For decades, surveys have shown that colleagues who feel well connected are happier and work more efficiently and productively. However, building strong communities in the workplace is a challenge that many employers have struggled with over the years. This challenge has been made even more difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many companies that once relied on informal communication in the workplace to build bonds between teams to switch to a working from home model where this is no longer possible. This article will analyze a few techniques that some companies have used before and during the pandemic to build bonds between team members and ensure that all of their staff are as happy and productive as they can possibly be.
Schedule downtime into the day
Working in a room alone for 8 hours a day can be a very isolating process, particularly for workers who don’t have any time to bond with their colleagues in an informal way. Allowing these bonds to build in the first place may require workers to spend a certain proportion of meetings on what may seem like ‘pointless chit-chat’ in reality though, this type of conversation has a very important purpose. It is these quick chats and exchanges that establish, build and maintain bonds between workers. These types of chats are particularly essential during conversations between different departments or in any meetings involving people who have recently joined the business who may not otherwise have a chance to talk to their colleagues. The time invested in this type of communication will pay dividends further down the line.
Use tools to save time
Busywork that is time consuming, confusing and productive can kill morale and make it hard for workers to grow and enjoy their jobs. Thankfully, there are now a large number of platforms that can streamline the type of work that lowers worker engagement and productivity. A good example is a contract management platform such as https://precisely.se/hich puts workers in control of the contracts that they have to manage. It also makes it easy to retrieve them quickly and to set up any new businesses that a company is contracting with. By giving workers the tools that they need to be effective, companies can make a huge difference to worker engagement levels.