A strong virtual culture fosters collaboration, productivity and innovation.
Cultures, leadership, teams and the way organizations operate have been put to the test as a result of the pandemic. The engagement initiatives that worked pre-COVID-19 aren’t translating smoothly to the new remote working culture. As a result, teams are becoming disengaged and managers are having to rapidly adjust to salvage what’s left of the culture.
Building a strong virtual culture isn’t easy and requires constant nurturing to maintain. When employees are involved in the change, they’re more likely to be engaged and committed to creating a culture that thrives. Managers should keep an open mind and be receptive to employee feedback. It’s inevitable some initiatives will stick while others will fail. This is all part of the process. Therefore, it’s crucial managers keep a pulse on the culture to see what’s working and what’s not so they can adjust as needed. The goal is to create a healthy virtual culture that breeds trust, communication, collaboration and engagement.
Here are five ways to nurture a virtual culture that keep employees connected.
Virtual Team Building
There are a variety of ways to leverage technology and keep employees connected. Donut is a tool integrated in Slack used to strengthen relationships between employees. The bot pairs team members who don’t frequently interact with one another and nudges them to connect. Donut reviews have mentioned employees thoroughly enjoying the tool as they’ve met with individuals with whom they normally wouldn’t have crossed paths.
Smaller businesses can utilize Slack for hosting an online trivia. Boriana Slabakova, cofounder of PetPedia, said the pet encyclopedia company forms teams by departments and uses the general Slack channel to ask questions one by one. Each team submits their response to human resources who then announces the winners.
Matthew Ross, cofounder and COO of The Slumber Yard, asks one trivia question at the end of each conference call. Each person teams up with a colleague and the team that answers correctly wins Amazon gift cards. Ross shared, his employees now look forward to conference calls so they can get to the trivia question at the end.
Additionally, virtual social hours are a great way to come together and discuss thought provoking content, indulge in competitive games or chat informally to unwind after a long week. Michael Alexis, CEO of Team Building, sends his employees a s’mores kit so they can meet at a Tiny Campfire.
Skill Share Development
Many companies are experiencing unanticipated downtime during this quarantine. This is the best time to focus on upskilling workers. Investing in employee development doesn’t necessarily require a financial output. In fact, companies can leverage their existing talent.
Skill share workshops provide employees the opportunity to speak on topics that relate to the business or share their talents that aren’t business-related. These workshops can be used to teach soft-skills such as negotiation, leadership, communication, email etiquette and more. Additionally, if companies have trainings that are specific to new managers, they can open it up to aspiring managers as well.
Cross-training is another way employees can learn new skills that contribute to the success of the company. The benefits of cross-departmental training are vast. For example, employees are able to expand their skillset and therefore pick up additional responsibilities. This makes it possible to make a lateral move within the company. It also keeps them engaged and learning about the company even if there’s no room for advancement.
Lastly, establishing a content club is a great way to share resources and knowledge. Employees can share books, podcasts, article and video recommendations and hold discussions around them.
Team Huddles And Shout-Outs
Employees are feeling more isolated than ever. The biggest mistake most managers make is not being as hands-on as they were in the office. Communication needs to be fluid and praise should be delivered regularly. Most managers shy away from delivering praise because of the belief that it’s unnecessary to thank someone for doing what’s in their job description. However, employees crave recognition and praise as it keeps them motivated. Praise shouldn’t only come from managers but from peers, too.
Having a team huddle at the start of each week is another great way to increase accountability and productivity. Each employee is given a minute or two to share what they’re working on, what they need help with and what they hope to accomplish. At the end of the week or at the start of the next week, the team should come together to review the progress they’ve made.
Wellness Initiatives
Working from home presents many challenges, one of them being self-discipline. Companies can inspire healthy habits by holding and encouraging mobility breaks, meditation sessions, virtual yoga and mental wellness trainings. Virtual yoga and meditation sessions can be employee led at the start of each workday or during a lunch break. A mental wellness training can be delivered on topics such as self-care, stress management and motivational talks.
Managers can keep employees connected by encouraging them to opt for face time instead of email or a phone call. Peter Arvai, CEO of Prezi, recommends to keep the meetings at a maximum of 24 minutes because the mind wanders after 18 minutes. He stated, managers and leaders should also opt for recorded video when sending out communications they otherwise would’ve emailed.
Happiness Boosts
Managers can minimize anxiety by injecting fun into the workday. They can encourage employees to share pictures of their pets, children, favorite memes, cooking skills or workstations. Even a #ThrowbackThursday picture is a fun way to keep employees engaged and connected. Some managers have their teams participate in a “two truths and one lie” to create a discussion around the things they learn about their team members. This has proven to build a connection and find a common ground between colleagues.
Exclusive Resorts hosts fun themed Zoom video meetings for its team members. Some competitions have included best robe, silliest hat, favorite sports team gear and most fun backgrounds. Modern Spaces has tapped into TikTok where its marketing team has taken on TikTok challenges and creating funny, light-hearted videos to boost happiness among the employees.
KNB Communications holds a scavenger hunt where they ask their team to find 10 items and share pictures of each. Some examples of the 10 items are a high school yearbook photo, the ice cream in their freezer, a ticket stub from a show they’ve attended or a board game they enjoy playing.
