The stark gap revealed with working remotely and physical distancing shows leaders need to be sociologists.
The depletion of person social interactions has the effect of shutting down people’s productivity and creativity.
Shortly after Rutherford split the atom, Jacob Moreno discovered the social atom– the smallest number of people every person needs to order to keep learning and thrive.
We are seeing this right now in our workplaces and society. Being physically confined, many people experience their social atom being split. They do not have enough people, or the right people around them.
I’ve said, “Employers need to rapidly find ways to help employees reconnect informally with those who are important to them.” Formal structures are only half the picture. It is the myriad of informal networks of relationships of people who want to work together, not because they have to, that is so important.
Here are six ways to help your people reconnect while working remotely:
- Run daily virtual ‘stand-ups’ with everyone in – up to 100 people. Kick off with the top priorities for the day.
- Show people how to use the personal interaction tools, channels in Teams and Chat in Zoom, to send personal messages or questions to others in the group
- End the day with a 30-minute stand-up, “What was satisfying? What was frustrating?”
- Run the daily quiz online.
- Encourage your staff to build a personal support network using free apps; have them choose two others they wouldn’t usually work with, recommend a daily check in for the next two weeks, then review progress and learning.
- Set up online communities of interest; suggest 3 – 4 topics then brainstorm with a cross section of staff; then have your larger group or organisation select. Hold a large group debrief in 4 weeks’ time.
It is your role to keep people connected, communicating and caring for one another, and the business. I’m here to help with ensuring your organisation has good relationship practices. Please contact me privately to discuss this or any other issue directly with me.