With many teams stuck at home due to the Covid-19 lockdown, I thought it might be useful to look at a number of standard engagement activities and see whether we can turn these into remote team engagement activities instead. I will start publishing a mid-week blog on Wednesday's at 10am for this.
So, let's get started.
#1 A standard engagement activity is to get your team together regularly and take them out for a pint or coffee. The benefits of this include, getting to know your team in a social, relaxed atmosphere and being able to relate to them as individuals rather than just team members. This works both ways - and team members start to connect with each other and their leadership on a deeper more personal level, too.
Teams that know each other well tend to work better - as they have moved past the stages of in-fighting and competition and are now more likely to accept each other, cooperate and genuinely work together. Tuckman's forming–storming–norming–performing model (1965) of how groups develop and what stages they go through, supports this. Tuckman argues that teams need to go through different phases and that this is an inevitable part of how teams mature and grow together to find solutions, tackle problems and deliver results.
Can we do this remotely too?
I would say, within reason, the answer is yes. Technology allows us to get together remotely on video calls with colleagues from across the globe. Many of us do this day in, day out for our standard work meetings. Why not use this same technology for an end of the day pint or coffee? Or a Friday morning bacon or veggie buttie catch-up? The idea is that everyone either buys or makes their own sandwich, gets themselves a coffee or cold drink and then dials into a 'social work video call' to catch up with the team, have a chat, and see how things are going. Even though it might feel strange at first, we can use this to get together in a more social way. To support each other and get to know each other better.
I think the main barrier is to get over the fact that at first it will feel slightly odd - but hopefully with time and practice things will improve. Plus, with more and more families and friends resorting to video calls to stay in touch with each other during the Covid-19 lockdown, this feeling of awkwardness with slowly subside. Families across the world are connecting with the help of technology - and it is not just the younger generations - aunts, uncles and grandparents are getting involved, too, to be able to see their kids and grandkids regularly. I think this will enable a permanent shift in terms of the acceptance of virtual catch ups and will allow us to relax into a social video call for work just like we do when we now attend work video meetings or family video calls. This will become the new normal, I think. Not to replace the face to face catch ups - nothing can replace a real cuddle from grandma, or a pat on the back for a job well done from a colleague - but social video calls will complement the real times we see each other. Time will tell, I guess.
What tools are there to support this?
There are a whole host of tools, such as Microsoft Teams and free tools such as Zoom or WhatsApp that have made it increasingly easy for not only teams but also families and friends to get together virtually and catch up. Zoom is easy to use, the basic plan is free and a Zoom account isn't required to attend a meeting. You only need the app if you are the host. WhatsApp can be used not only on your phone, but on your computer screen too and you can make group calls as well as individual video calls. And then there are of course the likes of Apple Facetime and Facebook Messenger for video calls, including group calls. I am sure most of you will have the technology needed to catch up remotely with others, but if you don't, or if you want to read up a bit more about what is available, I have put together a short guide call ''WFH Quick Guide - behaviours and technology" - it is available free on my website.
As always, it would be great to hear your ideas and thoughts - do you catch up remotely with teams and/ or family and friends already? Has Covid-19 made this more common place in your world? I look forward to hearing from you.
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