Career TEAM’s Values in Action – We are a team with family values.
Creating and Sustaining Person-to-Person Connections, Virtually
With the pivot to virtual, remote operations, most employees work with colleagues and customers via phone or email, and face-to-face interactions are via a Zoom box. Keeping the organizational culture thriving is an ongoing, worthwhile task in this new work environment. Culture is the glue the binds, the power that transforms, and the engine to innovate. Culture draws staff in and allows them to understand that they matter and the why to their work. In fact, an employee who feels engaged and inspired is 125 percent more productive than the satisfied staffer (Bain & Company’s Time. Talent. Energy).
Career TEAM’s Pierce County office keeps those connections alive by finding ways to connect person-to-person, even virtually. We let our hair down, have some fun, and remind each other that we are still here for each other even though we are not in the same room. These activities are our way of putting our value of “we are a team with family values” into action. Here are three examples that keep our connections strong:
- Friday dance parties via Zoom: 4:50 pm on Friday, the song is ready, staff with family, friends, and fur babies log-in. The song is played, and we dance, laugh, and then wish everyone well. It’s a wonderful way to end the work week and start the weekend. It refreshes the mind and the heart.
- Celebrate important days such as birthdays with a zoom sing along. If you haven’t tried to sing as a group on zoom, it’s not easy. We have a new appreciation for the musical artists who do. Remembering birthdays reminds staff that they are valued and appreciated, and we SEE them. It’s easy for some team members to fade into the background in the virtual world, make sure you see all staff.
- Encourage breaktimes with virtual coffee breaks, use gchat function, or don’t end a zoom meeting to let people gather afterwards to talk. In the office, we all had those hallway chats and watercooler moments that don’t happen without effort in the virtual, remote world. Creating opportunities for staff to learn about each other, such as favorite teams, foods, and hobbies, helps energize connections and support building professional rapport, which can come in handy later when staff needs to get a task done together.
Creating and nurturing connections with and amongst your staff is not time wasted – it is time well spent. While leaders hold the responsibility for setting the stage for organizational culture, each staff can do their part to put culture into action. If you are a leader, how do you help your team connect? If you are staff, what can you do to nurture connections?