When you aren’t physically sitting next to your coworkers in an office workspace, it can feel hard to form lasting relationships. Without the ease of turning around to ask a question or talk about your weekend plans, it can be difficult to connect on a deeper level.
Which is exactly why our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) group, which provides policy support to our customer base over the phone and is more than 90% remote, developed a program that would help create those deeper connections.
Building organic relationships
Connecting Coworkers, or CoCo for short, is a virtual community CRM employees can opt in to with online discussions and monthly virtual meetups on topics that aren’t work related.
“When building the program, we wanted to make sure we featured topics people were interested in, those organic discussions that would normally come up in the office with your coworkers,” Nick, video producer on CRM’s Communications and Rewards & Recognition team, and one of the program organizers, shares.
Both the online discussions and meetups relate to hobbies or seasonal topics like holiday recipes or football discussions.
“I recently got a sauna, so I did a discussion around the benefits of using it, which generated great organic discussion,” Nick says. “We also do posts that encourage participation, like sharing Halloween pet photos.”
Developing a welcoming community
The virtual meetups add another layer of connection by taking the online conversations into a video meeting space where employees can talk to each other and build on their camaraderie.
Andre, a business leader in our CRM organization, had a Monday football meetup that very quickly turned into a recurring session. Meant to bring back the weekly discussions around sports he missed from days in the office, the sessions were hugely popular.
“It started out as everyone sharing their ideas or insights around football, but quickly turned into building connections that would not have been formed without this monthly meeting. These meetups and discussions provide people with a sense of community and belonging.”
Sven, inbound sales representative, echoes Andre’s sentiment. “I’ve been able to connect with people from different areas like Underwriting and create relationships with people that are about more than just work.”
Encouraging career connections
Although CoCo is meant to be a space to discuss nonwork topics and build organic relationships, it’s not surprising to hear that it’s provided opportunities for career networking as well.
Anyone in the CRM organization can participate in these discussions, whether you’re a customer service representative or director.
“These meetups allow employees to interact with all different levels of the organization, people you may not interact with in your daily role,” Andre shares.
Sven agrees. “The networking is fantastic. I’ve connected with so many people, and it’s opened my horizons.”
Employees have expressed that these sessions have shown them that their opinions are valued, and that all roles within the organization are respected.
Ready to learn more about a supportive, welcoming community like our CRM organization? Visit our Customer Care page, and to apply for open positions, visit our job opportunity listings.
