We reached out to our audience this month and asked them, “What virtual meeting tips have you found particularly helpful over the last few months if you’ve switched to a remote work environment as a result of COVID?” We received an overwhelming response and we are excited to share so everyone can learn from one another’s personal experiences.
As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of overlap with multiple people sharing the same tip. The focus of this post is around one of those tips. It speaks volumes that this was one of the most submitted tips:
Make Time for Chit Chat!
A few of the submissions that suggested this tip:
“Budget for time at the beginning of a call for a little bit of nonsense! Let the jokes roll… let them chit chat a bit before diving in. Folks are missing the daily interactions we once had, so share this time with them.”
– Amber at National General Insurance
“Build in time for chatting outside of the business topic. This has been a stress reliever and makes my team with children included feel valued.”
– Rebecca at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City
“Take time in the meetings to talk common, everyday things with people, catch up on what is new with them. Meetings can be very impersonal and begin to make people become disengaged.”
– Terri at University of Montana
“Use icebreakers! Ask people how they are doing before jumping into subject matter.”
– Larisa at ORS Medco
Many people went from spending most of their waking hours with their coworkers; and that changed almost overnight and people are left with somewhat of a void. According to Next Level Performance, businesses benefit from employees having meaningful relationships within the workplace. Social dynamics need to exist to build a solid foundation and have truly engaged employees.
So, go ahead and bring the watercooler talk into your next meeting. Or perhaps, schedule a virtual happy hour, turn on your webcams, and encourage folks to include their spouses, children, and you can’t forget about our furry four-legged friends!
How have you been keeping up with maintaining and building personal work relationships among your team? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!