Give your team a virtual hug on National Hugging Day

In 2022, it might seem strange to write a blog about team-building on National Hugging Day.  Two years of a pandemic airborne virus has made us rightly cautious about hugging family and close friends, let alone colleagues.

But human connection is the biggest thing we’re all missing out on as we sit alone at our home desks. So I wanted to share some ideas for how to keep in touch with your colleagues’ humanity when working at a distance.

Why is human connection important?

There are thousands of articles sharing opinions on what companies have ‘lost’ over the past two years with staff working from home. Managers bemoan the lack of watercooler chats, spontaneous moments of inspiration, or their inability to monitor staff performance.

This betrays their lack of imagination. Creative uses of technology can recreate random catch-ups or brainstorming opportunities. And if you feel the need to oversee how your colleagues spend every minute of their working day you’ve got bigger problems of trust to overcome.

But spending all day in front of a screen and only interacting with colleagues over Zoom and Teams can reduce your teammates to their two-dimensional avatars. 

I moved out of London in 2016 and starting working remotely – and managing my team remotely – long before it was normalised by the pandemic. What I learnt is that physical distance means you need to work hard at maintaining human connection with your colleagues.

No-one exists as a job title and a set of KPIs – we are all three-dimensional people with lives outside of work. Recognising this allows our co-workers to bring their full selves to work. It makes for better teamwork, a positive atmosphere and the opportunity to lean on each other when needed.

How can you maintain human connection whilst working remotely?

Roses and Thorns

My team started every team meeting with a ‘Rose and Thorn’ check-in, sharing something good and something bad about their week. This could be work related or not, big or small. This is a great way to reassure your team that they can share negatives as well as positives. It meant we all knew when a colleague was struggling with a particular project and could offer to help out if needed. And we learnt more about what each other valued outside of work. We celebrated wins and commiserated about challenges.

Send a card

This is something I learnt from my Roots + Wings co-founder Shivonne. Send a card to congratulate a team member on successful completion of a project, to mark a work anniversary, or to thank them for going above and beyond in support of the team. It doesn’t feel like much, but receiving a card from a colleague never fails to put a smile on my face. It lasts so much longer than the warm glow from a congratulatory email or phone call. The card will sit on their desk as a tangible reminder of the appreciation you showed. 

Be curious and interested

Ask questions about topics you know your colleagues are passionate about. Share an article you read about something you know they enjoy, or check in on a personal project they’ve talked about in the past. There is a balance to strike here between showing a genuine interest and being too intrusive, which is different for each individual. It’s about making sure that your interactions don’t only focus around work or generic small talk. Show that you care about them as a person and share your interests and passions too.

I’d love to hear what you do to maintain human connection at a distance. If your team could benefit from some team-building, drop us a line on hello@rootsandwings.org for a free no-obligation chat about how we can help.