Activities that Foster Community in a Remote Work Setting

As companies reimagine what working remotely and cross-functional collaboration means, we’ve all had to figure out new ways to connect with teammates on a personal level. Being able to connect with teammates on a personal level brings a sense of community and belonging. By creating chances to meet others outside of their normal function, it gives a chance to learn from team members of different backgrounds and perspectives, which helps our culture evolve, create a safe place for new ideas, and low ego collaboration. Our People Ops team has used these ways to bring teammates closer together, and we are here to share with you!

Most meetings start with a quick icebreaker followed by the agenda. Starting with an ice breaker before we deep dive into the agenda of the meeting helps loosen people up, get a laugh in, or even learn something new about their teammates that they would have never known.

Here are some of our favorite ice breaker questions:

What’s the biggest fear you’ve ever faced?

What’s a childhood nickname you have? And what’s the story behind it?

What is your favorite and least favorite chore?

Who had the most influence on you while growing up?

Do you think you would be friends with a clone of yourself?

Would you rather go 100 years into the future or the past?

If you spend the day being anyone, who would you be?

What is something interesting we would not know about you just by looking?

If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, who would you you choose?

Rose ( a highlight, small win, or something positive that happened), bud (one thing you look forward to), thorn (a challenge)

Every 2 weeks, the People Ops team hosts a fun activity. While this is an optional activity, it is highly encouraged for team members to join if they have time and especially within their first month of joining the team. By setting up these activities, it helps bring together people from all different functions for some fun.

While we currently have over 30 team members, if there are more than 12 people who join, we prefer to split off into multiple groups (6-8 people each) chosen at random. We find that smaller groups gives space for more people to talk and really get to know one another.

In the future, we plan to have teammates volunteer to lead these activities, or use the time to present on a topic they are passionate about, lead an exercise class, or wherever their imagination brings them.

While team members can get survey fatigue, we’ve seen a high engagement of team members filling out the survey and chatting about it during all-hands, as well as if presented in an optional meeting, we’ve seen a higher number come to drop by to hear the results.

Each month, the People Ops team creates a survey with 10-12 questions max via Slido. The questions are random (unrelated to work) and include fun pictures.

Example of our disclaimer: Remember to keep answers appropriate for work (if in doubt, don't write it). And as always, answers are revealed at All-Hands or Biweekly Team Activity and remain anonymous (unless you share it was your answer during the reveal).

Examples of random questions asked:

Which Way Should Toilet Paper Hang, Over Or Under?

What’s one thing you own that you should probably get rid of, but just can’t?

What word do you think is the funniest or sounds made up but is a real word?

What's something you are grateful for today?

What Was Your Favorite Toy As A Child?

What’s The Strangest Thing In Your Refrigerator?

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

We hope you find these activities useful and get team members engaged outside of their day-to-day work responsibilities. This is a time when everyone can learn something new, meet new team members, and get excited about working with each other.