If we can work, we can party! Or is it the other way around? ??

The importance of off-site events to creating stronger connections within the workforce and increasing employee engagement

Last Thursday 16th of March we threw a party for our employees at our office in Berlin. It was just us, no customers nor family members. The idea was to create a safer space for our colleagues to meet coworkers, see each other in person -some of them, for the first time-, and get into more profound and significant conversations.

Working remotely means giving up day-to-day social life at the office, like those coffee chats in the kitchen, lunch break conversations, or even after-work beers at the bar. And that's fine. It's still worth it for some people. But, even though we get to see each other through a screen, and we're able to schedule virtual coffee chats, it's not the same.

We heard our employees' petitions through post-parties surveys and we noticed that they wanted to have the chance of spending quality time just with their colleagues, so we invited everyone to come to Berlin; we had people even coming for the party from Spain!

Is it really THAT important to do face-to-face team gatherings?

YES! It is.

And by that, I'm not saying that remote work is a bad thing. It has its own perks, just like going to the office has. But, like everything in life, it's all about finding balance.

Not everyone has the same need for socializing, although the importance of face-to-face gatherings goes beyond filling someone's need for meeting people. It's about creating room for spontaneous conversations, that eventually could lead to personal conversations, which establishes an inflection point in a human relationship, either stronger or weaker.

A stronger relationship derived from a conversation could also happen during a virtual meeting. But the chances of that happening in a room full of people are higher than in a 1-on-1 Google Meet URL, or even with more people in it so everyone has to be quiet in order to avoid overlapping conversations.

On the other hand, we have non-verbal communication. Through the screen, you can have an idea of how the person looks, but you don't know how their position standing, how they move their hands, how they behave in a public environment, if they talk close or they like to keep their distance while talking, etc.

Non-verbal language can only be fully appreciated in person. And non-verbal language is gold; it's as important as verbal language when it comes to getting to know someone and creating a trustful link in a relationship.

So, on one hand, we have the importance of the quality of the conversations, and, on the other hand, we have the importance of the presence of non-verbal communication. Those two factors could lead to a closer relationship between two or more people, and that's important to have in a team because closer relationships facilitate the existence of mutual support. We feel more comfortable asking for help from someone we know than from a stranger. And same happens the opposite way: we put more effort into helping someone we appreciate than a stranger.

In my opinion, supportive teams are more respectful, and, therefore, they're more creative and innovative.

So, that's it? …just buy some beers and order some pizza to create a stronger team?

Well, every person will have a different perspective and experience of the party. Some may find it too crowdy, others too simple, others will ask for planned activities…

What we did this time was to ask the employees to bring their favorite board or videogame to play with others. We also did a ping pong tournament on the side. We bought beer and we ordered pizzas, and the conversations just started happening!

After the party, we asked for feedback, so that people could point out what we did right, what we could do better, and what they would like to have next time. And that's the best way of adapting the team events to the culture of the company. It's important to stick to the core values as well as to the implicit culture that the company has at the moment.

So, basically, there's not one right answer or solution to that. But we're not afraid of trying it out! The main goal is to make people have fun, and that's not too hard to achieve.

To sum up…

Often, people appreciate those face-to-face moments with other colleagues. It shouldn't be a mandatory thing, in order to respect everyone's situation. But everyone should be invited to have some fun from time to time, even if they work far from the office.

The benefits of it are related to a stronger and more supportive team due to the bond generated in those gatherings.

The style of the party can be adapted according to the circumstances. Ask your employees what they would like to have and try to find the coolest way of making them happy in a non-work-related meeting!