For many virtual team managers, it can feel like a tall order to rally remote employees around a common company culture and foster a genuine sense of unity. Fortunately, even for teams that have never met in person, it’s possible to generate a feeling of cohesion with enough sustained effort over time. From asking all employees to use the same branded virtual office background to hosting online events that all team members can attend to providing digital platforms for employee chats and more, there are several steps that may help your remote employees to feel connected and closer to one another. Here are a few of the top pointers you could start implementing now.
Develope Weekly Team Rituals
Just as you may be able to turn having the same custom google meet background into a team ritual, so, too, can you develop other weekly rituals to give your remote employees a chance to connect. For instance, you could start hosting:
- Virtual coffee hour every morning
- Virtual happy hour once a week
- Zoom team lunches at least once or twice per week, complete with gift cards for food so each employee can purchase a lunch on the company’s dime
- Remote game nights and friendly team competitions
Facilitate Virtual Watercooler Dialogue
In addition to hosting weekly events and requiring that all team members download the same Microsoft teams virtual background, another move that can help your workers feel connected is facilitating online dialogue. You may choose to:
- Offer employees flexible work schedules to allow them time to reach out to, and talk with, their remote coworkers
- Set up a company-specific online chat and messaging platform where remote workers can start to get to know each other
- Send out team messages via email regularly to create a sense of unity and cohesion
Although you may not be able to create a sense of team cohesion overnight, with enough dedication, you can build up a healthy culture over time. Try to:
- Let all your employees know about the company’s vision, values, mission, expected protocols, goals, and code of ethics to keep everyone on the same page and to help ensure a cohesive culture;
- Ensure your company has functional and effective digital communication channels to allow all employees to get to know one another;
- Establish fun team rituals, such as virtual weekly happy hours, that can allow the team to unwind and bond in a relaxed setting outside of work hours;
- Hire strong leadership to helm the team and provide constructive feedback that makes each remote employee feel valued;
- Consider setting up opportunities for employees to meet with each other and with managers in person once in a while, if possible.
When the entire team works remotely, it may feel difficult, if not nearly impossible, to create a true sense of unity and cohesion among the workers. Thankfully, nothing could be farther from the truth. Even if your company is built around a fully remote model, you can still foster a healthy sense of unity and a thriving company culture by approaching the matter rationally and strategically. Setting up digital communication channels, hosting fun team events, and more are steps that can allow your employees to get to know each other and work towards strengthening the company over time.