An effective, collaborative team is the backbone of any successful organization. But when you’re in the midst of hiring a lot of new players, it can be difficult to bring them all together and ensure they’re connecting as a true team. Figuring out a way to help them feel comfortable with each other and with the existing team, therefore, should be a top priority for any leader.
To help, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council outlined the actions they recommend business leaders take to make their teams more in tune. These tips can help leaders bring every member of staff together and truly connect them as a cohesive team.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share their best tips for bringing your team and new hires together.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Plan A Monthly ‘Meet And Greet’
I believe that a sense of community is absolutely essential to the success of your company. If you hire a ton of new people and no one really knows about their co-workers, you may see a dip in productivity and employee satisfaction. We’ve resolved this issue by hosting a monthly “meet and greet” for everyone on our team. Basically, we all meet up on Zoom and go into random meeting rooms with four to six other people. In my experience, this little one-hour session every month helps people form friendships and connect with other team members, even after the event has concluded. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
2. Pair Them With A Mentor
If you’re expecting a big influx of new hires, one way to help new employees get the most out of the new environment is by providing them with a mentor. The person they work with can tell them about the company’s history and what it takes to be successful there. They can also get more acquainted with their team’s culture. But don’t forget to give some people individual attention too. Reach out to each person via email or direct chat and let them know that they can explore how your business works but that they can also reach out for help at any time. – Blair Williams, MemberPress
3. Host A Social Event
A social event is a good choice for this kind of thing. Try to get a feel for what everybody likes. Let’s say there’s a BBQ spot nearby that several members of your team have mentioned they liked. Consider throwing a mixer there and include all of the new faces in the invite email. Just ask your team to make the new hires feel welcome! Most people are great about that once they know what’s what and who is who. – Tyler Bray, TK Trailer Parts
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4. Have ‘Cool’ Meetings
We have been running our “cool” meeting every Tuesday for over a decade. It is an opportunity for all team members, even new ones, to share something cool or neat. During the meeting, we share important company announcements and then begin sharing cool things that we have found or things about ourselves. Finally, we end the meeting with thanks to teammates who have helped us in the past week. Overall, it helps to see people’s life events outside of work (family, vacations and stories). It helps new team members see how we share information. It helps that they can then be recognized during the “thanks” portion of the meeting too. To be recognized by a peer is great for the individual and team. – Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design
5. Create Special Slack Channels
If employees are all remote, you can bring them together through special Slack channels. Create a Slack channel for general conversations, one for entertainment and one for company news. The general conversations channel is perfect for nonwork-related conversations while the entertainment channel is great for sharing funny videos, talking about upcoming movies and so on. The company news channel is where you can announce new employees and start conversations about the team and anything company-related. Another great idea is holding happy hours, breakfasts, coffee breaks and even holiday and company parties on Zoom. Get creative and make a point of bringing everyone together for fun, not just for work. This type of team-building is extremely important, particularly for remote teams. – Jonathan Prichard, MattressInsider.com
6. Assign Them Small Team Projects
Encouraging collaboration and helping new employees work together as a cohesive team can take some focused effort. When you are bringing on one or two new employees, establishing a mentorship program with existing professionals is effective. However, when hiring a lot of new employees, you will need to focus more on creating smaller team projects. These smaller team projects will allow them to learn to work together in a relatively low-stress scenario, and you can slowly build up the pressure on these teams over time, ironing out and guiding them through hiccups along the way. As these teams learn to work together, they will become more effective, and you will be able to trust them with more complex and essential tasks. – Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group LLC
7. Showcase Fun Staff Facts
Our company uses Slack to showcase fun facts about different employees each week. It can give others a lot of insight into who else works for the company. It’s also a great way to find each other’s common interests and start a conversation that brings the whole team together. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
8. Use A Team-Building Activity
When I’m bringing on several new employees at once, I like to use a team-building activity. I want my team to begin working together, starting with the onboarding process. I include relevant team-building training that they will experience in their day-to-day work environment. I encourage the team to work together, explaining that there are no wrong ways of accomplishing the task and that everyone’s input is valuable. I avoid judgment by asking questions rather than making statements. Creating a safe space fosters teamwork and connection immediately. – Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc.
