With more and more companies allowing remote work, or workers being spread among multi city/multi state offices, ensuring that everyone feels connected can be a challenge. There are many tools for remote meetings and collaboration, but how can you promote an internal culture, when internal is more than one place?
Here are 5 ideas:
Start a private Facebook page
Sharing your pet photos, favorite recipes, hobbies etc. through a Facebook page is a great way to let your co-workers see your non-work side, in a fun, engaging way. Facebook pages can be set to private, or even secret, so your team’s collaboration stays within the team. You’ll need to nurture participation, don’t expect employees to engage at a high level on their own at first.
Take a personality test
There are a variety, and they don’t have to cost a lot. Free personality tests are all over the internet, just check a few reviews to make sure they’re legitimate before sharing. Knowing how others in your company like to communicate and their work style can help remote workers collaborate in a more effective way.
Do random acts of kindness
Encourage employees to do something nice for someone in another office. For instance, an employee from Seattle may send coffee to someone else, or another in Hershey PA might choose to send chocolate. Getting unexpected gifts is fun and encourages the recipient to pay it forward to another teammate.
Have an online meeting just for the fun of it
Virtual karaoke anyone? How about a virtual lunch meet up? Having a meeting just to get to know your co-workers is a fun way to connect without the pressures of business.
Host a fun competition
Have one person gather themed photos (baby photos, pet photos, pictures of their favorite room, etc.) and hold a company-wide contest. “Can you guess who this baby is?” for example. Again, fun ways of getting to know each other help remote workers feel closer together.