A social office is a productive office. It is vital for the wellbeing and productivity of your company to create a friendly and collaborative workplace environment. If your staff are on good terms, they will actually look forward to coming into work and be more motivated to work together to successfully complete projects.
A social work environment will almost always result in a more content, more productive workforce. Yet this must be cultivated, rather than left to occur organically. We speak to office agents, Pilcher London who give a list of ways to create an office full of productive social links.
Encourage Communication
Your office space should be set up so that communication between colleagues is easy. Creating smooth, easily accessible communication routes is the reason that so many offices have gone open plan. Make sure there are plenty of open spaces in your office where employees can easily work together.
If employees are boxed into a cubicle, they are less likely to seek out their colleagues for advice or collaboration. Even if your office is not open plan, consider using meeting rooms or other large rooms as spaces for co-work.
If this is not possible, or if your company involves a lot of remote work, then consider investing in communication software, such as an easily accessible intranet system. This will allow employees to communicate freely even if they cannot physically reach each other. Installing an internal messaging system is vital to ensuring that staff at every level are in frequent communicaiton.
Celebrate Individual and Group Achievement
Celebrating the hard work of an individual or group is vital in making employees feel valued and appreciated. It also fosters goodwill between staff at all levels. If an individual has closed a deal, completed a difficult project, or simply gone beyond the expectations of their role, consider acknowledging this achievement with a public thank you.
Sending a company-wide email acknowledging someone’s hard work will help foster a sense of goodwill and camaraderie throughout the organization.
Though not necessarily an achievement, a good rallying point for staff is the celebration of birthdays. If you are a large organization, celebrating individual birthdays may prove tricky. Instead consider creating a monthly occasion where the birthdays of that month are celebrated. Birthday celebrations are a good excuse for a social occasion where staff are free to socialize outside of the office, or without regular work pressures.
Team-Building Exercises and Social Events
One of the easiest and most popular ways of fostering good interpersonal communication and collaboration amongst staff is through team-building exercises. Team-building exercises are designed to encourage communication and teamwork amongst staff. They come in so many forms, from formal team-building retreats to more informal social occasions such as paintball or escape rooms.
These occasions are not only a chance for staff to work together on non-work related projects, they also simply allow staff to get to know each other and forge social links.
If you do not have the time or resources to invest in a formal team-building exercise, consider instead creating a regular social occasion for staff, such as weekly or monthly after-work drinks. These allow staff to socialize outside the confines of an office environment, and forge productive and friendly social relationships.
Charity Events
Charity fundraising events are a great way of rallying your team around a specific cause that is non-work related. Consider allowing your staff to pick a cause close to their hearts, and then find fun and creative ways of raising money for that cause.
These events can range from the relatively small, like an inter-departmental bake off, to larger organized events such as a team cycle ride or walk. Whatever you choose, make sure that it involves a degree of collaboration and even friendly competition. This will help foster good communication and relations amongst staff.
