More than two years ago I started my journey as an IT Project Manager. A while before COVID outbreak, the company I worked for used hybrid approach (but with a focus on remote work). After March 2020, I started working remotely almost all the time.
As a prior office attender that mindset change was a bit challenging at first. I'm a person who cares about relationships with my team members and needs face-to-face contact.
I couldn't imagine building a friendly atmosphere online but I learnt some techniques.
Seeing each other during meetings is a game changer. It enables you to feel like you're in the same room, you can see reactions and read emotions on your team members' faces. It might also make you feel like you're not talking to yourself.
Whenever you communicate on chat, don't analyse too much what the other person wrote. For example, why the other person didn't use emoji while talking to you - it doesn't necessarily mean that they're mad at you or something. Instead try to think that if this person would be mad at you, they would've probably told you that!
Do you miss playing on PlayStation at the office or gossiping over coffee with your colleagues? Maybe a good solution is to book a slot in a calendar for your team and meet remotely for a coffee or play some games online. Use RemoteFun to play custom version of Monopoly , set up a timer and spend a nice 30 minutes with your team making them go bankrupt.
Since the pandemic started, how many people in your company went through the onboarding process remotely? Do you know them? Do the other team members know them? I think you could use a tool to break the ice here - and this tool is FunIceBreaker! In just 15 min you will have a chance to get to know your teammates better!
Building relationships with your team is a real challenge and a very long process. How about a team building exercise? Do you know this Polish show 'Awantura o kasę' or New Zealand version 'Cash battle'? FunTeamBidding is all about building strong team connections through casual yet competitive team game.
The reason we created RemoteFun is that we know how important relationships are for the success of a company.
The platform is dedicated for people who lead their teams remotely, care about their well-being and friendly atmosphere at work.