Why in-person connection?

Part 3: The Business Case for In-Person Connection

So, why should leaders care about in-person connection? Perhaps the answer lies in the root of the word: ?“company” which comes from the Latin words 'com', meaning 'together', and 'panis' — meaning 'bread'* It originally described how merchants would gather, share stories, eat together, and trade.

We’ve already talked about the transformative impact of building trust within your teams. (Accenture estimated that there is a 50% increase in productivity in companies that engineer high psychological safety.)?

We’ve already talked about how this is even more important in the context of distributed work, which can be more remote.?

(Research by Kneeland & Kleinbaum (2021) underscores the transformative impact offsites can have on team dynamics, notably in fostering network tie formation and enhancing collaboration across dispersed teams.) But, fundamentally, the point is you can’t achieve your greatest ambitions as a team unless you attend to trust - whether virtually or in-person. (Though we think in-person, where possible, can really enhance things). How do we know?

Strategic Connections in a Distributed World

At WorkTripp our Future of Teams? methodology synthesises the top academic research into team behaviour and performance to understand the critical factors for team success in the new world of distributed work.?

Each factor is connected and sequential: trust is critical to having uncomfortable conversations; and we can’t solve problems effectively, unless we’re aligned on the goal.

That’s why we help leaders understand their goals for connecting their teams before they even start thinking about where they are going or other logistical questions.?

For example, with TaxScouts - a high-growth FinTech - with a new CEO and new mission and vision, the goal was for the team to connect and understand the big picture. In addition to helping them plan and book their offsite, we were able to help them identify double-digit increases in all six traits related to high performance as well as +76 ppt in familiarity of the team and +40 ppt in clarity of values.?

The Bigger Picture: Responding to Global Challenges

But, if you’re a finance head thinking this is all a bit “fluffy”, listen up; our customers are often COOs and companies are reviewing operational cost in tandem with team benefit. We are working in times of extreme volatility: the climate-crisis, wars, AI disruption. Distributed working is a direct response to that. Allowing for operational agility at a time of rapid pace of change.?

For example, one of our customers, with underutilised office space, gave up its WeWork leases and switched to flexible desk passes & a year-round offsite plan, using WorkTripp to deliver x6 offsites globally, saving an estimated ￡800k.??(More on operational efficiency here).

Finally, the next generation of leaders are dealing with the climate emergency head on. They are purpose-driven and seeking ways to connect to nature which are not possible in a utilitarian office.

Getting together in a natural environment helps a new form of regenerative leadership emerge which isn’t disconnected to the natural environment we all rely on.??

Human Connections in the AI Age

So, there are many push and pull factors for in-person connection having a renaissance. But let’s not cheapen it. Let’s reserve it for those fundamental moments: In our personal lives that’s the weddings, the funerals, the best friend catch ups, the graduations.?

In our work lives that can be the big investment, celebration and scaling moments, the crisis talks, the new leaders cohorts, the product sign offs and customer retros.?

This will be all the more important as we re-orient ourselves around what it will mean to work alongside AI colleagues and collaborate, create and connect differently.?

"We had some excellent offsites... It evolved over time as we grew into a bigger team... It was more about how can we use this for team bonding and cultivating culture" - Sarah Ratner, former COO at Lendable on The Future of Teams Podcast?

My mission is to look back on life and hope that I helped more people to connect and have wildly memorable moments that unlocked change, especially at a time when our systems are more and more siloed. To end where we started: Let’s be clear. The future of work is distributed.?

Which means better in-person connection as part of this working model.

Let’s bring the joy and adventure back to work together. And watch the results flourish.

Help us build a better world of team connection

Hi! I'm Sophie, the Co-Founder of WorkTripp. At WorkTripp, we are two female founders developing the next version of our platform to connect teams better and we are seeking our first 100 beta testers. Want to get involved? Drop us a line here and we will be in touch! https://www.worktripp.com/beta