In this latest phase of COVID, the work world is opening up. Teams are meeting in person, getting together for training and offsites. It’s exciting, draining, and a bit puzzling. If your team has grown, there’s a group of pre-pandemic folks with long-standing relationships. There are also new people who you’ve never met in person. Maybe even the majority of the team is new in the last two years. In some cases, you may no longer be sure who you’ve met IRL vs. Zoom.
What we do when we are together has also changed, since being together is no longer a norm. The Reverb staff just completed our first offsite in two years. Funny that “offsite” actually meant spending two days together in the office. So what used to be a normal way of working has now turned into an event that requires careful planning and lots of intentionality. Remember to combine the business purpose and tasks with community and relationship building.
Here are five ways you can make the most of your next in-person team event.
1. Express Gratitude: One way to include gratitude in your meeting is to write each person’s name on an envelope and tape them to the wall. Give everyone a stack of post-its and ask them to Jot down what they appreciate about each of their team members. At the end of your meeting, everyone will walk away with an envelope full of gratitude notes.
Why does gratitude matter? In a recent study by the American Psychological Association, researchers found that 93% of employees “who reported feeling valued said that they are motivated to do their best at work and 88 percent reported feeling engaged.” Among that group, only 21% plan to look for a new job in the coming year.
2. Hold a Quarterly Business Review (QBR): Business reviews align everyone around priorities, goals, and the health of the business. They create an opportunity for everyone to get on the same page regarding important goals, measures, and initiatives. According to an article by McKinsey:
“Building proper QBR practices and enabling the ecosystem takes time and effort. However, once these pain points are addressed, the QBR can truly act as the nerve center of the organization, transmitting key impulses and strategic signals”
3. Make Time for Strategic Planning: The last two years have been heavily focused on the present. With the unpredictability of global health and the economy, most businesses were working from a highly reactive place. We all had to adjust our products and services, and most leaders questioned more than once what kind of future was in store. We haven’t had the time or energy to discuss where we want to be three years from now and how we’re going to get there.
Even under the best of circumstances, senior leaders spend little time and energy planning for the future. According to Harvard Business School Online “It’s no wonder, then, that 90 percent of businesses fail to meet their strategic targets. Before an organization can reap the rewards of its business strategy, planning must take place to ensure its strategy remains agile and executable.
4. Conduct a Team Styles Assessments: There are a variety of assessments out there. Over the past several years, the Reverb staff has used DISC Training DISC Profiles. It matters less which assessment you choose; what’s important is the conversation that follows. Style assessments help people identify and understand different styles so they can work better together. DiSC describes benefits including:
- Understand their behaviors and how others perceive them.
- Learn how and when to adapt their behavior for more effective interpersonal interactions.
- Manage conflict productively.
Wondering why YOU have to flex to others’ styles vs. them flexing to yours? As my grandma used to say “For a relationship to work, everyone has to give eighty percent so they can meet fifty-fifty.”
5. Celebrate: Highlight wins, eat and drink together, and socialize. Relationships are the foundation for great work and celebrating brings us together. How does celebrating success benefit the company? According to Indeed.com – When employees feel appreciated they tend to perform better. Creating an environment in the workplace that practices recognition and rewards good employees and improves morale. When employees are happy, they perform better, and even attendance improves. Humans naturally respond well to praise and acknowledgment. It can inspire people to keep up the good work they have been doing, and it gives them a sense of belonging to the company.
Need help planning your next offsite, doing a styles assessment, or thinking about some creative team building? This is what we live for! Contact us info@reverbpeople.com and let us know how we can help.
