- A survey by getAbstract found
that 89% of employees working out of their homes
felt isolated from the rest of their team.
Now, let's face it,
this hybrid workplace
where some employees are working from home
and some are working at the office
isn't going away anytime soon.
It's never going to go away.
So here are 12 tips to help you bridge the gap.
Number one,
talk openly about communication guidelines and expectations.
How do people prefer to be communicated with
when they are not working out of the office?
Text, is text okay? Email, phone, Zoom?
How do they prefer,
what's their preferred choice of communication?
Interpretative dance? Is that okay?
Is it okay to text somebody on the weekend
or email somebody on a Sunday afternoon
and expect an answer from them Sunday evening?
So set up some guidelines around acceptable hours
and preferred means of communication.
Number two, and this doesn't just apply to the bosses,
this applies to everybody,
be uber intentional about checking in
with everyone else in your team.
Make it a priority,
which means scheduling it.
Don't just put it out there
and, yeah, sometime you'll get around to it.
Schedule it as a priority.
The number one way people feel a sense of belonging
on their team, in their workplace,
is simply when employees check in with them.
Number three, related to number two,
remember that there is a difference
between checking in with somebody
and checking up on someone.
For those of you that have teenagers at home,
you know there is a fundamental difference
between those two things.
One of those things can build trust,
one of those things can destroy trust.
So make sure you are genuinely checking in.
Number four,
and this doesn't just apply to the bosses, again,
everybody can set up regular Zoom office hours
where you commit one time per week,
a couple hours,
to just be on your Zoom or video tool of your choice
so that people can drop in
and know that you are available
for a face-to-face video conversation remotely.
Number five, talk openly about the jealousies
and misunderstandings that may arise
between those two camps of employees.
Look, in an ideal world,
everybody who wanted to work from home
would be allowed to work from home
and everybody who doesn't wanna work from home
would be given that option.
But we know that's not gonna happen.
Because of the nature of people's work,
some people have to work at the office,
some people can have the freedom of working from home.
So talk openly
about some of the misinterpretations, misunderstandings,
and, yes, jealousies that may arise between those two camps.
Number six, consider experimenting
with what some companies are trying,
library hours where everybody works on Zoom together
for a set period of time.
They're still working individually alone in their homes
but they have that background ambiance.
They kind of feel connected with the rest of their team
because they're all kind of there
working on their own stuff.
So for those people who miss that ambiance
of working in a coffee shop
or the energy of working in an open office
next to all their colleagues,
you might wanna try that.
Number seven, I'm a huge fan of this,
random virtual coffee dates
where everybody's name goes into a random name generator,
you spit out two names from all across your company,
and then those people connect virtually for a coffee date.
It's a great way to break down barriers,
to connect with people
that you otherwise wouldn't normally connect with.
Number eight, schedule regular social events.
Whether it's a trivia contest
or just a games night or whatever it is,
just make sure you commit to it.
However, make it optional.
Don't turn it into funishment,
where people feel like they have to go to this thing
even though they're just not into it,
they're Zoom-ed out, they're an introvert,
and it's just not their bag.
So don't require everybody go
to your social events that are virtual,
but make sure you do offer it as an option
for those people that are craving,
that are missing that social, fun connection.
Number nine, a simple way to make everyone feel connected
is just do a weekly quick question survey.
A quick survey question of everybody.
Share the results with everyone.
It's just a way of making everybody feel
a little more connected and involved.
Number 10, do a weekly recap email message,
or better still, a video message,
of the highlights from the week.
Some CEOs have been doing this very effectively
but it doesn't have to just come from the top.
A weekly video recap of what's happened in your office
for all the people that are working remotely
can be incredibly valuable
to help people feel more connected.
Number 11, have everybody share
their top three wins of the week.
Again, you can do this in a Zoom huddle
on a Friday afternoon
or just by email.
You can compile it somewhere on your intranet site.
But that's a great, simple way
to make sure everybody knows what everyone's working on
and for everyone, again, to feel connected.
And number 12,
since it's so important to be extra, uber intentional
about working as one team
and making everyone feel like
they are part still of one team,
create a fun award to honor an employee each month
who is the best unifier,
the person who is the bridge builder,
who bridges that gap between the home team
and the away team.
For even more ideas,
I've included a link in the description
directly to an article on my website,
www.mikekerr.com,
that has 130-plus tips,
techniques, ideas for adding more fun,
connecting, communicating,
engaging remote virtual employees.
But what are you doing to bridge the gap in your workplace?
Drop a comment in the comments below,
like the video if you like the video,
and please subscribe to the channel.
Join our growing community
as we talk about workplaces that rock.