In light of the recent pandemic, most of us have had to become a part of the remote workforce enterprise. All across the globe, companies, organizations, and universities alike are getting into the practice of video communication to maintain the daily business cycle and activity.
However, as more and more organizations turn to the full-time remote workforce mandate, each struggles with the challenge of creating an organizational community and culture to virtual environments.
A workplace benefits from a high profile organizational and company culture. These two are the essential elements for maintaining the levels of encouragement and morale in every organization. This is all the more essential in such crucial times now that we’re all in the remote workforce. Therefore, let’s discuss a few strategies of how your company can maintain a sense of community for the remote workforce.
What makes a team more unified and close-knit is the happy lunch and coffee hours that they share in a physical office. Now that we are all caught up in the self-isolation and social distancing scenario, it is even more important to create one of the most essential features of a community, sharing conversation over a meal.
Lunch and coffee hours are where the team members take a break from work and catch up with one another. It is one of the happiest hours in a workday. You must keep your team connected with a virtual coffee or lunch hour daily. If not an hour, then 30 minutes would be great too.
Themed days are those fun company events you can organize for your remote team. Several companies organized a theme day of bringing their pets. Your remote team can share fun snapshots with their pets. Or you could even pick a theme like Halloween or something similar. Let the remote team share images of their fun getups, and everyone can enjoy looking at them. A small reward for the most innovative getup would also be a great idea. Anything to keep the spirits high.
Organize a virtual lunch for your employees. Turn into a meeting where everyone can view one another and interact freely. If you are planning a live broadcast such as a webinar, make sure you include elements where there are allowances and space for free interaction. Let there be live chats and Q&A.
When you answer questions that pour in, you must make sure you address the employee by name and also thank them. This will make the interaction more personal and special.
You may think that creating a random channel is an unnecessary effort. In truth, your remote workforce are mere humans too, who love grabbing opportunities for mundane and ordinary conversations. Create a space where they do not need to be formal and businesslike, where they can discuss movies, share recipes, etc.
Creating a space for your remote team where they can freely discuss non-work related topics or anything pertaining to their personal self is a wonderful idea.
A community is all about interaction, bonding, and spending time with one another. While crucial times demand that we work as a remote workforce, there are several things you can practice to keep the sense of community alive within your remote team. The idea is to create mediums for them to bond more and interact more.