How’s that project coming? What’s the reason for the delay on that one thing? Why’s everyone being...
4.8 on G2 Trusted by 3k+ teams worldwide
Did you know that fewer than one in 10 remote-capable workers wants to go to the office full-time? It’s a pretty unsurprising statistic given the popularity of flexible work arrangements.
You’d think that with how satisfied remote workers are with their conditions, employee retention and burnout prevention would be a piece of cake.
Well, it isn’t. Remote teams struggle to find belonging in the workplace, among other key issues. Today, we’re sharing some team rituals for remote teams, with specific ways to tailor them to your organization’s culture.
Why do remote employees need more team rituals?
In our recent guide to team rituals, we discussed research on what turns employees off during team events. The answer was negative experiences. Attending the event felt like a hassle, or they felt underappreciated for participating.
This finding becomes even more concerning when we learn that remote employees are more likely to experience negative emotions in any scenario.
Gallup reports that remote workers express higher levels of engagement but greater levels of distress, indicating lower well-being. One (understandable) reason for this is that autonomy can add stress. We put more pressure on ourselves to perform when we carry more personal responsibility.
The cause that many companies aren’t taking seriously enough is workplace connection. That includes the stimulating, fulfilling range of experiences we have at work that aren’t all about work:
- Sharing lunch
- Exchanging stories
- Making friends
- Getting help on the spot
These are types of social support that keep negative emotions at bay. They also look pretty similar to a lot of team rituals. The message is clear. More than just feelings of belonging, remote employees can get a psychological safety net of support that sets them apart from so many statistics.
15 team rituals for remote and hybrid employees
Remote workers know they can handle business from anywhere. That’s one reason why more than half of them actively keep an eye out for other job opportunities. Yikes. Get an edge by addressing what ails them: the hit their well-being takes when they don’t feel part of a team.
1. Team zine
Create a monthly or quarterly team zine where employees can share their playlists, vacation photos, pet pics, peer shoutouts, and maybe a humorous essay. The organization can ensure the virtual editions are put together if there are no employee volunteers.
What’s nonnegotiable is team involvement. It’s a cool, efficient way to update remote employees on who has been up to what, and its contents can be a great icebreaker during coffee chats.
2. Zoom tag
Strong cultures and connected teams begin with onboarding, but can happen belatedly, too. Whether forming a new team or getting better acquainted, make a tradition where everyone hops on Zoom and puts it in gallery view.
Team members can take turns picking someone in the gallery whom everyone can familiarize themselves with. Let team members decide what they want to ask their teammate–what’s the most enjoyable part of your role, what did you do last weekend, et cetera. Then it’s the answerer’s turn to pick the next team member they want to talk to.
3. The buddy system
Support and inclusion are essential for employees to even want to participate in a team ritual. The buddy system is a basic, adjustable way to push those values to the front. Work buddies are also awesome for supplying solutions and keeping us accountable, boosting productivity.
Be intentional and careful when creating pairs. Some are naturally already in place because they have to collaborate. Support and encourage those connections. Others may have something to offer the other, like one buddy whose morale could help someone come out of their shell.
4. An entertainment channel
Observe what people are catching up on and define a space with more purpose. Sports fans, film buffs, or employees who watch the same shows episode by episode have a chance to get each other’s take on recent events.
Common interests are the foundation of many of our tightest-held team rituals. Sharing movie recs based on what we saw over the weekend, commiserating the morning after the big game, or catching up on the drama during the latest episode of a reality TV competition.
5. Taco Tuesday
Another highly customizable ritual in waiting is a mainstay on teams that use HeyTaco. Taco Tuesdays are a time for remote employees to celebrate small wins, point out peers who champion company values, and gain an edge on the giving leaderboards.
HeyTaco in particular works well for your asynchronous team because it’s very lightweight and won’t disrupt workflows. Moreover, it’s lighthearted. People like picking up little rituals that feel fun, informal, and low-stakes.
6. Would-You-Rather Wednesday
One of the best things about remote work is that team chats give us time to think about what we’re going to say. This makes rituals around questions more engaging. No one will feel too put on the spot. They can give deliberate answers that connect with teammates.
Would-You-Rather Wednesday is a placeholder title. Pick a day for any weekly check-in questions, icebreakers, or hot takes you want to try out as a ritual.
7. Thankful Thursday
At HeyTaco, we’ve seen many a recognition tradition centered on gratitude. If remote workers aren’t interacting very much, they may not have had many opportunities to share virtual tacos with the team.
Rituals like Thankful Thursday (or again, whatever you’d like to title it) let employees play catch-up with what they’re grateful for. A rapid response to their last email, coworkers completing their end of a project on time, anything.
8. Fab Fridays
Rituals that set the tone for the weekend don’t just build anticipation for time off. They’re a venue for reflecting and celebrating what teams have accomplished that week. Let everyone update others on their progress and share their wins.
Frame it as an end-of-the-week check-in that employees will quickly regard as “the fun meeting.” HeyTaco users at Liven do something like this every few weeks. Their Taco Love sessions focus on music, celebrations, and feelings of accomplishment.
9. Virtual coffee chats
That last team engagement idea will show the value of informal gatherings in creating rituals. Employees of all work models find it easier to settle into casual rituals. What’s more casual and friendly than sharing a cup of coffee?
Virtual meetings devoted to light, free-flowing conversation build the natural rapport we want to see thrive on these teams.
10. The Museum of Failures
Celebrating some flops and fails can remind employees that the weight of the world doesn’t rest on their desks.
Make it a channel, make it part of the virtual employee wall, or the topic of a special monthly meeting. Having a leader or manager share their own first can acclimate everyone to admitting mistakes and openly learning from them.
11. Reverse stand-up
When you don’t have a tone of rapport or familiarity, asking for something can feel awkward or disruptive.
Instead of briefing the whole team on what we’re up to, have everyone share what’s holding them back. Doing this weekly or biweekly eliminates blind spots and creates an open, welcoming space for people to get the help they need.
12. Sunrise, sunset
Respecting time zones is key for many remote teams. It still gets in the way of forging connections. Sunrise and sunset pictures are a pleasant, daily visual reminder that we’re all in it together, no matter where we sit on the globe.
The first person online posts their sunrise. The last out posts a picture of the sunset from where they are.
13. The Weather Report 🌦️
A quick, single-emoji check-in is a succinct way to assess how everyone’s doing. Every morning, or maybe Mondays only, everyone drops a weather-related emoji that best reflects their mood.
Employees who know they can share a feeling without elaborating or being judged are more likely to have sunny days down the line. It’s also an easy way to see who might need a little extra space or assistance.
14. Two-word wins
Recognizing small wins frequently is bigger in impact than waiting around for a big score. Integrate this into any weekly meeting you want to make a ritual.
Have everyone drop just two words in chat that describe their latest win, from “happy client” to “wasn’t fired.”
15. Celebrate milestones
Does your team acknowledge work anniversaries and birthdays? These are built-in chances to create rituals. HeyTaco’s Milestones feature, for example, can automate the well-wishes in the channel of your choosing, signaling the beginning of the ritual.
When remote teams see the company message congratulating their coworkers, they can start sending their own messages, memes, or tacos of appreciation.
Even the employee who’s been quiet as a mouse finds this a logical place to start diving into team engagement.
Co-creating a culture of belonging in the workplace
Hopefully, you’ll have no trouble choosing which team rituals to test this week. If you do, take a cue from the remote team at Deputy, a global workforce management platform.
Deputy uses HeyTaco for team connections. They started by ritualizing Taco Tuesday, eventually deciding to convert it to a Gratitude channel. After that took off, the ritual spread from Deputy’s engineering team to the entire organization.
It just goes to show that testing a ritual and adjusting based on what teams respond best to is a winning strategy. In Deputy’s case, they’ve now ritualized celebrating top taco givers and created an annual Spotify-inspired “Taco Wrapped.”
Make one ritual stick, and more will organically spring from it. Who knows? Your company may end up being one of those that change how we regard culture and connection on remote teams.
(And if you haven’t tried HeyTaco yet, you can start for free.)
