Ideas for Keeping Colleagues Socially Connected – Wherever They Are Working

Are your teams “zoomed out”? Are you looking for novel ways to keep colleagues connected, wherever they are working?

If you are, you might be interested in some of the innovative initiatives coming from Alan Williams and the UK Values Alliance.

  • ValuesJam card game – to stimulate values-led conversations in various settings eg workplace, community groups, healthcare, families etc.  There is a prelaunch event you can join.  The game will be played with a physical deck of cards with an online back up version.

I love this idea and am keen to give it a go both with my family and with colleagues. To me it’s all about having fun with non-judgemental, culture-neutral conversations around values. Could be a great way to get people to open up and maybe even get through to some of those that are proving harder to reach around wellbeing.

  • Global Poetry Showcase – for communities (schools, churches, clubs, organisations etc) to encourage their members and relatives to express themselves through poetry and forward selected poems to be considered for the Global Poetry Showcase.

You might be thinking that this could be a bit high-brow. But I’m reminded of my recent conversation with Paul Barrett from the Bank Worker’s Charity. In this he mentioned that one bank had a great response to its own poetry showcase and had found it an excellent way to connect people right across the organisation.

  • Reconnect with NATURE – various activities like a photography competition, growing vegetables for a meal on 21st October etc

Another great initiative which can connect people across cultures and generations. This echoes work from Business in the Community (BITC) who have launched their “The Power of Nature for Employee Wellbeing” toolkit.

If some of these ideas appeal to you, you can connect with Alan here for further information or visit https://valuesalliance.co.uk/

Alan also reminded me that serendipity has been working hard behind the scenes meaning that our 4th annual MAD World Summit shares 21st October 2021 with this year’s World Values Day. The theme of World Values Day is reCONNECTING (with values).

About the author

Claire Farrow is the Global Director of Content and Programming for www.makeadifference.media and the MAD World Summit. She’s on a mission to help every employer – large, medium and small – get the insight, inspiration and contacts they need to make real impact on workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing in their organisation. She has been freelance for more than 15 years. During that time, she has had the honour of working with many leading publishers, including the New York Times.

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