tell a joke
For more remote team building games and activities, check out this article by SnackNation. Ultimately, checking in on the team on a social level will help maintain that personal connection, and build up your team’s morale.
How are you fostering team building at your organization? Comment to let us know.