8 Ways to Help Remote Workers Feel Included in Office Activities

By Brett Farmiloe

Remote workers risk missing out on valuable networking/relationship building and career development that happens naturally at the office. So how can a company involve its remote workers in onsite, in-office activities?

For ideas on how to improve networking and relationship-building remotely, we asked HR professionals and other business leaders for their insights. From maximizing videoconference platforms to streaming and recording meetings, here are several ways to help remote workers feel included in your company's onsite office activities.

8 tips to help remote workers feel included

1. Plan hybrid team-building activities

“Planning hybrid team-building activities is a way for companies to involve remote workers in in-office activities. These gatherings give dispersed team members the opportunity to spend time with and get to know their in-office coworkers.

“Remote workers tend to interact less frequently with colleagues, especially in casual capacities. Online team building activities help to humanize other employees, foster familiarity between in-office and at-home workers, and build a baseline foundation to build relationships upon.

“The best hybrid team-building activities involve remote teammates being active participants rather than observers. For instance, TeamBuilding runs a hybrid team game called Planet X where telecommuting team members act as ‘mission control’ and complete tasks that guide in-office counterparts on an interplanetary trek.”
—Michael Alexis, TeamBuilding

2. Organize regular in-office days

“One idea to encourage employees to come to the office and become more involved in in-office activities is to organize regular ‘work from the office’ days. At LiveCareer, we gather team members from different teams by inviting them to join us in the office once a month. During such days, we set up a specific time for lunch and offer things like donuts or cupcakes to make the whole experience more fun.

“Joining our monthly initiative is entirely voluntary. However, we’ve observed that people want more social interactions and enjoy spending time with their colleagues. It’s also beneficial for our company’s culture as it strengthens our team and reminds us that we’re all working together, regardless if it’s from home or the office.”
—Dorota Lysienia, LiveCareer

3. Incorporate monthly or weekly challenges

“Have various weekly or monthly challenges that anyone can participate in. One example is a contest to see who walks the most steps per day. There could be teams of both in-office and out-of-office employees who work together to hit a certain goal. Another way to involve remote workers could be having them be team leaders of the in-office activities, just managing from a remote/virtual perspective.”
—Sanem Ahearn, Colorescience

4. Encourage satellite participation

“A great way for your remote employees to participate in in-office events is to have them organize the same activities within their prospective communities. For example, you may have three remote workers in the same state or city, invite them to get together and participate in an in-office event as a group, still streaming through Zoom or your video meeting software. While this may not always be an option, satellite participation is a great way to grow micro-communities within your expanded workforce.”
—Boye Fajinmi, The Future Party

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

• 5 Keys to Hiring Talented Remote Workers
• 4 Tips on How to Plan and Host Your First Hybrid Event
• 7 Tips on Running a Successful Virtual Company
• 11 Virtual Team-Building Activities Your Employees Will Love

5. Send supplies beforehand

“Involve remote workers in in-office activities by broadcasting them over Zoom and making sure remote employees have everything they need to participate. For example, last year, TechnologyAdvice hosted a cheeseboard-making class, and we sent everyone—both in-office and remote—a kit that included all of the foods we’d be working with. By broadcasting it over Zoom, we had a chance to ask questions when they came up, and chat and joke with each other to build some camaraderie.”
—Jenn Fulmer, TechnologyAdvice

6. Stream or record meetings

“The general perception that the office is a place for social interaction still holds many boons and advantages, no matter how great the performance of a remote working team is. In my experience, this is mainly true for informal communication and social bonding. To prevent remote workers from becoming ‘cultural satellites,’ you should:

• Live your company values and make them ‘experience-able’ for everyone.
• Stream or at least record any business meeting relevant to the team, no matter where they are.
• Implement a communication and collaboration platform that is used by all of your staff, independent from their actual place of work.
• Make sure management is communicating frequently and honestly with the remote staff, making sure they are always up to date with any company decision, policy, or developments.
• Make room for input from remote workers; make them visible in the office and daily operations, and try to find events where remote workers can participate in person as well.”

—Reinhard Guggenberger, Soaring Fox

7. Consider flying in some team members

“Tools such as Zoom and Slack keep us connected in real time and blur the boundaries between remote and in-office workers. Anything from team meetings to a costume party can become a hybrid event if video conferencing is included—there’s really no excuse. For events that cannot be replicated online (say you’re hosting an in-person holiday event), invite remote workers to join! You can keep it within budget by hosting a prize draw and paying for a set number of employees to fly out to join the team.”
—Sean Fahey, VidCruiter

8. Maximize video conferencing platforms

“A company can involve their remote workers in in-office activities [by maximizing] their videoconferencing platform, selecting a spirited theme, and allowing a remote worker to co-host an activity with an onsite coworker. For example, if the activity is a holiday gingerbread house decorating competition, the onsite team member can ensure the remote workers receive their gingerbread houses. Team members can [attend the event] in person or on camera ... [On] the day of the event, the onsite team leader will welcome everyone, along with the remote co-host, [and] take turns giving instructions on the big screen, highlighting the decorating progress, and ultimately crowning a winner. Just because a team member is remote, does not mean they cannot be engaged and supported in in-office activities.”
—Tish McFadden, PHR, MSHRM, The Shine Institute

RELATED: 10 Tips for Conducting Productive Virtual Meetings