We are seeing our coworkers now more than ever and yet they are still many miles away. It’s a given that Zoom isn’t going anywhere in 2021 and many of us will continue working from home and this elevates a number of pros and cons. Keeping company culture healthy in 2020 and now in 2021 has been and will likely continue to be a struggle for many companies. As a newer hire to the DMA team in 2020, I’ve had the opportunity to be creative to develop ways to get to know my fellow team members.
As I grow to make meaningful connections, here are some of my tips for staying virtually connected with your coworkers.
Staying Connected Virtually with Coworkers in 2021
Virtual Happy Hour + Company Updates
Although 2020 is behind us, we don’t exactly know what the New Year will bring except more of the same virtual nature of conducting business. A lighthearted way to keep things light is to have weekly company updates and virtual happy hours regularly whether by team, department or for the entire company.
Birthday Parties + Custom Backgrounds
If DMA is known for one thing it’s celebrating birthdays and big milestones achieved at the company. This year, we started a new tradition of changing our Zoom backgrounds before a meeting and surprising people on their birthday. For my birthday, the DMA team welcomed me to our Monday morning meeting with the cutest cats ever! Other backgrounds we have used to celebrate individuals are photos of Jello shots, photos of creepy dolls and pizza. You could say we are a bit of a mixed bag of people…and we love it!
Oklahoma State-themed backgrounds for Jordan’s birthday!
Wanting to switch up your Zoom meetings? We can create custom backgrounds for your brand! These can also be utilized during virtual trade shows and new business meetings.
Speaking of Backgrounds…
We’ve probably all gotten acclimated with each other virtually at this point so whenever one of us sees someone with a different Zoom background it may spark a conversations. I love asking people where they are or what’s going on behind them. These days being able to see pets, family members and personal workspaces is also a form of connection in itself and on a more personal level.
Online Games
Virtual happy hours are fun and you’ll find our leader on the hunt for creative ways to make ours more interesting. As a team, we’ve played online Bingo a couple of times and it was a blast! Might I add, we are a competitive bunch. Our CEO, Dan’l, even had prizes for the winners and always has us looking forward to the next game night.
Book Club
Since joining the DMA team, I have noticed how often books are brought into the conversation. Dan’l often speaks of Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Patrick Lencioni and many others. For Christmas, Dan’l purchased each employee two books to help both our company and our our individual team members develop personally. We’re planning to review and discuss these books together, in a book club format soon on Zoom and during our weekly Team Talk. I’m looking forward to getting to know these authors better and gel with my executive team.
Through all of these activities are conducted virtually on Zoom, it has helped me get acquainted with my coworkers in a different way, and that’s ok because that’s the current state of life for all of us. I’m hoping this sparks some ideas for you as well! I’m excited to fully return to the office to further develop strong relationships and memories with my team.
For more ideas on how to better your brand, schedule a call with our marketing team!
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