By now most teams around the world have been under lockdown for at least 2 weeks that means no water-cooler chatter or getting lunch with the team. While few countries can see the light at the end of the tunnel, there are many who are still struggling to get COVID-19 under control. These lockdown periods are tough on businesses and individuals. The fight against this pandemic isn't going to be a 500m sprint, but a marathon. This Atlassian blog covers talks about the importance of virtual team activities.
Loneliness is probably the biggest downside to remote work and can lead to disengagement, which, in turn, leads to poor performance on the job. Making time to form social bonds and build trust not only combats loneliness, it also helps teams work together on a tactical level.
At TechTime we have been trying our best to keep the whole team engaged, focussed, and productive with some fun activities. Here are some tips for teams, by teams:
Engaging message channels
You probably have a #random channel or something akin to that. We took it up a notch. On our first day of lockdown, we set up not one, not 2, but 6 separate channels on different topics and are heavily encouraged to contribute on at least 2 of them each day.
There are topics like #wfh-ask-and-answer where members can ask each other COVID-19 related questions, tips on getting grocery, or sharing resources which will help us through this time. Another one is a #wfh-photo-a-day-keeps-the-insanity-away where we share pictures of our pets, homes, and walks. We have channels for fitness to the next Netflix binge, the channels cover all topics. Not only this gave us the opportunity to learn from each other's experiences, but it also gave us an insight into their personal lives. We had members competing with each other to improve fitness, sharing dance videos, and of course many, many memes! Virtually, we met pets, flatmates, and kids — bonding us further as a team. Unknowingly, we started empathy for each other grew, something vital for a team.
Online Games
Teams that play together, stay together. Try out games like Psych, HeadsUp or even video chatting apps like Houseparty where you can play games, while video chatting with your teammates. It is a fun-filled way to spend some time with your team and bond with each other building trust. We recently played a game called Skribbl and it was great to see that some members aced the game, while others not so much (me 
) That one session, boosted are morales, energized us and took us away from the loneliness we all have been feeling. It was a great break from the mundane life we have been having. Facilitating virtual team building comes with its unique challenges, you can use Teambuilding.com who will organise these fun sessions for you and your team without having to give up work time!
Attend educational sessions
Training helps members become more productive along with team building. At TechTime, each member decided to attend 2 sessions of the Atlassian Remote Summit and came together to discuss our learnings. We could cover most sessions and presenting the sessions to the team, encouraging a healthy discussion. As Atlassian Platinum Solution Partners it's important for the whole team to be well-informed of the product updates and changing landscape in the Atlassian Ecosystem. Atlassian came up with Atlassian Playbook — 'Level up your teams with self-guided workshops (called Plays) that will improve the way your teams work together'.
With some time on your hands, you can encourage members to improve their Atlassian tool skills with Atlassian Training. As Authorised Atlassian Training Partners, TechTime offers Jira and Confluence virtual courses for admins and end-users.
We have some free courses 'Jira and Confluence Together' and 'Realizing the Power of Jira Reporting and Dashboards' for you and your team. Register here.
Online team meetings
Most teams are practicing agile methodology, and it includes your daily stand-ups. How about instead of calling in, you conduct video meetings? Even virtually seeing your team members and they seeing you makes interactions so much more engaging. You can watch the other person's reactions, the chances of miscommunication are lower and it'll almost feel like you are back in the office. Some might find it uncomfortable to video in, however pushing yourself to do these video calls would be a good learning and make them more confident.
We've tried and tested these practices and they're working for us, after an initial drop in productivity we are back on track with these increased virtual interactions! How about you kick-start virtual team building by doing some free training sessions with us? Register a free 'Jira and Confluence Together'and'Realizing the Power of Jira Reporting and Dashboards'course here.
