We are nearing the end of the pandemic. Although it’s still a threat, with recent developments and precautions, it’s much less of a problem than it was two years ago. And of course, the world is going back to normal.
But the things that the pandemic has changed seem to be prolonging to the new normal that the world is walking towards and the way we work is never going to be the same. Remote and hybrid work models are becoming the defining features of the new era and new challenges await businesses.
One thing that challenged us the most was the obstacles before having regular communication with our people. Although video conferencing has allowed us to overcome this problem to some extent, the lack of communication between employees was clear.
Considering that communication is the most essential part of building a successful team, team leaders faced the difficulty of keeping things together. Of course, online meetings were opportunities to reconnect with our co-workers and nourish the team spirit that we all needed. But, obligatory meetings where people get together to discuss business will not cut it.
As remote workers, people lack the casual conversations they used to have when they were in the office. The times that people encounter a random colleague and chit-chat for a bit, the times that people go for a coffee in the lunch break are long gone and it definitely took its toll on the relationships within the company.
So how can businesses tackle this issue and find a solution that goes well with the remote working era? In this article, we are discussing the new socializing mechanism, casual online catchups, and how to use it to better teamwork for remote workers.
What is a Casual Online Catchup?
It’s just as the name suggests, a casual online catchup with your team members through an online medium. Video conferencing seems to be the most optimum option for this purpose as it’s simple but effective.
What makes these catch-ups casual is discussing anything but business with your co-workers. Since it’s no longer possible for remote working teams to casually get together and have a fun chit-chat in the office with their team members, casual online catch-ups are necessary to fill this hole.
The time when the catchup is held or how long it takes shouldn’t be defined on strict terms. Sure, there has to be planning made beforehand to fit with people’s schedules but other than that it should be a process left to its natural flow.
Learn about your team members’ life, ask them how they spend a day, what are their short-term plans for their life, what movie they saw last or just talk about the daily matters. Establishing a communication channel with your team members in addition to the regular job-related one can help both parties to learn about their colleagues.
How Can Casual Online Catchup Help?
There’s no need to discuss whether communicating with your teammates is beneficial or not, but it’s important to understand how it can help your business to go further.
1. Casual Online Catchup Improves the Trust
In its simplest sense, learning about each other helps team members to build trust between them. It doesn’t have to be your deepest secrets that you need to share to form a trusting relationship; even talking about your day, your interests, or your daily problems can help you to understand each other more.
2. Casual Online Catchup Nurtures the Team Spirit
Most of the time, teams are founded based on people’s talent and dedication and it’s usually disregarded whether these people can actually get along or not. Casual catch-ups can be the ultimate tool to understand that.
As people start to learn about each other more, they develop a sense of familiarity with each other which is essential to build a team spirit among members. Team spirit heavily rides on the open communication between its members and casual catch-ups can fulfill this role properly.
3. Casual Online Catchup Furthers the Sense of Belonging
It’s already difficult to make remote workers feel belonged to the company since they don’t spend their time in an office. But there are ways to ensure it even under remote working conditions.
With casual catch-ups, as people spend more time together, team members will start developing personal relationships with their company aside from their job-related ones. People care about the people they work together with and whether they can get along with them or have a friendship with them can definitely increase their sense of belonging towards the company.
Therefore, by organizing casual catch-ups with your team members, you can help them to feel more belonged to your business.
In summary, building communication with remote workers is a challenge and it can turn into a problem if not taken care of. In accordance with the remote work model, casual online catch-ups can provide businesses to build trusting communication between their employees.
So don’t procrastinate any longer, subscribe to OctaMeet to start developing communication with your remote workers for a better future for your company.
