Why is small talk important?

The best team leaders and managers already know the importance of small talk. To create a space for organic interaction can lead to trust and comfort - and content employees leads to a stronger employee retention.

A guide to create dynamic interactions for effective and good teamwork

Methods and tips to improve team performance and employee retention online

On instinct, small talk around the office can be seen as time consuming minutes spent not working. Instead of answering emails or attending meetings they are deep in conversation about the latest cat meme or an episode of a Netflix series. However, there are connections between people that cannot be built by simple work-related tasks and conversations. Here are some common examples of beneficial interaction and results of small talk:

• Easy opening - not everyone is a social butterfly. By providing a place where conversation doesn’t have to be so serious invites even more socially shy people to participate.

• It creates higher productivity and efficiency - this is one of the most valuable aspects of small talk. While it may seem like minutes wasted, it actually serves as a way for the employees to de-stress and gather new energy. When they go back to work they feel refreshed, focused and improve their productivity.

• It creates better teamwork and office collaboration - not all office chatter is non-work related. Venting about a work-related problem opens up for input and leads to different perspectives. New ideas spark and can create innovative projects and collaboration between different departments.

The above mentioned are just a few of the common benefits of small talk. Going remote there is not a lot of causal interaction between employees, but that does not mean there is not a need for it. We have created a helpful list of ways to keep the water cooler talk going remotely:

Provide channels and platforms for small talk

There are different platforms for company communication, Slack and Basecamp are two common ones. No matter what platform is used, create a channel for small talk. It could also be beneficial to add channels for inspiration to fire up innovation.

Create dynamic interactions in meetings

Provide the opportunity to add some spice to the workflow. Add some dynamic elements to presentations or long meetings - a dynamic interaction should not feel forced or make people feel awkward - keep it simple. Use the chat option on the meeting if there is one - read a small quiz, ask them to post their favourite cat meme or have them describe how they feel in an emoji.

Schedule casual meetings

Schedule weekly, casual meetings, to catch up with each other. Keep it to the most relevant team members to build internal team connections. Have a weekly lunch-meeting. A lot of employees eat in front of their computer while working - in theory more work hours are done, but as mentioned above this is actually not good for productivity. 

Take the time to introduce new team members

A new hire is likely to feel even more lost when the workplace is remote. Take the time to introduce them to their teammates. Let them prepare a short presentation about who they are - both for their position but other things about them. Allow them time to interact with the other team members one on one - a virtual coffee, a short interview or have them play an online game together. What fits depends on the work culture but it should be friendly and only with the members who will work closely with them.

There are plenty of other fun ideas that can be implemented to keep the small talk going - a lot of it depends on the company system for remote communication. The important thing is to keep it at a balanced degree - small talk should be short, sweet and drama free. With it we contribute to a healthier work environment.