When we talk about inclusion most of us think about including someone of a different gender, culture, age, sexual orientation, or ability than we are. One thing we tend to overlook is inclusive teams in a world where people are doing work together from locations all over the world. The new “workplace” is virtual.
We’ve partnered with Quartz to help you rethink what shapes a workplace in the digital economy. With the tap of a finger, click your way through six courses that explain everything you need to know about Workplace Experience (WX) in less than five minutes.
For the fourth installment of our Quartz courses, we’re looking at building office culture without the office. No matter where you are or what kind of work you do, you are likely a virtual worker if you engage in the following ways:
- If you work every day in an office, chances are that you routinely interact with colleagues located in different buildings or geographies, team members who are traveling and in airports/hotels, or colleagues who are full-time remote workers.
- If you are a full-time remote worker, you likely spend a large majority of your time collaborating with customers and colleagues in a virtual manner.
- And, for all of us, regardless of our physical location, our workday includes interactions via GoToMeeting, ShareFile, Slack or one of the many tools we have to collaborate and accomplish work without constraints of geography or time zones.
When working in the virtual workplace, we often think about how to structure work so its time bound, deliverable based, and straightforward to measure progress. However, one area of engagement that often gets neglected in our virtual interactions is inclusion and culture.
Engaging in the virtual workplace can feel somewhat impersonal and very transactional. In fact, remote workers often report feeling more isolated than their in-office peers because they miss out on social and off-the-cuff conversations. So, it is even more important to build strong personal connections and be explicitly inclusive when we are working with colleagues who aren’t physically present. We must strive to balance the project, planning, milestones, and deliverables aspects of our work with building strong work relationships and engaging in a way that enables everyone to contribute fully. This is essential for a good WX for all employees.
Below are some tips to help build and amplify the success of inclusive distributed teams:
- Consideration: Regularly recognize remote team members for their contributions or life events — a promotion, a project accomplishment, or a birthday — in front of the whole team.
- Communication: Conversations can happen outside meetings. When they do and a remote employee may be impacted: (1) pause and invite them to join by phone/chat, and (2) ensure there is a method to follow up with the remote team members and share any new information. And, if you’re a remote team member, be sure to (1) jump into the conversation and share your voice and (2) turn on your camera so your body language amplifies your presence.
- Connection: Practice good meeting etiquette: (1) send out a meeting agenda at least 24 hours in advance, (2) use video if possible and ensure audio is clear on both ends, (3) encourage using the chat feature and regularly check for new messages, and (4) send out a meeting summary.
- Creativity: Get creative and have fun with connecting and getting to know your virtual teammates! You all work together, and it may not be the same as in person, but find unique ways to build deeper connections.
Learn more about building office culture for employees in WX104, and explore more workplace experience topics.
