How to have Informal Communication while working in a fully remote job
Its been almost two years since I joined Airmeet as a fully remote product manager.
One big challenge I have faced as a remote worker is to engage in informal conversations with my colleagues. Informal conversations are important, as they help build trust, friendship and add a human touch to the workplace.
In offices, there are so many ways of having informal conversations with your colleagues — casual banter on the desk or in the hallway, daily team lunch/snacks in office cafeteria, weekly/fortnightly Friday night parties and the group celebration of festive occasions in office. However, none of these are feasible on a regular basis while working remotely.
Following some ways in which I have tried to replicate informal moments while working remotely:
- Making the Daily standup meetings a little more informal — Once you are done with updates, you can talk about things outside of work. If possible, get people to switch on their camera as it makes the experience a lot more personal. [I have consciously tried to stay away from automating the daily standup through written updates]
- Encourage casual chit-chat at the start and end of meetings — The initial 3–5 minutes you wait for everyone to join can be spent chit-chatting. Similarly, if the meeting ends early, then team members can stay back to discuss non-work-related stuff. (Just one person needs to initiate the conversation and others usually chip in)
- Team Retrospectives are a powerful way to enable people to speak their heart out on the problems they face in terms of processes, people and cross-team collaboration. (Even if these are about work, still they help in team bonding as people feel heard on things that matter to them)
- Monthly/Quarterly Virtual Pizza parties where everyone gets on a call and celebrate whatever they have accomplished. (Using Airmeet’s networking tables, we can enable smaller groups to interact with each other before beginning our group call)
- Virtual townhalls held at a regular frequency (say every 2 weeks) where company updates are shared and random banter happens with the leadership. (Airmeet’s speed networking capability comes in very handy during the townhalls as it helps simulate chance 1:1 encounters with colleagues we may not interact with otherwise)
- More Personal 1:1s — Regular 1:1s are the lifeblood of any well-functioning organization. But the 1:1 conversation need not be focused solely on work. You can be a little more empathetic and start with a genuine “How are you doing?”.
- Creatively Using Slack: We have a #random channel on slack where people can post memes and other non-work-related stuff. There are also interest specific channels for music lovers, book lovers etc. Here people can bond over stuff not related to work.
- Local In-person meetups: At our organization, people are clustered in different parts of India. While it’s difficult for all the employees to catchup as a whole, it’s much easier for people living close by to catch up on a more regular basis. (Within reasonable limits, all such outings are company sponsored. :P)
These are some ways in which I have been able to experience informal conversation as a fully remote worker at Airmeet.
Lessons learnt while trying to initiate informal conversation
- You have to be intentional about creating those moments. Unless you make an effort from your side, it’s not going to happen automatically.
- It will take time for some people to open up. It is upto to the meeting facilitator to create a safe space for everyone to open up.
- You can’t just do one offsite after 6 months and expect people to bond. Building meaningful connections requires sustained effort on a much more regular basis.
- Mandatory “fun” rituals might feel awkward at first but gradually the team becomes comfortable with these.
Conclusion
Remote work does not necessarily have to be all work and no play. Using the right systems and processes, you can make it every bit meaningful and fulfilling as in-person work!
