Research from McKinsey reveals that a lack of valuable connection to both work and co-workers is among one of the strongest drivers behind people quitting their current positions and leaving their current employers. Nothing that we haven’t spoken about ourselves, right here in our TPF community. However, this lack of connection brings with it a lack of solidarity and comradery as well.
Many of us are left with the following question-mouthful: “How can we build or rebuild solidarity when we find ourselves scattered across the nation or the globe, working staggered-daily schedules when physically in the office, and working with newly hired people, that we’ve yet to meet on our team, because they were hired during this disjointed, unique period of time?”
Not only is it a mouthful, it’s a hard question to ask; but not necessarily a hard question to address.
It’s true that relationships across functions, geographies, and divisions can be challenging to develop and maintain, especially if there has been a lot of change in one of these particular areas. So maybe it’s time to think about re-leveling the playing field for everyone.
In the simplest of terms, you might think about conducting a re-onboarding, for your team or your division, where people can “meet for the first time…again.”
A quick way to conduct a re-onboarding is to gather (in-person or virtually) all individuals that could in anyway benefit from this process. Invite them all, as the point is to grow connection, solidarity and (re)introduce everyone for the first time.
Send some of the following prompts out beforehand so all will have an opportunity to share responses like:
Hi, I’m Stacy and:
- the most significant thing that’s different about me since the pandemic started is…
- the thing I’m most concerned about returning to work with our hybrid approach is…
- I’m most excited about this team’s ability to…
- the help I need to be successful on this team is…
- the contribution I feel I can make to the team’s success is…
- the best way to communicate with me is…
- I’m nervous about…
If the idea of conducting a more comprehensive re-onboarding sounds like something you would like to implement, you can take a peek at this HBR article AND of course contact me for some fun ways we can re-onboard your team, move toward trust quicker, and create solidarity in your organization.
Re-onboarding after change is like renovating your kitchen – something you might be tempted to talk yourself out of, but the end result is worth every penny.
