Plough back savings into team bonding
While you work hard to reduce team meetings, don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re all human. We like social interactions. Meeting people in person or online is great to build the relationships that’ll take you to the right of the ConveRel spectrum. So there are some meetings that I think you should always have.
One on one (1:1) catch-ups. Use these to check on each other, identify areas of common interest, to support each other and to get to know each other. Gossip is fair game as well. Sure you can talk about work too, but if you’ve been communicating asynchronously about that, then you can focus these conversations on your work relationship.
Team activities. Now and then, consider getting together as a team to either play a game or do an activity like an Airbnb experience together. Discover each other’s hidden talents. Shared experiences build team culture and bonding, so find opportunities to create different, fun experiences for the team. This is important for your company as well, so find a budget for it. That way, people don’t have to pay out of their own pockets for such events.
Meet up in person. When possible, meet your colleagues in person for coffees, lunches, dinners, sports games, movies or other activities. If your company sponsors it, organise a meetup where you fly everyone into a specific location. Remember that you’re doing this to build camaraderie, so don’t stuff work into the meetup. If you’re used to working remotely, this’ll just be inefficient. Instead, curate social experiences for the team. Who knows, you may find friends for life!