The pandemic has taken its toll on collaboration in the workplace as employees find themselves dispersed to various locations and in-person interactions are limited.
The Learning and Skills at Work Survey 2021 released earlier this year by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in London, in partnership with Accenture, confirmed what many of us already knew—face-to-face collaboration has declined by 67 percent during the pandemic, according to the report.
With the help of technology, though, collaboration can be brought back. Last year, organizations of all kinds quickly turned to tools like Zoom to connect and collaborate, making use of its many features to find new ways of making meaningful connections to get work done and address social needs.
While Zoom had been widely used before the pandemic, particularly in corporate settings, it was often used as a “one to many” form of communication. Since the pandemic, though, organizations and L&D professionals have learned to leverage the many tools and advanced functionality that Zoom offers, especially when augmented by Class.
The Power of Breakout Rooms for Team Connections
Jess Munday is the co-founder of Custom Neon, a global manufacturer and distributor of custom-designed LED neon lights and signs, and serves as people and culture manager with the organization. “Breakout rooms have been game-changing for Custom Neon,” says Munday. “Since instituting these types of video conferences for team bonding and strategic meeting, we have seen dramatic increases in overall cohesion, ability to train remotely, engagement, and productivity.”Like many businesses, she says the company was “unexpectedly thrust into the world of remote work as a result of the pandemic.” It wasn’t initially easy to adapt to, but “we have certainly found our groove. Video conferencing via Zoom has been a big part of that success,” she continues.
While initially meetings were held based on the location of employees, the company later found that bringing people together based on their roles, regardless of their locations, resulted in better collaboration. “This change meant that employees within our various departments—marketing, sales, design—were given more of a chance to discuss ideas and best practices with their counterparts in other locations,” Munday says. Smaller breakout rooms have become a staple of daily employee interaction.
McKenna Sweazey is vice president of marketing at Truthset, a Silicon Valley start-up, and has managed global teams remotely for a number of years. Breakout rooms, says Sweazey, can be used to facilitate small group discussions, encourage team collaboration, and add some variety to avoid Zoom fatigue and the burnout that can come from participating in large and long online meetings.
Small Group Discussion
In breakout rooms, employees can participate in active discussions around relevant content. This is much easier in small groups and allows employees an opportunity to share individual perspectives on how they will apply what they’ve learned to their jobs. Content including blogs, videos, case studies, and other materials can be assigned before or during these sessions to prompt discussion.According to Sweazey, small group discussions also lend themselves to personal sharing. That doesn’t work well in large virtual settings “where it’s hard to see the faces of those you’re communicating with or gauge if you feel you’re in a safe space,” she says. Breakout rooms, Sweazey adds, can help to solve these barriers to intimacy.
Team Collaboration
Breakout rooms provide an outlet and opportunity for team members to work on collaborative documents and projects. This might be a shared document, a presentation, or a whiteboard brainstorming session. Work problems can be brought into the learning environment with breakout rooms serving as a catalyst for collaboration.
