5 simple ways to ease the transition back into the office!

The modern-day dilemma – finding the right balance between remote working and bringing the team back to the office. When it comes to remote work, not having to worry about the commute to work, spending time with the kids and the extra hours in the day to indulge in your hobbies is godsent! 

We know it’s difficult to entice employees back into the office, but the list of benefits from working in a collaborative office space is pretty swell. What are they? Well, building deeper connections with your colleagues and having an exceptionally interactive team are the BIG ticket items! Virtual meetings and bantering with teammates online doesn’t beat the real deal of seeing their lovely faces in person. 

Bringing teams back into the office isn’t about monitoring them, but rather ensuring you reestablish office culture and provide the right set-up for organisational success – we’re sure you’ve hit a little road bump in this space with your team isolated and WFH. 

So what’s it going to take? Well, you’re in luck because today we bring to you five awesome ideas to encourage your team back to the office.

1. Fuelling social interaction with social events!

We squeal with excitement whenever we hear SOCIAL EVENTS – it’s the reward you look forward to throughout the week and the ultimate stress reliever. It’s a great way to band different teams together, improve organisational culture, and employee wellbeing. Talk about a motivation booster and brightening up an average workday, who wouldn’t love coming into the office to blow off some steam with your awesome colleagues. Do it entirely in your company’s style! Here are a few ideas:

• Team catered or restaurant lunches 
• Free coffee vouchers 
• Friday night drinks and happy hour
• In-office group yoga and wellness sessions 
• Office team sports 
• Office scavenger hunt
• Breakfast clubs
• Monthly birthday celebrations 

2. Revamp the office! 

Get your staff excited about coming to work! Create an unbeatable workplace environment, we’re talking ergonomic chairs, spacious desks, clean amenities, fresh furniture, stunning breakout areas and there’s just something about green plants that breathe life into any space – that ought to put a WFH set-up to shame. 

We know how easy it is to get side-tracked when WFH and the importance of a bright, clean, and inspiring workspace for productivity – your employees are well aware. Transforming your office into an ideal workplace will make the transition 10x more appealing. 

3. Career and personal development training and workshops 

Among the most-wanted employee benefits, we have career and personal development! We’re all trying to learn and flourish to perform in our roles to the best of our abilities. Providing in-house training, soft-skill workshops, or career development sessions with mentors and guest speakers are a great way to engage your staff and draw employees into the office. 

4. Make the commute to and from the office as seamless as possible 

Employees consider traveling to and from work ‘wasted time’ in their day, and it’s an absolute pain if your office is off the map! There’s a couple of things to consider being location, convenience, and cost! An accessible office in close proximity with plenty of transport options, organising free parking or subsidising travel can help make your employee’s commute to work a little more stress-free and cost-effective. 

5. Create an inclusive family-friendly workplace!

It’s no secret that remote working has meant more time around the kids for parents! We know change can be a little daunting and 65% of parents state that childcare was the reason they wanted to continue working from home [1]. The reluctance to return can be linked to the lack of support offered by employers! 

KidsCo’s school holiday programs can ease the transition back to the office for working parents by allowing them to stay connected in their children’s lives and eliminate that sense of guilt that consumes them during the school holidays when work takes priority. 

KidsCo’s program embodies the “bring your kids to work” concept but instead, our qualified school teachers keep the kids engaged with non-stop action and entertainment. We literally bring the FUN space to your office space! Forget about scrambling to find childcare alternatives, parents can now enjoy some in-office productivity whilst having their little legends right next door – this means family bonding time and lunch dates with the kids aren’t off the table! 

Creating a family-friendly workplace promotes an exceedingly inclusive culture for all employees; regardless of whether they are parents! At the heart of inclusivity is allowing people to feel comfortable with bringing their ‘whole-self’ to work! 

Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment – you won’t know what works for you until you give it a red hot go! 

Find out how KidsCo’s onsite programs can help you bring your team back to the office below

[1]https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/04/02/struggles-for-working-parents-are-likely-to-remain-post-pandemic/?sh=68cca3216856