The number of staff members working remotely has been increasing even before the COVID-19 crisis. U.S census data showed 5.2% of workers (8 million people) worked completely from home in 2017 and that number has consistently continued to rise. Now that all non-essential employees are working from home and are away from their teams, many people are asking, how do you maintain a sense of connection with your coworkers? We have compiled a list of ideas to cultivate team energy and avoid losing a connection with your staff.

Communicate often with team calls and virtual meetings. By now, you have likely incorporated video conferencing technology to your resources. Forbes stresses the importance of maintaining productivity and engagement of team members through WAR (Weekly Action Review) to ensure everyone is on the same page. Plan consistent meetings with updates to current projects, opportunities for team members to share what they are working on and general check-ins to make sure your staff is staying motivated.

Schedule coffee and lunch breaks as a team. Evidence has shown that small breaks can boost productivity so take some time with your group to break from their daily work. Encourage chat about how they are feeling or focus on lighter topics like the latest binge-watching craze. Play a virtual icebreaker to encourage socialization within your team. Plan a team ‘happy hour’ to talk about how the week went and plans for the following week while winding down with an adult beverage.

Have a little fun by including employee pets on virtual meetings, sharing children’s artwork or planning a meeting ‘dress code’ with staff college or favorite concert t-shirts. A little laughter in your meeting can go a long way and establishing personal connections can elevate your team’s connection to one another.

Start a virtual chat for employees to connect on topics they are passionate about such as books and reading, cooking, movies or exercise. Encouraging your staff to connect on non-work-related topics can forge new connections and inspire them to learn more about each other. When an employee talks about why they love their job they usually mention they enjoy working with their co-workers. These connections with staff cultivate loyalty for their company.

Offer ideas and tools to help employees adjust to a work from home lifestyle. Send ideas on setting up an office space and creating a realistic schedule. Invite staff members to share their favorite playlist and tactics for avoiding distractions. Suggest strategies to parents who might have school-aged children at home who need attention during the day. The Muse offers great tips on staying productive while working from home.

Encourage some daily exercise or movement for your staff. Even 30 minutes of movement can be very beneficial to one’s physical and mental health. Send links and ideas to get people moving during the day such as an online yoga class, a plank contest or start an internal ‘See 10 Do 10’ pushup challenge.

Most importantly, be there for your staff. The stress of current events, family obligations and feeling disconnected to the work team they are used to seeing every day can be very taxing. If your company offers benefits to help with emotional and mental health, now is a good time to remind your team to take advantage of them. Employees will remember when you made their safety and wellness a priority and it will strengthen their commitment to the company and their work.

The PharmaOut team remains committed to doing our part to fight COVID-19 and help keep our families safe. Our team of expert recruiters and consultants have years of experience to assist our clients in successfully continuing their business with our staffing , consulting and HR services. Please contact us if you would like to discuss how PharmaOut can be your strategic partner.

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