Staying Connected: How to Build Strong Nonprofit Culture in a Hybrid Workplace

co-authored by Humberto Camarena, Senior Consultant

 

This article is the result of a collaborative effort between our team and our talented intern, working together to share our insights on virtual workplace culture.

 

The goal:

Intentionally build a strong organizational culture in a hybrid or virtual environment by implementing these simple, yet effective practices.

The challenge:

Developing a strong work culture in a hybrid or entirely virtual environment can be difficult. It takes intentionality and an entirely different approach than the spontaneous culture that can arise in an in-person setting through casual, watercooler conversations. In a virtual setting, staff may be in transit, have noise or distractions present during meetings, they may not be able to have their cameras on, or they might be working independently and not see their colleagues outside of structured meetings. All of this can lead to a lack of engagement, community, collaboration, and commitment within the organization.

Why it matters:

Intentionally building your organizational culture is extremely important for organizations. It supports collaboration, connects staff to the mission, reduces turnover, increases efficiency, minimizes miscommunication, and, ultimately, helps the organization achieve its goals. If culture is lacking, the organization is at risk of staff not understanding its values and priorities, and people end up leaving, because they do not feel supported.

Thankfully, there are various tools and practices available for leaders to shape their organizational culture in a way that is aligned with their mission and values.

Bottom line:

Hybrid culture is the new normal. We have to develop systems and practices to make this context work for our organizations. These four basic changes can greatly improve organizational effectiveness and promote success in the long run.

 

Practice #1: Cultivate Team Bonding

Why it matters:

Team bonding activities help team members feel more connected and less isolated when working from home. When team members know each other better and have constructive relationships, they are more likely to share resources, reach out for support, and ask clarifying questions, even when they are not working in the same department. When a team feels bonded with each other, work tends to be more productive, teams are less siloed, and a higher morale is shared throughout the organization.

Strategies to take action:

Get Started

Begin team meetings with an ice breaker. Some possibilities include doing a weekend photo contest, checking in on a current event, or highs/lows. Here is a list of additional ice breaker ideas. Establish shoutout opportunities, either during meetings or through staff messaging channels, to recognize each other’s work and contributions Create a space for casual, watercooler conversations: Virtual coffee breaks Celebrations for employee milestones and holidays, and other casual interactions that typically occur in the office Donut integration on Slack and Zoom, with both free and paid plans, is one potential tool to accomplish this goal

Go Deeper

Facilitate monthly bonding activities in or outside of work hours: Options include hosting virtual trivia, happy hours, book clubs, or karaoke For more ideas, checkout this list of additional activities  Hold reflection meetings and retreats to reconnect regularly with your mission, values, and goals Develop a GAME Plan (Growth, Appreciation, Measurement, Engagement) for your organization

Bottom line:

The feeling of isolation is real! Team bonding facilitates a feeling of collaboration and presence to connect more fully with colleagues. These activities should be ongoing to help coworkers establish rapport on a personal and professional level.

 

 

Practice #2: Establish Mechanisms for Strong and Open Communication

Why it matters:

When organizations are able to cultivate effective communication, it leads to stronger trust, fewer misunderstandings, increases in productivity, greater clarity of work delegation, and robust feedback for continuous improvement. No single communication strategy is a silver bullet. Instead, a series of coordinated efforts is necessary to ensure communication is strong and effective.

Key areas to address in your internal communication strategies:

• Changes that are happening in the organization
• New systems/policies being implemented
• Updates on key strategic tasks
• Professional development opportunities
• Task assignments and deliverables
• Organizational responses to news and events
• Feedback opportunities for staff to voice ideas, frustrations, and concerns
• Celebrations and staff recognition

 

Strategies to take Action:

Get Started

Open formal and informal communication channels on Team/Slack to make employees feel comfortable and to encourage cross-team communication. You can have channels for giving kudos, asking for resources, sharing organizational updates, uploading cute pet photos, and more. Implement weekly or monthly bulletins. Reevaluate your meeting types and frequency. Whenever possible, use email to share updates that could be reviewed ahead of time and utilize meeting spaces to foster deeper connections. Redesign your onboarding system through a virtual lens. Calendar spaces to check in regularly on your organization’s values, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and strategic goals. This should happen on a quarterly basis at minimum.

Go Deeper

Facilitate quarterly, one-on-one feedback sessions with all employees. Implement regular surveys that allow you to have your finger on the pulse of how people are feeling in the workplace. Officevibe is an online tool that creates easy, automated 5-minute surveys on a weekly basis. Share metrics and impact to celebrate organizational successes and the people who made it possible.

 Bottom line:

Open communication helps get all staff on the same page about the organization’s goals and values, making employees feel more connected to daily operations and the overall mission.

 

 

Practice #3: Make Meetings Engaging

Why it matters:

When was the last time you walked out of a meeting feeling like it was an excellent use of time? What was it that made the meeting particularly effective? How often do you have engaging meetings? When employees feel empowered to participate and feel engaged with the content of a meeting, it can help elevate innovation, motivation, and connection. Engaging meetings help the content “stick,” keep the energy high, and put staff in the driver’s seat, actively and effectively contributing their time and resources towards the organization’s mission and goals.

 

Strategies to Take Action:

Get Started

Invite someone to play DJ during your meetings. Have them play music in the background as people log into the space and during breaks. Rotate different meeting facilitators to mix up the dynamic and allow people to put their own spin on meetings. Plan agendas and share with team in advance, so everyone can be prepared for the meeting. State a clear purpose for the meeting and collect questions ahead of time so the meeting runs efficiently. Use visual and interactive aids such as polls, slide decks, virtual whiteboards, and videos. Menti and Mural are some of our favorites. Hold lunch-and-learn sessions to build concrete skills among the staff.

Go Deeper

Gamify your approach. Mix it up by doing some workplace trivia or having teams compete on a given task. Gamestorming provides countless ideas to convert any meeting into an engaging activity. Invite outside speakers to educate on a given topic or connect with your mission. Meet outside the office! Meeting in a different location can spark creativity or simply get folks out of the routine. Hold off-site retreats and use them as an opportunity to break with meeting patterns. Implement Office Vibe to offer quick 5 minute survey, allowing for ongoing feedback opportunities to improve your organizational culture https://officevibe.com/

 Bottom line:

Engaging meetings help boost productivity and keep employees committed to and excited about the organization’s goals and mission.

 

 

Practice #4: Team Leaders and Managers – Make Yourselves Available 

 Why it matters:

To make employees feel comfortable asking questions and coming to them for help, team leaders and managers need to make themselves available. This is especially true in a virtual environment. Unlike an in-person setting, staff can’t just “pop in” to a person’s office or run into each other in the hallway to clarify questions or run something by you. It is important to not only create a feeling of openness and support between team members and leadership, but also to carve out virtual opportunities for those interactions to feel natural. By showing you are available and willing to help, you can build a stronger connection and a sense of camaraderie, trust, and accountability between staff and leadership.

 

Strategies to Take Action:

Get Started

Offer stay interviews – meetings with supervisor to help staff feel connected, valued, and explore what the supervisor can do to enhance the relationship and overall work experience. Create a WFH Policy. Make it a point to regularly check in on workload and capacity, and develop strategies to create an effective balance. This can be done via email or 1:1 supervision. Identify one week where supervisors meet with each staff member to identify how their work connects to their career development goals and the organizational mission. Host Townhall/Q&A Sessions for all staff. Build in structured feedback opportunities in addition to an annual review.

Go Deeper

Establish mechanisms for staff to provide feedback to leadership. Report back on what you’ve heard and the follow-up actions you will take. Hold quarterly staff retreats for training and bonding with management. Host weekly office hours for employees to ask questions and share and receive feedback on their work.

 Bottom Line:

When managers make time for their employees, they feel valued, develop stronger relationships, and feel more connected to their team goals and objectives—especially when onboarding virtually. This helps improve engagement, productivity, and retention.

 

Tips for Success

Building a strong nonprofit culture in a hybrid workplace is a process that requires time, effort, and dedication. As we have seen, culture isn’t built overnight, and it requires a deliberate effort to shape and maintain it. It is important to choose the tools and tactics that work best for your organization, taking into account your unique needs, resources, values, and goals.

Offering many different touchpoints for staff to engage in and build your culture is also key. As you go about implementing, it is essential to ensure follow-through and have different leaders and staff responsible for working on your organizational culture. This shared accountability ensures that everyone is invested in maintaining a strong culture and that efforts to do so are sustainable over time.

By following these tips and remaining committed to building a strong nonprofit culture, organizations can foster a positive work environment that supports their mission and goals.