Building Community in Remote Teams
While operating remotely, it can feel as if we are building groups of people instead of building true teams.
Company culture is hard to identify when you’re working from home, especially if you are a new hire and you have never met your coworkers in person.
New team members, and existing ones need strong leadership (and some good times) to build that sense of community and culture.
Whether you plan on having your workforce return to the office post-pandemic, or you plan to stay remote, this list will give you ideas on how to build a true team identity from afar.
Happy Hour
The ever beloved happy hour gone virtual. BYOB! Perfect time for jokes, stories, and meeting new team members.
Good For: Morale, community
Fitness Challenge
Who has what it takes to do the longest company plank? Start a challenge on the 1st of the month, encourage team members to practice planks all month long, then host a virtual plank-off on the last Friday of the month.
Other Examples:
Log 50 squats every day for 1 month and win lunch
Log 10,000 steps every day for 1 month and win a gift card
Good For: Friendly competition, mental health, physical health, company culture
Game Night
Work is stressful. Game nights are a great way to put a smile on some faces. Virtual games like Jackbox.TV are good for small teams. For larger teams, Codenames is a fun and collaborative way to get the group thinking creatively.
Good For: Friendly competition, community, creativity, collaboration
Scheduled Calendar “Blackouts”
Consider a new company policy - like calendar blackouts. Breaks and blocks in the day encourage employees to hit the refresh button on their days - which provides more engaged and productive employees when their break is over.
Here are a few examples:
- No internal meetings before 10am on Monday. Time to read emails, set weekly to-do list, and perhaps most importantly - caffeinate.
- No internal meetings between 12pm and 1pm on Wednesdays. A full hour lunch in the middle of the workweek can be hard to squeeze in. The perfect time to cook, workout, call your mom or check in on your emails.
- No internal meetings after after 2pm on Fridays. Time to wind down the week!
Good For: Mental health, physical health, free time, company culture
Virtual Cooking Class
You know how when you have a party, everyone naturally gathers in the kitchen? That translates to virtual kitchen hangouts, too.
Ask about a private YDF cooking class for your team!
Good For: Physical health, community
Other ideas? Send them my way! I would love to see how you build teams (not just groups) while working remotely.
YDF,
Lindsey