The world of work has changed dramatically due to the pandemic. Nobody could have predicted the last few year’s events. Social distancing, lockdowns, and self-isolation quickly became the new normal, and as a result, businesses and companies around the world encouraged their employees to work from home.
For many people, this new world of remote work has been challenging and making the transition from in-person work to fully remote, to hybrid working has been a learning curve for everyone.
As a result, remote teams who interact virtually may feel less engaged with their roles and may have less of a connection with their company, which could severely affect performance and productivity. Other significant changes such as re-structuring or furloughed staff may have had a dramatic impact in these two key areas.
Whether you're working completely remotely or adopting a hybrid working model, to keep up with this fast-changing future, many leaders are now recognising that they must reconnect teams. It’s likely that your organisation will have to make some changes to protocol, and there are probably some new social norms to consider and changes in team culture. Chances are, now that employees have returned to work, the environment is not the same as when they left it.
The detachment caused by remote working could make some people feel a little apprehensive about returning to the office. Others, however, will be keen to reconnect and build up those relationships. Regardless of which category your team members fall into, exciting and engaging team experiences can really help to break the ice and make that enjoyable as possible.
To help employees reconnect and learn from each other through open communication, it is important to schedule a workshop to align on expectations and ways of communicating. The workplace may have returned to ‘normal’ again but for many organisations this is a fresh start and a chance to establish a new culture of collaboration and focus on productivity.
This workshop can be a full day or two days depending on a variety of factors, but we recommend that it should include the following:
This will enable employees to reflect on their personal experiences, including how they were affected during the pandemic, how they’ve been coping with the new environment, as well as any productivity or collaborative issues they’re experiencing.
It is critical to create an environment that protects emotional safety and well-being to enable people to be honest. If you can do that, they’ll leave with a better understanding of each other and an appreciation for each others individual circumstances, and you’ll have a clear pathway to increased performance.
It is also important to discuss how the organisation has learned from the pandemic and what improvements could be made to prepare in the event of similar things happening in the future.
In periods of uncertainty, it is even more important to give people updates on the business. Employees will expect reassurance and certainty of their roles during this financial crisis, which you may or may not be able to give. Be mindful to draw attention to the positives to help to remind the team of their strengths and foster motivation. If you stay silent, your team will start to form ideas and create stories of what is going on rather than the actual facts.
Teams may well find they no longer feel like “one team”. People can start to feel disconnected and lose that original sense of team cohesion they once had.
To heal any divisions that distance has created, it is important to organise a team social event, face-to-face or virtually, to allow people to reconnect, boost well-being and rebuild the social glue.
Leaders should also consider putting together a team social event calendar for the year. Bringing in regular, fun, themed away days can help keep communication alive, relationships fresh and engagement high.
Over time, the boost to company morale and the improved company culture will have everyone on-board and working towards the goals of the company, creating not only a more productive workforce but your organisation an employer of choice.
Establishing new goals is essential. If you’re adopting a hybrid model then remote employees will have the freedom to work when and where they want, so having a set goal and a structured timeline means that they have direction. Plus, remote employees may be losing sight of the bigger picture, so common objectives can unite and engage people collectively.
Make sure you set expectations and your team members are clear about how you will work together remotely and how you will keep each other updated to avoid isolation. Be clear about mutual expectations and focus on results rather than activity, to avoid micromanaging.
Team meetings should also take on more prominence, and a full calendar of team meetings should be established, where people can realign on a daily or weekly basis.
Consistency will not only help existing team members, but it will also support the integration of new people. It’s difficult joining a new company at the best of times, but the pandemic has certainly caused many companies to re-evaluate their on-boarding processes.
GRA specialises in creating tailored solutions for our customers, supporting organisations to achieve their team development objectives, create sustainable behaviour change in team culture and enhance organisational performance by improving team leadership.
We would love to arrange a call or meeting with you to understand the development needs for your teams so that we can propose a solution that will achieve maximum impact. Please call us on 01962 779911 or email us at enquiries@gra.uk.com.
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