7 ways to create connection in the workplace

• Increased engagement
• Increased productivity
• Increased retention
  
• Higher collaboration rates
  
• Higher workplace satisfaction
  
• Better mental health of employees
  

Are these things your organisation would love?  I’m sure the answer is an emphatic yes!  So, how can you facilitate a culture of connection at your workplace whether your people are in the office, at home or a mixture of both?

With the ‘new normal’ we find ourselves in with remote and hybrid workplaces, being intentional about creating connection is critical. So often in our pre covid face-to-face environments, many opportunities to connect happened by default. Now more than ever, we need to create these opportunities by design, intentionally focusing on how we can create meaningful connections in the workplace.

Here are our top tips to bring your teams together face to face and virtually.

Ask your team to each hand write a letter or card to someone in the organisation that they are grateful for and explain why.  This exercise is quick, simple, cheap and so effective.  Plus, positive effects of this act of kindness is felt by both the recipient and the sender.  

Virtual tip - Try using a platform such as Canva to create your card and send via email, SMS or any of your preferred communication channels!

Ask your people to describe how they have lived the company values in the past year.  A connected organisation is one that is guided by its company purpose and values and if your people are personally aligned to the company values then they will be more engaged and more invested in the success of everyone involved.

‍Virtual tip - This can be run as a round robin virtually. Try using a tool such as ‘Wheel of Names’ to determine who goes first.

Encourage your team to share one thing they’re excited to learn in the next year.  Whether it’s at work or home, their answer will give you insight into how you can support their development, nurture their drive and help them achieve their goals.

‍Virtual tip - Use a virtual whiteboard such as Zoom, Miro or Jam Boards to collate the answers. Encourage the use of photos and imagery to elevate the sharing!

Invite your team to ask the CEO, Director or Senior Leadership team any question they want about the organisation.  Assure your employees that it’s a judgement-free zone and that they can ask anything, even if it inspires debate.  Create the right environment and you might just discover some amazing ideas, hidden talents and identify huge potential.  Plus, it’s a great way to strengthen your vision and strategies with the whole workforce.

‍Virtual tips - Use a tool such as Mentimeter to ask the questions. A QR code or link can also be sent prior to the session to give everyone time to prepare their thoughts.

Pre-Covid we would have recommended that you encourage your team to share what they love about their culture by bringing in a dish that represents their heritage for a mouth watering morning tea.  But, with food sharing now something of a no-no you could organise a Recipe Swap!  Ask the team to get creative and include photos of them preparing and enjoying the dishes at home.

‍Virtual tips -  This activity is perfectly translated to virtual as you can email or group chat the recipes and the photos. Alternatively, you could investigate ordering the dishes ready made from a restaurant and organise a food delivery service to deliver them to your employees!

Ask everyone to wear an item that represents them - it could be a sports jersey, a favourite band t-shirt, an item of clothing they’ve hand-made or a significant item from their travels.  Let them know that it can be anything they like that expresses who they are.  Then organise an activity where everyone gets to explain to the team their item and why it represents them.

‍Virtual tip - This activity is perfect in the office or virtually.

Allocate time as a team to listen and learn about each other on a personal level. We’ve put together a few below to get you started. You could use the list of questions provided below to get you started or you could ask your team to create their own and add them to a shared document. Think of a fun way to choose who answers which question - roll a dice, pick a name out of a hat or go in alphabetical order.

• What are you most proud of?
• What was your dream job when you were a child?
• What is the failure that you most cherish? Why?
  
• What is the most valuable thing that you own?
  
• How would you describe a perfect day?
  
• If you could go back five or ten years in your life, what advice would you give yourself?
  
• If you wrote a book, what would it be about and what would the title be?
  
• If you could be any age for a week, what age would you be and why?
  
• What experiences have most shaped who you are today?
  
• If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
  

Which ones do you think would be worthwhile introducing to your organisation? Ready to try one? Be sure to snap a picture of your team connecting and don’t forget to tag us in the post!