As the excitement of the holidays and the New Year fades away, February can often feel slow for organizations. However, this makes it the perfect time of year to renew internal goals that might have gotten left behind in the end-of-year grind.
From vision board workshops and crafting classes to themed activities and gathering feedback from employees, consider these lighthearted and impactful ways to strengthen culture and collaboration and improve internal communication.
Great Team-Building Ideas for In-Person and Distributed Teams
February presents an excellent opportunity to celebrate and build relationships. Here are a few ways you can work toward creating a more cohesive and positive team culture.
Vision Board Workshop
Remind your team of the broader organizational vision for the year. Spend some time creating a visual representation of what it looks like to connect your individual goals and aspirations to that mission.
Compliance Tip: Document team-building activities that tie into compliance or training goals.
Crafting Classes
Relax and lean into your creative side by allowing your team to make something fun together. This activity can be as simple as origami or as complex as tie-dyeing T-shirts. Your team will get a chance to bond through conversation and share the inspiration behind their creations.
Compliance Tip: Ensure participation in team activities is optional and inclusive.
Game Tournament
From classic trivia to karaoke to word puzzles and “Name That Tune,” get your in-person and remote teams in on some friendly competition. Offer prizes to encourage participation and reward teams that play to win.
Compliance Tip: Keep a record of any monetary prizes you hand out for tax filing purposes.
Setting Your Team Up for Success: How to Perform an Internal Communication Audit
As an HR professional, you know that clear communication is crucial to building a positive culture and a spirit of camaraderie among your team. If you’re looking to strengthen your internal communication, you’re not alone. According to HR.com, only 24% of HR professionals rate their communication strategy as highly effective.
An internal communication audit can help you understand whether you’re meeting your goals and reveal whether information is being shared efficiently and effectively throughout your organization.
Here are steps you can take to complete your audit and ensure everyone on your team is on the same page.
1. Determine the Scope
Decide which elements of your internal communications strategy deserve a deeper look. This may be anything from your communication channels to the flow of information through those channels to the level of employee engagement each message receives.
Compliance Tip: Involve your IT team in your audit to ensure compliance with all data security and privacy regulations over the course of your audit.
2. Create Feedback Loops
Use surveys, town hall meetings, and even one-on-one interviews to gather feedback from employees about communication tools and practices. Make sure to avoid putting pressure on your employees by using anonymous surveys and neutral parties to conduct discussions and interviews.
Compliance Tip: Avoid singling out any specific groups for feedback. Instead, focus on surveying and interviewing a diverse range of employees.
3. Analyze Metrics
Gather data from the communication channels you use. Pull email open rates, intranet traffic records, and meeting attendance lists to help evaluate whether and how employees receive and engage with your communication.
Compliance Tip: Avoid invasive monitoring practices by focusing on aggregate trends and anonymized data.
4. Develop an Action Plan
Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to determine what’s working and pinpoint areas for improvement. Create a roadmap, detailing what to work on, who’s responsible for each task, and your timeline for getting it done.
Compliance Tip: Ensure there is no retaliation against employees for revealing information about poor or harmful communication practices.
5. Test and Improve
Implement a plan to test new communication tools or practices throughout your organization. Use the same feedback loops from step two to gather continuous feedback and make changes where necessary.
Compliance Tip: Use communication tools that comply with data privacy and retention policies.
Keep Communication, Camaraderie, and Compliance Front and Center
Great communication and solid professional relationships are crucial components of a positive workplace culture. Fortunately, you don’t have to sacrifice your commitment to compliance to have a great team dynamic.
VirgilHR’s automated compliance platform can assist you in correctly applying the most current labor laws as you look to evolve your HR strategies. Schedule a demo today to see how we can help you maintain compliance while building a more cohesive team.