"Not another team building activity!" Have you ever experienced this thought when you hear your company has arranged another event or exercise to bring people together and re-ignite moral? You're not alone! I wanted to share with you a tool we integrated into our Pocket Mentor app community that enhances a sense of purpose. Introduce a 'wider purpose' that your team contribute towards. For example, we've introduced a tree planting initiative into our member community. For every 5 days our members complete our mental fitness tools, we donate for a mangrove tree to be planted on their behalf. Each member can track their tree planting progress, total trees planted by them and how far away they are from their next tree. There's a monthly 'top tree planter' leader board and update on total trees planted by the community (our goal is to plant 1 million)
Our organization is fully remote and has no-plans to return to the office. During the transitionary period from in-person to remote, we tried all the stuff everybody else was doing - the Zoom board games and happy hours, but it didn't feel natural and died out fairly quickly. The number one strategy working for us is leaning into candidate referrals from our existing employees. Of our 20ish team members, more than half of our team members have worked together in a prior company. New team members sourced from our existing team shortcuts the trust building phase and causes new team members to lean more heavily into the company culture on day one.
To foster a sense of community in the workplace and really build on it over the long-term, it's crucial that you have processes in place to properly recognise the individual achievements of your staff. The key takeaway here is 'individual'. Each team member will feel much more of a sense of community toward their peers and the wider business when they can see that their achievements are being properly recognised, and rewarded.
Data Scientist, Digital Marketing & Leadership Consultant for Startups at Consorte Marketing
Answered 3 years ago
If you want to build a sense of community, then give people the liberty to have a diversity of thought while you pursue a common goal. People want to feel like they are making a valuable contribution to something bigger than themselves. If you give them the freedom to contribute ideas to your organization, they'll take ownership. When that happens, you have a community of people who are all pursuing the same goal, only they're coming at it from a variety of directions.
One of the best ways to build a sense of community in the workplace is to organize volunteer opportunities for your team. Not only does it give your employees the chance to give back to the community, but it also allows them to bond and work together outside of the office. It’s a great way to build morale and show your team that the company values more than just profits. Plus, it’s a win-win situation as the community benefits from the volunteer work and the team members benefit from the sense of purpose and camaraderie.
Vulnerability in the workplace can nurture a sense of belonging, warmth and trust in the workplace. You may be scared to open up and fully be yourself but being vulnerable among your colleagues, if done in a safe environment, can create a number of benefits including a sense of community that is deep, rich, honest and real. When you feel comfortable sharing your wins and your failures alike, your thoughts, emotions and experiences, you showcase what a supportive and non-judgmental environment can feel like and encourage colleagues to follow your example. Vulnerability fosters authentic leadership which helps erode toxic hierarchies and sustainably eradicate power imbalances. All people want is to be heard, to be seen, to be respected and celebrated — not despite of their vulnerability but 100% because of it. Community in its core.
In a post-pandemic workplace, remote or otherwise, there are chances of disorientation among employees. To solve this, organizations should implement an effective engagement strategy that is built on this core value – a shared purpose. While everyone might be concerned about their KPIs and KRAs, it is crucial to create a sense of community by setting up a broader vision for the employees. They should be able to identify themselves as components of this broader vision, and how their goals are aligned with that of the organization. Organizations can achieve this through transparent and seamless communication by constantly reminding the workforce how they are moving in the same direction, with a similar pace to achieve their personal goals as well as the business goals.
While programs, events, and practices at the workplace do have an impact, it is eventually the sense of belonging that an employee genuinely feels towards their workforce that creates positivity and warmth. This feeling of belonging is only born when the entire workplace is dedicated to alleviating differences and adopting efforts that drive inclusion and equality. When employees realize that their company is committed to building a workplace culture that provides equal opportunities and creates a welcoming environment for everyone on the team, they are bound to play their part in building a sense of community.
My best tip for building a sense of community in the workplace is to share some of your personal information and stories with your colleagues. That way, they get to know and understand you as a person, rather than just see you as an employee. I remember when I first shared information about my life outside work, like my interest in music or my family back home, it was liked breaking the ice – suddenly there was something more between us than just the job! It wasn’t just me talking either; before I knew it, my colleagues were all sharing stories too. There’s nothing quite like getting together over lunch or coffee to build that sense of community you want so badly in the workplace.
Group learning opportunities provide a way for employees to grow their knowledge and meet new people. We recently implemented a successful Lunch & Learn program for our global remote team. These are talks hosted by leaders from various industries and take place during our Weekly Team Sync on Zoom. The insights these keynote and motivational speakers share ignite a fire in our team’s collective belly. And their inspirational and unifying messages encourage your employees to function as a top-performing unit. And with topics ranging from finance to wellness, their outside perspectives spark conversations among team members about how to apply them. This improves not only their working relationships but also their individual skill sets, making them more likely to reach their goals together.
Building a sense of community in the workplace isn't always easy, but it's also not impossible! One of the best tips to get started is to ensure that everyone feels appreciated. Showing thanks or giving recognition for everyday successes can go a long way toward creating an atmosphere filled with collaboration and support. Additionally, managers should regularly plan activities such as group lunches and team building games so that everyone has the chance to interact outside of their regular work days. When employees are given opportunities like these, they form friendships and become comfortable working together—the first step towards creating a true sense of community in the office.
Strong communities are built on personal relationships. Give your employees areas where they can socialize in order to make this happen. Coffee makers and water coolers are obvious hubs for casual meetings. The ties between coworkers are strengthened by casual discussions about weekend plans while brewing a beverage. Other excellent possibilities include conference rooms with comfy sofas, playing cards during lunch, and even a carom board table in the office. Trust me, it works wonders. I've seen most of my workers gather to play carom board games or cards, and they even get competitive. It feels like you're witnessing a whole different person—someone who is more laid-back, joyful, and open. The purpose here is to provide an informal opportunity to interact with coworkers. Building relationships, a feeling of community, and a vibrant workplace are all facilitated by casual chats.
Burnout is a major topic among virtual and in-office workers and is behind trends such as quiet quitting and the great resignation. The lack of an organizational culture that supports rest, recovery, and wellbeing is a major reason many employees feel burnt-out. In my experience, it is not enough to tell your team to ''take a break.'' What's more effective is when you make self-care a team effort. As a leader, take a genuine interest in how your team members are doing. Make it a habit to ask, ''How are you really doing?''; your employees will model this habit, resulting in a community of empathetic, supportive humans who genuinely care about each other. Of course, you should have resources, and systems employees can practically use to enhance their wellbeing. Knowing that we have each other's backs is one of the best ways to build a strong, vibrant and committed community in our workplaces.
All-Hands meetings are the second most important meeting your company holds (behind leadership meetings). They are a valuable opportunity to share and disseminate information and align your team, but they are also a powerful culture driver. Holding a quick 30-60 minute check in with everyone every week or two can help your team feel like more of a community, and they're even more powerful when you add in some socializing and networking opportunities. Icebreakers, conversation starters and other small group activities added to the beginning of an all-hands meeting gives people a unique opportunity to get to know each other outside of just work.
One of my best tips for building a sense of community in the workplace is to make sure to celebrate every win together. Celebrations don't need to be elaborate or expensive - a group email expressing how proud you are of everyone's hard work can go a long way. Celebrating together allows everyone to take a moment out of their busy schedules and reflect on how far they have come as a team, reinforcing their bond and creating an atmosphere where everyone will feel appreciated. Celebrating often also encourages people to remain motivated and continue striving for excellence, knowing that their efforts will be acknowledged and celebrated by the whole team.
Guessing what employees desire in a workplace is not an accurate way to gain an understanding of what they think or provide a sense that they have a voice, but an effective way to accomplish this is through the use of pulse surveys. Many employees feel uncomfortable or even intimidated to speak out in group meetings, and this causes a feeling of disconnection from the rest of their team, and keeps issues from being solved. Pulse surveys are short questionnaires that can be answered in a couple of minutes and allow management to get a sense of what their team members think, what suggestions they have for improvements, as well as the ability to track the impact of any changes. By regularly implementing pulse surveys as a part of your community building strategy, you provide the chance for all your team members to be heard and ensure that positive changes will be initiated in a timely manner.
Many businesses look for ways to create a sense of community by creating platforms or events for communication but few pay attention to the physical structure of the office and miss a great opportunity to lay that desired foundation. Traditional office spaces are generally a set of closed off areas with cubicles, closed office doors, and small tables for individual work to be conducted, and this can instantly cause various types of separation. In constructing an open office space with communal work areas, fewer individual offices, and inclusive conference spaces, you can build a sense of community that does not designate the differences in tasks or authority. Also, colorful decorations and warmer paint tones, instead of just sterile white, can create a friendlier atmosphere. In paying as much attention to the physical layout and appearance of your office as you do your communication practices, you can better create a sense of community.
Hold celebratory events in the office once or twice a month. For example, you can have a birthday celebration at the beginning of each month to honor those with birthdays for that month. Other ideas are milestone achievement celebrations, bucket list tick-off parties, and highlights of the month celebrations. These informal events build camaraderie and friendships because of the casual, non-threatening, non-competitive atmosphere. The fun and somewhat personal nature of these get-togethers are conducive to getting to know teammates better.
A stellar way to create a sense of community in the workplace is to organize team-building activities. These activities should be collaborative in nature and focus on tackling common challenges and coming up with novel solutions. Employees should be encouraged to share their ideas and opinions to foster a sense of community. get creative and look for fun ideas that your team will look forward to. You’ll see your engagement go through the roof!
One of the best ways to build community is to strengthen support systems and networks at your workplace. Communities are based on trust, and the feeling that employees are supported and can turn to anyone for help. Make sure that there are clear and easy pathways employees can take and are aware about if they ever need help. Facilitate conversations between different employees and departments to build rapport and establish trust in those relationships.