Seven tips for team building in the home office
From the virtual office to the digital pub quiz
Many employees are happy to swap their office space for their own four walls. Some work from home occasionally, others work full-time from home. Managers need to learn what it's like to lead a team remotely. Read seven tips here on how employees can work together successfully as a team despite working from home.
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Communication channels
Suitable digital office structures must be created so that your employees can communicate well and without problems. In addition to the technical equipment and a functioning internet connection, the right tools are crucial for good collaboration. Communication should take place via a maximum of two platforms. In addition to email, there are various instant messaging services for more informal communication.
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Virtual office
To use these services properly and enable successful communication, it makes sense to set up a virtual office. A wide variety of content can be shared in one or more chat channels. This can range from important information on current projects to entertaining posts and funny pictures or videos from the Internet. An etiquette for using the virtual office is helpful here.
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Stay in touch
For you as a manager, employee management should continue to have the highest priority. This means that contact with employees should be very close despite physical distance. This is because isolation in the home office can quickly lead to dissatisfaction. Regular contact and frequent questions about satisfaction can counteract this in advance.
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Digital coffee break
In order to facilitate this contact, rounds of talks should be initiated time and again. For example, a short coffee break can be scheduled before a meeting to consciously talk about private matters. Routines such as Monday meetings or a virtual after-work session also help.
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Exchange for parents
Internal exchange rooms can also be created for parents who have to take care of childcare in addition to their regular home office. This allows them to discuss how to deal with the additional challenges and possible solutions. Due to the double burden at home, consideration should also be given to individual solutions that enable employees to combine family and career. This can be achieved, for example, by offering more flexible working hours or extending lunch breaks.
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Promote self-management
It is also important to support employees in self-management. Not everyone is prepared to work from home from the outset. Some tend to work through the whole day without a break. Others find it difficult to concentrate. This is where a fixed structure can help: whether it's short morning conference calls or entering the lunch break in the diary - it's best to work out strategies together with your employees that will help them in the long term.
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Experiences as a team
Finally, you should continue to strengthen the sense of togetherness among employees by facilitating shared experiences. Whether it's a virtual after-work beer or a digital pub quiz: joint online and in-person meetings and events strengthen team cohesion.
Good company examples from practice
Where can we find help and advice
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection has launched the "go-digital" funding project in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Small and medium-sized companies can obtain advice on digital processes in five modules:
https://www.innovation-beratung-foerderung.de/INNO/Navigation/DE/go-digital/go-digital.html
The centers of the "Mittelstand digital" initiative offer you the opportunity to obtain information free of charge and receive support in implementing individual digitalization measures.
You can contact them by phone on +49 2224 922 544, by email at mittelstand-digital@wik.org or via the website:
https://www.mittelstand-digital.de/MD/Navigation/DE/Home/home.html
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