How To Connect With Your Distributed Workforce

This article was originally published on NisonCo, and appears here with permission.

COVID-19 has caused many business disruptions and led to many companies moving their teams from in-office setups to working from home. While many companies are comfortable in this space, others can be struggling to keep their team members connected and engaged across the digital divide. Try these four strategies to keep your team’s morale and collaboration high even while working from home.

4 Tips for Keeping a Work From Home Team Connected

1. Encourage Video Calls

Do you have a regular weekly meeting that is hosted over the phone? Try switching things up and encouraging a video call instead. Software like UberConference or Zoom helps you see your team’s smiling faces and keep a sense of community alive.

2. Increase Collaboration

While your teams may be able to work in a silo, it doesn’t mean that’s a good idea. Make sure your employees have access to team collaboration software that will allow them to communicate seamlessly and share ideas, images, digital blackboards, and more. While you can’t get into the office to draw and map out ideas on your tablet or screen in front of co-workers in real-time, you can still share these ideas back and forth with many mainstream programs.

3. Host Social Events

While video calls about work are great, they can’t replace water cooler conversation and casual socialization in the physical office. Luckily there are programs like Icebreaker that pair co-workers up to talk about personal interests and help them get to know each other better. We even use Jackbox Games to hang with co-workers after work for a digital game happy hour.

4. Set Up a Digital Mixer

In addition to keeping your team connected during COVID-19, how are your connections with your partners staying strong? Consider hosting a digital mixer to help people mingle online since almost all major conferences and events were either canceled or indefinitely delayed this year. NisonCo hosts a monthly mixer and we encourage you to join in on the fun!

There are many ways to keep a distributed team connected and safe during COVID-19. What other strategies has your company found success with? Let us know on social media!

Read the original Article on NisonCo.

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