Intentional connection
Some people talk about what they get 'for free' when the team comes to the office: social interaction, deeper collaboration, team bonding, serendipitous encounters. Those are some great benefits, but they’re not free.
I’ve worked remotely for most of the last twelve years and I value it. I also know it can be hard unless companies and teams dedicate effort to making it work. Thanks to the pandemic many traditional office workers — including much of the tech industry — got sent home for months. A lot more people got to try remote work. And their employers had to make it work. While the impacts are complicated, research tends to show productivity and job satisfaction rose as a result.
But now many employers are calling for a return to the office for at least some days, citing that there is no substitute for in-person time. That approach is not free; it passes the costs back to the employee. These costs include commute time and money, distraction, and a loss of flexibility.
Instead of jamming people in the same place and hoping for serendipitous collaboration, be more intentional in creating connections. Focus on bringing the benefits of sharing a space into our remote work. Some ideas you might consider:
Use the first five minutes of every meeting as arrival time. Let people be a little late as they roll from video chat to video chat, or take a bio break. Spend that time chatting, getting people's voices in the room, checking on mood and vibes.
There is no deeper collaboration than jointly authoring and editing a well-written document. Then taking feedback on it.
Team bonding can be a deliberate action. Schedule an online meeting in work time whose purpose is social. Lots of companies do that in their offices anyway. Have a Thursday or Friday afternoon call, or gaming session, or trivia contest.
You can achieve serendipity by organising adhoc one:one catchups. Choose people who don't normally work together. Or use software to randomise it.
These are just a few examples of how we as leaders can help our team connect in a more meaningful way. What do you take away from these ideas? What do you find works for you?
Let us know.