Connect with your team..
Engaging in small talk can actually make you better at your job, so look up, and look out for your work colleagues! We all know that talking with people, relieves stress, but even those little interactions like smiling and greeting people can make a huge difference in your work and your mindset.
The 5-minute check in chat
2 minute watch
Spending just 5-10 minutes a day focussing on your team members rather than on the task will have a massive impact on how you feel, how you work together and ultimately the productivity of the team.
We suggest holding a 5-minute team check-in chat (or huddle!) twice per day – at the beginning and at the end of the day if possible.
You can do this in person (best) or virtually (if needs be)
Here’s what to ask:
- How are you? Really?
- What are you worried or fearful about?
- What’s going well?
- What do you need?
The role of the team leader and the rest of the team is to just listen! Unless there’s a solution staring you in the face, don’t try to fix it.
ACTION: Why don't you schedule some 5-minute check-in chats with your team next week?
Check in Chat
This is an honest, five minute catch up where the words "alright", "fine" are " good" are banned!
Ask the following questions:
How are you? How are you really?
What's going well?
What are you worried about?
What do you need?
WhatsApp Group
Whilst social media can be a big time waster, creating a team on What'sApp can be useful either for texting or group calls. All WhatsApp messages are encrypted so it's also a safe place to talk and you can even get What'sApp on your laptop. If you have a team where there are some people who never connect, then why not connect them? The company, "Trello" do this every week, see how they do it here.
Coffee Time & Tea breaks
Make sure you schedule regular coffee and tea breaks into your calendar so that small groups get to spend time with each other. It doesn't need to be the whole team, but it could be. If some of the team are at home, then make use of Microsoft teams or Zoom to bring them into the office at tea breaks!