FIKA to stay connected!
Fika is often translated as "a coffee and cake break", but it is much more than that. Fika, a Swedish cultural thing, means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee (or tea) and a little something to eat.
Fika cannot be experienced at your desk by yourself. It is a moment to stop and socialize: to take a pause together. It refreshes the brain and strengthens relationships. And it makes good business sense: firms have better teams and are more productive where fika is institutionalized.
Exactly what you eat during fika is not really important. But whatever food you choose for fika ideally it should be homemade. Many team leaders in Sweden consider it important to regularly bake something at home to take into workfor fika. With COVID-19 that is difficult, but… the socializing part is more important than ever!
Main struggle due to COVID-19: lack of in-person connections with colleagues
It is hopefully not a surprise that due to COVID-19 staff experiences lack of in-person connections with colleagues.
We have facilitated many virtual sessions in the past months. And what we often heard was: 'how nice to connect with the whole department again!'
Typically people still have regular virtual meetings with their teams, but not with the whole department or with various groups. So they have the feeling they lack oversight.
Due to working remotely people are less sure if they meet expectations and thus the feeling of insecurity increases. And when people are less secure, they feel less safe with all its consequences....
So, it is time to bond!
Our solution: tweaked 'FIKA' moments under supervision of team coach
We can imagine that this is an additional task for you as manager to take on in these already challenging times. That's why we offer Fika moments under supervision of a team coach. Just to truly connect with all the team members again. To be more specific, this is what we have in mind:
- Frequency: 1 hour meeting per week
- Objective: increase feeling of connection with team while working remotely by getting to know and understanding each other better; what is it what we on an individual level struggle with, what do we need, how can we support each other?
- Approach: virtual meeting in Teams/Zoom in combination with Mural and Slido with supporting exercises.
- Benefit: increased engagement, team maturity and productivity.
- Investment: 477 euro/month