What is a virtual coffee break? Tips & tools for a great virtual coffee session

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When working in a remote team, one of the most challenging aspects is to make sure your employees build relationships with their colleagues.

In the office, people bump into one another more often, which can possibly lead to casual conversations. However, in a remote team, there is a necessity to create such moments to restore energy and create engagement between team members. One way to achieve this is by conducting virtual coffee breaks.

What is a virtual coffee break?

A virtual coffee break is a planned allocation of time towards casual activities like chatting and brainstorming. These are usually held for around 30 minutes. The purpose of a virtual coffee break is to make your employees meet virtually for an informal moment of exchange and interaction.

Although it is called a ‘Virtual Coffee’, the focus of these breaks is not on drinks, but on building relationships and camaraderie.

Here are six tips for conducting a successful virtual coffee break sessions:

1. Keep virtual coffee breaks short. It should be ideally in between 15 to 30 minutes.
2. Include an actual coffee or tea.
3. Choose a different team member to bond with each time or make it completely random each time
4. Use breakout rooms to encourage more discussion
5. Keep it short and casual. Allow the conversations to flow freely. Avoid talking about anything work-related.
6. After the session, make sure to be in touch and check back from time to time.

So, to help you bond with your team members and to even network with people outside your company, here is a handpicked list of tools for you to conduct virtual coffee breaks.