It’s possible, and necessary, to build employee relationships in both workspaces
I heard the story of an employee who, during a particularly stressful time for her company, slipped into her co-workers’ offices and affixed googly eyes to a stapler or bookshelf, to the desk phone or above a door jamb.
Over the course of a few weeks, more eyeballs appeared and employees noticed. The prank was eventually brought up in a staff meeting. Everyone laughed and disavowed knowledge, but there was water cooler chitchat about it for weeks, everyone trying to figure out the culprit.
Fun office shenanigans like that can help bond employees or departments that are stressed and need a little levity. It’s no secret that when employees build strong relationships, it usually equates to successful workplace teams. We all want that. But when everyone is working across town from each other, or in different cities, it’s tough to forge that type of communal bond.
Building robust virtual relationships is notoriously difficult. Without the benefit of popping into an employee’s office and asking if they saw the new dog park that opened, or if they caught the baseball game Friday night, how are we ever supposed to build teams of folks who know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and even more importantly, earn each other’s trust?
TAKE TIME TO MAKE TIME
If you go to a conference, business meeting or vacation in another employee’s city, let them know you’ll be close by and suggest coffee or lunch, or perhaps a cocktail after hours. It may feel awkward at first, but it’s never wrong to let colleagues know you’d like to get to know them a little better.
Of course, you’ll talk about work at the beginning of this business date, but conversations naturally morph into more personal topics. That’s when you start getting to know the real person. And if you’re the boss, encourage your staff to do the same. Tacking on the cost of an extra hotel night’s stay so two employees can get together socially can reap priceless benefits.
WRITE CLEARLY
This sounds like a no-brainer, but when so much of our communication is via email or text, it’s easy to not be understood. Hasn’t everyone tried to make a small joke via email that didn’t land well with others?
Without accompanying facial expressions or verbal inflection, it’s difficult to decipher another person’s tone, especially when you don’t know them well. In some companies, it’s permissible to use emojis to help a message receiver understand that there’s some sarcasm in a message, or that a quip is a joke. That can help, but know your company’s policy before adding a thumbs up or an eye roll.
Which goes along with . . .
SOFTEN YOUR MESSAGE
First thing on a Monday morning, it’s uncouth to pop into the office of a coworker you haven’t seen in three weeks and start with, “Do you have the spreadsheet I asked for on Friday?” No, it’s too curt.
We generally begin those types of conversations with something looser like, “Hey, how was your weekend?” So don’t do it via email or Slack, either. Start with, “Hey I heard you guys got some snow. Did you spend your weekend shoveling?” Those types of questions invite personal responses. There’s plenty of time for work-related queries, but scant few opportunities for developing interpersonal relationships.
Team building isn’t easy in person and can be even more arduous virtually, but starting a staff meeting with a pleasantry is a much better way to put everyone at ease, whether it’s from the board room or the living room. And making the effort is always worth it.
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