What are companies doing with regards to 'My Team'

Rated People encourages teams to get together and share experiences. After it launched a shadowing day, teams met and listened in on each other's calls. The result was an increased awareness of what each department deals with and the creation of new systems and processes. Drinks and presentations at the end helped to promote bonding.

Employees and their families get engrossed in The Porsche Retail Group Annual Review. The glossy 108-page book with a gold leaf Porsche Logo on the cover is now onto its third edition. It contains a month-by-month review of the year, news highlights from the UK and beyond and Group and individual achievements.

Quarterly socials, team lunches and company-wide holidays are all ways of bringing colleagues closer together and building meaningful working relationships, along with digital communications software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The firm also holds a 'Global Vision Conference' where employees are given updates on business performance and a 12-month outlook.

Staff get together for monthly "walk and talk" sessions in different parts of the North West, based around the company's services. It also hosted a "party in the car park", which it plans to tour around its services. Staff were encouraged to host a stall or a game and colleagues and service-users attended.

Collaboration is encouraged through 'Coffee Connect', where associates are randomly paired with a colleague to network over a hot drink. Employees could even end up sitting down with the CEO! Meanwhile, the internal social media platform 'Workplace' connects associates through posts and interest-specific groups such as 'Parents and Lockton' and 'Lockton Pets'.

This year the company ran its first "away two-days". On the second day, staff took part in dragon boat racing. Teams were made up of staff who had never worked together, so that people came together and did something fun and competitive. The evening entertainment included band-a-oke, when staff could sing with a live band.

Tuesday is a mandatory office day so that everyone can come together for the weekly stand-up meeting, when senior leaders let staff know what is going on, how things are progressing and what support is available. Social events, such as team lunches and dinners, quiz evenings, games nights and other activities bring people together informally.

Bringing teams together was a vital part of Home Instead's focus in 2021, not least for the several new recruits that joined the team. A 'collaboration week' was held by the company, filled with team building exercises, social events and strategic business updates - something the organisation plans to continue on a regular basis.

There is no shortage of opportunities to get together and talk work or otherwise. These include twice-yearly company events to share business updates and strategy plans, team away days, virtual lunch breaks, workshop sessions and social outings. Many have looked to build on the camaraderie created by virtual sessions, like 'Friday Night Drinks,' during lockdown.

At Gearset's virtual tearoom — a continuous video call — staff can join at any time. Channels on the communication app Slack are dedicated to departments, teams, projects and shared hobbies. Last year, the company staged a summer party for staff and their families. Meanwhile, there are drink-and-learn events and beers on Fridays.