Nurturing Connections Online - Make It Real?

Some days in the office the????emoji just about sums it up, right? Brutal! But jokes aside, when was the last time you truly connected on a human level with an emoji, a memoji or an avatar for that matter? People connect with real people - an essential fact that’s exponentially critical for the business sector. Which poses challenges for those in remote work scenarios. No one is signing a 1.8 million euro deal with a wiggly 3D banana of an avatar. So how do you find trust if you never meet your team face to face? Or what if your interaction is only once a week during a virtual meeting? The key is fostering meaningful relationships in the virtual realm. Here’s some of our recent findings. ??

From Our Research

• “A great company culture takes commitment and purposeful effort,” writes Diane K. Adams for Forbes. Check out her four tips to?create an energized and high-performance company?in a hybrid or remote world.
• Liz Kislik, also contributing for Forbes, lays out a few?relationship strengthening suggestions?we can learn from children. Like when we’re triggered at work, “take time to cool off and recover your own sense of safety before planning your response.” Smart!
• Use the phone! “We’ve forgotten how good the phone is,” blurts out Simon Sinek on his YT channel. In an online context,?building trust requires prescriptive action?to build those human connections.
• Cheri Beranek contends on Fast Company that one-on-ones are important to developing relationships, even for remote/hybrid teams. So leaders should prioritize comfortable spaces with?communal areas designed for sharing ideas.
• Meanwhile at ROOM, we hosted a?Wellness Roundtable?to have a few remote work pros chat about healthy practices.?Watch it on our LinkedIn page! But here’s some highlight notes.
• Embrace Virtual Team Building: For his global team, Oliver Smykacz incorporates a short breathing exercise into their daily calls - “to really tune in!”
• Prioritize Well-being: Marlene Garrido physically changes her environment, “which changes your perspective and it makes you feel free. And when you feel free, you’re more productive.”
• Emphasize Open Communication: Romy von Roeder strongly suggests managers and employees verbally communicate about responsibilities and expectations. And often!
• Create Structure For Yourself: Zunaire Qutab sets work habits with herself and sticks to them - creating time for herself and self-care.?
• Encourage Face-to-Face Interactions: Vlore Krug says “if you force people back to the office, you're doing something wrong.” Rather, arrange meetups once or twice a week and let them see the benefits.

In our increasingly digital world, we can’t stress enough the importance of nurturing connections with colleagues, clients, and collaborators.?Remember, building relationships goes far beyond work related discussions. So don’t underestimate the power of informal interactions with your remote team. Why not try using ROOM beyond its secular application? Be it online coffee breaks or virtual storytelling hours, we promote togetherness using live video cutouts of users; the real you in a 3D space. We even have new subscription options coming your way to streamline your experience - stay tuned on that in our next newsletter!???

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