One, two, three, outing!
Seatti had his third official team outing, and this time it was in Munich! As our team and company are currently growing exponentially, we realized that we need to start realistically organizing our team outings.
And that means we'll meet in places that seem the most logical — where most of our employees are right now. And that meant Munich! But we were absolutely not disappointed because it meant wonderful, snowy Christmas weather, mulled wine and fantastic Bavarian food!
We spent three fun and productive days full of energy in Munich, took up virtually the entire sixth floor of our WeWork, and enjoyed meeting our newest employees and seeing familiar faces again.
But in the midst of laughter and productivity, we've also learned a few things. And since we're happy to be the guinea pigs in this complete remote work environment, we're also excited to share some tips and tricks we've learned to create the ideal outing for remote teams.
1. Work less, talk more
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We understand that it can be very tempting to work on small tasks and the project to-do list when you finally have your colleagues in front of you again: Discuss the latest marketing campaign, fix the latest bug, talk about existing deals. But we recommend trying to stay away from daily tasks.
Because if you're like us and you don't see your colleagues in the office every day, you have to take advantage of the fact that everyone is in the same place at the same time. And that means talking. We're not saying that you should absolutely chat (although we'll say that in point two), but we're saying that you should use the time you have together to have conversations about bigger topics.
On our first day together, for example, we decided to give a presentation from our C-Team about the vision and mission of the company's future. As the year draws to a close, it's a good time to think and look ahead — where do we want to go next year? We also had a long session about design and branding. Creative minds simply work best together in person.
So take your time and use the fact that you're face-to-face. On these days, focus less on all emails or phone calls. You might even want to block your calendar. Just focus on what's important: team building and team cohesion.
2. Take time for catch-ups
And that brings us to our second point: If you're all already together, take the time to exchange ideas. While it's important to have time for important meetings on big topics, it's just as important to use that time for a bit of “bonding.”
Remember that in hybrid or completely remote companies, you can't always see your team in person and have the usual coffee party, benefit from the companies that work in the office. But why is that so beneficial anyway?
Well, it's the kind of conversation that connects and unites people in a team. It is the kind of conversation that turns employees into colleagues and colleagues into teams. Especially for new employees, this is the chance to really get to know the team and the team really get to know them.
We often tend to underestimate the need for a working culture in remote teams. But it's even more important to do this successfully in remote businesses. Employees who work remotely often feel lonely or disconnected. So make sure that all employees are together and take time for each other.
We have taken the time to do non-work-related activities. For example, we went on a Munich Walking Tour in which we combined mulled wine and a walk. We also relied on the tattoo skills of our CPO Johannes and had a tattoo done — right in the middle of WeWork! We showed ourselves photos and videos of our pets, and made photo shoots — everything that goes with Team Bonding!
3. Ensures the integration of new employees
One thing we learn time and time again in our company is the fact that it takes a lot of effort (but it's worth it!) to integrate new employees into a remote company and bring them on board. New employees easily feel ostracized or not so much part of the team. That's no big surprise, considering they may not even have met the entire team yet.
Although we always strive to integrate every new member into the team, we forget that sometimes you have to try a bit harder. With our first team in Essen, we realized that. It suddenly became clear that sociology had crept in — while the newcomers sat on one side of the table, the older employees sat on the other side. The result? We were all unable to communicate properly.
But recognizing these things is what is important to ensure a harmonious and balanced work team. We became aware of this and wanted to make sure that there would be a good mix the next day. We asked the older employees to talk to the newer ones and try to get to know them. For our next Essen team, we made sure that the seating arrangement was mixed and adjusted. We often switched places so that everyone had the opportunity to talk to everyone.
We can't stress enough how difficult onboarding remote teams can be and how much extra effort must be made to make them feel welcomed and part of the team. Team culture is essential — and no effort is too great to achieve it.
