3 Ways to Connect to your Team When Working Remotely!

It's important to stay connected while working remotely. Here are some ways the Cat's Cove team stays connected!

Can you relate to any of these statements?

• It’s been weeks since you’ve been in the office.

• You are starting to forget why the inside jokes with your coworkers were funny.

• You are feeling disconnected.

• Everything work-related feels a wee bit sterile.

We get it.

As the weeks of the shut-down have worn on, we’ve been starting to feel it, too.

Lucky for us, we run a communications company, so we did what we do best and communicated our feelings to the team. As a result, we’ve started using a few tips and tricks that have really helped our team connection.

In fact, they are working so well, we thought other organizations might appreciate them, too!

Friday afternoon games

Our last WIP of the week is at the end of the day on Fridays. We’ve moved away from actual business chat and started focusing on team building.

In the calendar it’s called “Pints ‘n tea meeting” just to make sure everyone is clear on the goals.

Our favourite part of the meeting? The games.

The games are all remote digital games that have some sort of pictionary or charades bent. We connect on Zoom, and the meeting host shares their screen.

Here are some of our favourites:

• Skribbl.io

• Kahoot.it

• Fishbowl-game.com

Demerit Points and Gold Stars

We stole this idea straight from Gretchen Rubin. Every Friday, during our Pints ‘n Tea meeting, we take a moment to acknowledge someone or something awesome from the week, and one thing that we struggled with or learned from.

The demerits help us connect. The gold stars help us celebrate.

Gifs

Gifs are the absolute best. Why? Because they take a feeling or idea and amplify it.

Here are a couple of examples:

• Not sure how to respond to that awkward critical text? Find a gif to break the tension. Might we suggest something from The Office or starring Kevin Hart, perhaps?

• A team member just messaged you to say they got off the best client call they’ve ever had? Find a gif to celebrate with them. The more dancing unicorns, dancing kittens and rainbows, the better.

We’ve had entire conversations through gifs and it always lightens the mood.

We’d love to hear some of the things you are doing to help keep your remote team connected. Comment below and let us know!