In #tech_hive we were working remotely before it became popular due to COVID. But before the beginning of last year, many companies and employers were reluctant to work remotely. It turned out, however, that in most cases this reluctance was unnecessary. Remote work is not only possible, but in many cases also more effective – employees perform their work better, faster and more efficiently. Of course, as with everything, this state of affairs has both advantages and disadvantages. For teams that not only work remotely, but at the same time are dispersed across the country or continent, issues relating to the company’s operation are most likely more problematic. One of such things is celebration.
Why is celebration important?
There are certainly people who will say that it is not the atmosphere at work which is important, but the high performance and hard work. However, I believe that a positive atmosphere and teammates wellbeing is a critical factor maximizing the teams results. It helps people to feel that at work they are not just another cog in the machine, but are a real part of the team sharing the same purpose and passion.
The second thing, which largely influences the first, is celebration. You can celebrate many things: successes, completed tasks, welcoming a new team member, birthdays of colleagues, leaving the company – in fact, you can celebrate anything. It is important not only to focus on the big things to celebrate, but also try to look for others, much smaller ones. What for us may be yet another task to tick off, for our colleague could be a reason to show off their success to the world. What is a reason to celebrate for others can become our celebration as well. Joint celebration is a wonderful tool.
Is failure worth celebrating? Of course, it is. In companies – but not only there – we have begun to look at failure as the greatest evil. Meanwhile, everyone should realize that we always learn our biggest lessons from failures. Making “mistakes” is a great way to learn and helps us to improve. That’s why it’s important to be able to appreciate the attempt we made, even if it ended in an unwanted result.
Remote Celebration
Now, if we are ready to celebrate… What can we do when the company not only works remotely, but its employees are geographically dispersed and, in principle, there is no opportunity to meet face to face? It’s a big challenge for highly distributed teams, but fortunately it’s not impossible. Here are some examples of how we in #tech_hive celebrate together without being in the same office.
- We are creating a #Celebration channel on the company’s communicator where you can share your own successes with others.
- We have our regular video meetings where everyone can share their success stories.
- We are celebrating birthdays – co-workers prepare a birthday surprise for the birthday #bee and on the b-day we celebrate getting “one more year wiser” 😉
- We are not yet there, but… another year of being part of the #tech_hive is a great reason to celebrate
- Digital cards or badges for specific accomplishments are also a good way for the entire team to congratulate someone on their success
- We are also focusing on our culture therefore we award cultural champion badges for the activities which embodied our core values
Of course, these are just a few examples of how you can celebrate with your team virtually. It is important to remind ourselves that our workplace is also a community that we care about ourselves and we appreciate our achievements.
A company should not be just a place to perform professional tasks, but also a place where celebration, fun and all other human factors are present at all times.