Keeping your marketing team motivated this winter - top tips for remote team building
It’s cold, it’s dark by 4pm and the office party has been cancelled. Bah humbug. The winter months for HE marketing teams in 2020 are not the usual festive fare. As teams grow weary of the umpteenth Zoom quiz, we asked HE marketing team leaders across the country to share their top team building tips to boost morale. And we’ve looked into some of the top-rated team building activities to keep your team in good spirits this winter.
This article is part of our education marketing content series, we interviewed marketing and communications leaders from across higher and further education. We asked what they’ve learnt in 2020, and what they’re planning for the future. The series is packed with insights, top-tips, and their reflections on an unprecedented time.
Real tea, virtual kitchen
Almost everyone misses an impromptu chat about the latest episode of *insert favourite Netflix show here* over a cup of tea in the kitchen. Or the times you bump into a colleague in the corridor and have a spontaneous chat which sparks the idea for the next marketing campaign.
As teams work from home, regular social interactions have been limited and, for some, completely non-existent. This can make the absence of normal workplace interactions more stark and shines a light on their significance. Emma Leech, director of marketing and communications at Nottingham Trent University explains that not being at work means that some team members, “might not actually see another human, to have a conversation with for a week and a half.”
To enable, in so far as possible, the spontaneous interactions that usually happen in an office work environment, many institutions have created a virtual space. A dedicated channel in Microsoft Teams where people take some time out from work and have a non-work related chat or blow off some steam with colleagues is a popular solution.
Animal channel
Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, they’re all welcome on the animal channel! Encourage your team to share photos of their pets with the rest of the team and lift everyone’s spirits. Because who doesn’t love a photo of an adorable animal?!
Make it hilarious
Laughter is good for business. Get some feel-good chemicals pumping with some inevitably funny ice breakers. Here are a few tried and tested ones which tend to have funny results:
Two truths one lie
Participants tell three stories in turn. Two of the stories are true, one is a lie. The listeners then say which story they think is a lie.
Share an embarrassing photo
Each team member shares a photo they find embarrassing with the rest of the group and they tell the story behind the photo.
Make a portrait
Each participant draws a portrait of another team member. Then everyone shares with the group. Unless you’re also a team of talented illustrators, cue laughter at childlike drawings.
GIF me your answer
Dr Chris Headleans, Computer Scientist, Director of Teaching and Learning and a Student Engagement evangelist says (when talking about student engagement in the blended classroom) “ice breaker exercises can be a great way to promote participation. One fun one I use is asking participants to post a GIF in answer to a question, something abstract like ‘what are your hopes and dreams’. It’s a good, fun way to get people to focus on the session.”
Send some snail mail
People love to get post. Not bills or pamphlets from window fitters so much, but handwritten notes or cards. Rachel Sandison, vice principal, external relations at the University of Glasgow, was surprised by the response when she sent handwritten cards to every member of the directorate. She received emails from colleagues who were delighted to receive a nice surprise in their letterbox. As Rachel says, “if you really want to make a personal connection with an impact, I think print can be really powerful.”
Digital communications are the norm, a quick text or email is part and parcel of our work and personal lives. A handwritten letter or card, however, is more unusual. It takes time, thought and care to handwrite a personal message and post it. All of which is likely to be warmly received.
Get into the festive spirit
The in-person christmas party may be cancelled, but a virtual celebration is still possible. You could set your own party agenda in-house or you could hire a virtual host.
With companies such as One Fine Dine that deliver festive food, you can still enjoy a christmas lunch with your colleagues from home.
There are plenty of online interactive workshops to choose from. Make cocktails together, solve a murder mystery or try a virtual pottery course.
Whatever you choose, ugly christmas jumpers and tinsel reindeer antlers should probably be obligatory.
Fitness challenge
Unite your team with a fitness challenge. Whether it’s a racking up kilometers for a charity run, or team member setting a fitness activity each week, physical activity is a great way to energise your team.
With people more prone to low moods in the best of winters (the non-pandemic ones), physical activity can be a helpful mood booster. A shared fundraising goal or a leadership board can add an extra layer of motivation.
Team focus
As many HE marketeers know, remote work means social interactions require more effort. And, as people’s worlds have become smaller due to the pandemic, those interactions are needed more now than ever, particularly in the winter months.