The way we work has changed enormously. Hybrid work is slowly becoming the new standard. At the same time, the changeover model is becoming increasingly popular among employees and companies. However, there is often concern that there will be social isolation in the home office and in the office. But that doesn't have to be the case! Here are a few tips on how you can significantly increase team cohesion with informal communication!
Key facts
- In order to strengthen team cohesion, informal communication is important for the success of teams.
- Remote work can promote social isolation. Informal exchanges can help improve team productivity by 33%.
- Tips and routines can help create opportunities for speech and break down barriers.
- Desk sharing software also helps you to meet in the office to work together on projects or to exchange ideas informally. This promotes cross-departmental team collaboration.
Does hybrid work lead to social isolation?
After several years of the pandemic, many employees have become accustomed to working from home and a certain degree of “isolation.” When it comes to introducing and optimizing hybrid work works, but many employees notice that informal exchange is often neglected.
According to a study by the Frauenhofer Institute, 44% of respondents feel lonelier working from home than in the office. Although many employees highly appreciate the benefits of hybrid work, there is no opportunity for informal exchange and concrete reasons from the employer, again back to the office to come. New structures must therefore be created to counteract this feeling.
How informal discussions strengthen a sense of community within the team
From a business perspective, informal exchange is unfortunately often regarded as a “waste of time.” The structured exchange between each other helps in hybrid working model to strengthen the team and promote team spirit.
An investigation of MIT Media Lab shows that teams that regularly exchange ideas are a third more productive. Informal communication therefore helps to promote creativity and reduce the workload. But how can the sense of community in teams be structurally strengthened?
Fostering team spirit: creating structures for informal communication
Even though we're talking about informal exchange, which usually takes place spontaneously, a hybrid working environment requires more structure. This means that employees must be actively given space and time to exchange ideas. Through targeted structures, informal discussions can also take place in the digital space and thus promote the success of teams:
Set up platforms for informal communication
Every company has a chat program such as Microsoft Teams for organization and communication. Here, employees can exchange ideas with each other and, of course, talk to each other privately.
In order to set up the appropriate framework for informal communication, it helps to set up channels or teams that are deliberately intended for informal exchange. Depending on team spirit and sense of community, employees can network, plan events or simply share the funny cat gif.
Plan joint breaks
Even if not everyone is sitting at the same table anymore, a ritual can be set up on a Friday afternoon, for example. Why not have lunch together digitally? Set up a very informal invite where employees can join with one click.
Set aside more time for meetings
In the past, people kept talking for 5 minutes after meetings before everyone returned to their usual place. In a hybrid environment, this is only possible to a limited extent. Usually only when hybrid meetings take place.
Therefore, plan more time before and after the meeting. An “open-door mentality” in order to consciously take time for private exchange is essential.
Team events & offsites
If you want to enormously strengthen team cohesion and team spirit, this is a good idea Team building on. Here you can consciously take time to improve team collaboration. For example, plan a pub quizzes, In which individual departments are randomly mixed up and let them test their knowledge on various subject areas together.
If you want to work on the future roadmap, organize workshops and also strengthen social interaction in the team, offsites are ideal. Here you can consciously take time for important, strategic topics and bring the entire team together in one place.
Sure, something like this costs, but we at Seatti can only tell you that it's really worth it. Have a look at our testimonials from our offsites in Schliersee, Madrid or Visselhövede on. For us, it is the best way to promote team cohesion and grow together as a company.
Strengthen team collaboration: With Seatti as a booking system, it works!
Interpersonal contact is particularly important so that hybrid work does not lead to isolation! Informal communication makes your team emerge stronger and increase productivity. So that this also works in everyday life, we at Seatti have not only the classic Workplace booking Also our Site overview integrated into our booking software.
Here, employees can see at a glance who will be in the office and when and make a conscious appointment for projects or simply to work together. In this way, you can improve collaboration and promote exchange with each other in no time at all.
