By EDGE Women Speaker, Parliamentary Procedure and Board Development Expert Azella C. Collins
We have many new norms, and one that is causing dismay involves working from home. People work from 7 AM to 6 PM without scheduled breaks and no dedicated time for a lunch break. Remote work has drastically changed the way the team interacts with their colleagues and managers. There are no water cooler conversations.
Just as you thought, a sense of normalcy was returning, a third surge hits simultaneously, and the novelty of working from home is beginning to wear thin. Initially, working from home was fun, a 40-second commute in your most comfortable clothes, no commuter traffic, and great specialty tea and coffee. Social media is full of posts clearly stating that people are a bit sick of it, fed up, and wondering when life will return to normal. Many people thought they would be home for a few weeks, but that timeframe has now changed into the unforeseeable future. The major hurdle to overcome when working from home is to avoid a sense of isolation and loneliness. Workers may feel disconnected. The team is scattered; this is your new reality, and managers are responsible for encouraging their teams through ‘authentic dialogue’ and clear and consistent communication.
Reshuffle Priorities
A sense of belonging is a necessary condition for fostering innovation. Communication for teams remain vitally important yet has become more challenging.
How do you engage remote workers when the water cooler is missing?
Strengthening team relationships is crucial for remote teams to feel connected. Managers should put more effort into prioritizing team relations, engagement efforts, communicate regularly and set up in-person meetings once or twice a month while social distancing with masks on. Look for innovative ways to help everyone stay on the same page. Team activities will help to lessen isolation and loneliness, increase collaboration, communication, and connectedness. Organize team-building activities so that remote workers get a chance to meet with each other. Emails should not just be the primary way of internal communications. Please choose the best communication tool to make it possible for your team to keep up with the latest company updates.
Check-in frequently and be proactive. Remote team members may feel disconnected. Be bold, seek ways to help your teams become more productive, and feel more connected. Collaboration is crucial. Employee engagement solutions are the best ways to eliminate this challenge for remote teams, encourage continuous cooperation. Remember that remote workers want to be a part of the companies they work for; even more importantly, they want to have input and know that their recommendation is valued.
Connect, Collaborate, and Communicate
In the past, you would pop into Sarah's office to chat about work-related projects. She has the office next to yours. The conversation invariably leads to more social and personal aspects of the relationship, like having lunch or dinner together or going to ‘Happy Hour’ at the pub next to the office. What about a ZOOM Chip, Dip, and Sip? What about at the end of every day, people get together to have those water cooler conversations? Ways to increase connectivity with the team include maintaining connections with your team; you may need to pick up the phone and have an old-fashion telephone conversation.
Whatever you decide to do, make the collaboration activity fun. What about convening everyone at noon for lunch via ZOOM, Slack, or Skype to keep remote teams engaged? You can add some fun. Online activities are creative ways to keep folks engaged. Play Jeopardy, unscramble words, Bingo, or completing puzzles – any of these activities can help release tension and build connectedness. What if you use the coffee fund to purchase gift cards for the team? Some of the hotels are developing work from home spaces, and those working spaces are rising in popularity. Think about purchasing a day for those team members who are most prone to feeling isolated.
Advancing Careers
According to Forbes magazine, ”employees with low-level empowerment are rated with engagement at the 24th percentile; on the other side, those with a high sense of empowerment were at the 79th percentile clearly empowerment counts”. How do you encourage and enable information sharing? We know that knowledge sharing among colleagues is beneficial for both the company and team development. Are you pushing career growth opportunities? If not, why not? Career growth opportunities are one of the main factors that attract and keep talent. Avoid having your remote team feel neglected by considering how and what they can do to play into career opportunity advancement.
The number one priority for all managers during this pandemic is to minimize business disruptions and that is best accomplished by having a connected, collaborative, and communicating team led by a proactive manager who is boldly taking the water cooler to the virtual world.