To be honest, I just want to spill all the juice from Career Buddy’s Q3 work staycation that was held in the second week of July. How else can I relive the 4-days retreat when tech bros and sis have not released the time machine they promised us with Hollywood thrillers? And while we navigated work and fun life together as a team during the four days, I figured out you could also use some tips for your remote teams.
Many thanks to COVID-19; social distancing was a problem at first, but the world later discovered the blessing called remote work. Virtual meetings were already a thing, pre-lockdown, but the pandemic popularized them and made us see how they were equally efficient alternatives to traditional work culture. And though there are CEOs and even employees who would instead remain on-site, there is no doubt that remote work has come to stay.
Oga Elon Musk left the group chat and blocked me as admin.
One of the thrills of working from home is building your company’s brand, your own career, and achieving productivity together with a team, without daily physical contact. However, the potency of physical meetings cannot be sidelined. In this anonymously written article, Corporate Meeting Partner explains three benefits of physical meetings; more ideas are generated, objectives and goals are communicated more clearly, and there is more focus from team members. And in this article on our blog, we mentioned that socializing outside the office is one of the best practices for building teamwork. But here, I will be scratching my week-long itch to tell you about our staycation, while highlighting the benefits of physical meetings and the best tips to adopt for your own remote team.
Remote meeting tools do very little justice to reality
Call it personality shock if you want to, but I was not only startled to see how differently my coworkers look from the mental picture their voices and display pictures had painted, but it was also exciting to see them beyond their official personalities. Beyond sales and growth, there is the zestful Leelee who does magic with our figures and effortlessly lits the room. There is the quick-witted and boisterous trio of Motunrayo, Onyinye, and Precious who deftly handle the task of meeting KPIs, and at the same time make team bonding worth the while. There is Sayo with the compact weekly reports on google meet, who dramatically rolls her eyes when her name is mixed with “Seye”. And if you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you should know that Seye from Career Buddy is as genial and affable as she appears in your mail.
Although you have to maintain proper and courteous work relationships with your colleagues and leave no room for mundanity, knowing their personalities outside work helps to establish friendlier channels of communication, improve understanding, and break down any barriers of prejudgment or mistrust between team members. Authenticity and humanity breed a healthier work environment and help team members collaborate more.
Have physical team and individual meetings to enhance clear communication
One of the highlights of the retreat was employees’ one-on-one meetings with the head of People and Culture, Ifeoma. With the benefit of a secluded and comfortable meeting spot, each team member got to sit with her in their own time to review the previous quarter, exchange ideas, and suggest the best work strategies for the coming quarter. The ambiance provided room for open and relaxed conversations. We also had our weekly all-hands team meeting, for the first time in a long while, outside the walls of a virtual space, and it was easier to explain complicated concepts and unclear opinions. Having conversations on team goals within the same environment further pronounced our collaborative efforts.
Physical meetings enhance focus and a clear understanding of team objectives and goals. You get to read facial and body expressions which encourage smooth communication and comprehension. The remote work system gives each team member different experiences, even though everyone is governed and protected by the same company culture and employee benefits. Unlike companies that work fully on-site, remote teams do not share similar electricity and internet systems, and daily routines might even differ, depending on what works best for each person. During your physical meetings, team members share the same work logistics, and this helps association and teamwork as everyone can work on the same rhythm.
Invest in logistics for a remarkable experience
Nothing helps productivity than great equipment and facilities. For your remote team, invest resources in getting the most conducive space possible, when planning your staycation. Team members are coming together for a couple of days to work, hold strategic meetings, and would also relax, have fun, and live their normal daily lives. Pay attention to every detail in logistics; smart work spaces with adequate and working power surges, comfortable seats, and tables, couches for relaxation and even work, power supply, rooms for sub-team meetings, food, bedrooms, restrooms, internet access, and more. In fact, remember to consider ease of transportation and distance when choosing a venue. If you would be taking team members from their individual spaces to meet, work, and spend their days in a different place, then it should be an experience that would reflect positively on their work and personal lives.
Create room for fun
Reminiscing our work-staycation would be incomplete without the breaks in-between work, chats during meals, leisure time, and game nights. Imagine how refreshing it will be to see your coworkers outside the robotics of the corporate environment. Fun time at the workplace encourages creativity, collaboration, and productivity, and helps team members understand each other and appreciate their differences. Without doubts, you all return home knowing with a better understanding of how to work together to achieve common goals.
Bottom Line
Remote work is fast becoming the new normal in the career world. But humans are not machines; we are naturally communal, and there should be room for physical interactions once in a while. And who says it has to be all work and no play? Did you attend our last house party (Work-it-out with Career Buddy)? If not, anticipate the next one. Career Buddy team members would get to meet again -without our laptops, of course- and you can share that space with us.
Until then, let’s talk: have you had any staycation in your remote team? How did it go? What practices would you adopt for the next one?