Tips for Increasing Community and Productivity in the Workplace

Show Summary

We chat amongst ourselves on this episode of Entrepreneurship Elevated. The team shares our practices for building community and a fun, productive workplace. And as a bonus, we discuss how we use coffee to aid us.

More than half of adults drink at least one cup of coffee to help get through the day, but coffee is more than the caffeine fix that we crave— it’s a catalyst for an even deeper craving: human connection. That’s why Eight O’Clock Coffee, who has provided great tasting coffee since 1859, created their “Get Together” campaign.

Eight O’Clock is committed to showing a new generation of coffee drinkers that sharing a cup of coffee is less about a quick fix and more about quality time with the favorite people in your life. Time spent with each other over a great cup of coffee fosters togetherness, belonging, and production, encouraging the new tagline, “Get Together around Eight O’Clock Coffee.”

In addition to connections with friends and family at home, navigating professional connections over coffee in the workplace can also be beneficial.  Mike Michalowicz and the team see the direct benefits and practices of hosting meetings over coffee to increase productivity, rituals and performance.

Daily Accountability Huddles:

  • Every day the company staff (family) meets at 8:34 am with coffee in hand and each person discusses 3 key points:
  • The “one-thing” they commit to completing that day.
  • Review their previous day and report if they’ve completed their “one-thing” from the previous day.
  • Share a personal update.
  • This huddle serves to hold ourselves accountable for the tasks that keep us moving forward as a company.  It brings awareness to each other’s roles and responsibilities as well as opportunities to help each other. The personal update ensures we see each other as whole people, rather than roles.

Weekly Team-building Meetings:

  • Once a week at 9am we meet over coffee and answer an ice-breaker question.  Ice-breakers get a bad rap, but they work! The responsibility for choosing an ice-breaker rotates to a new person every week. This activity is key to:
    • Cultivating a fun culture where staff feels safe and cared about.
    • Understand our teammates on a deeper level.
    • Identify strengths and potential role shifts.
    • Can present employee insecurities that managers and teammates can lend additional support to.

1-on-1 Employee Meetings:

  • Every week management has a casual one-on-one meeting with each employee while enjoying a cup of coffee. This helps to:
    • Provide an opportunity for the employee and manager to chat about what’s working and what’s not working in a non-combative way.
    • A consistent communication channel for employees to feel safe and heard.

Create a casual meeting space:

  • We have a meeting space with a couch, armchairs and a coffee table.  We have coasters that speak to our company mission for guests to place their coffee cups on. The purpose is to:
    • Offer a space that guests feel at home and in.
    • Presents an opportunity to speak to our company mission and provides brand awareness and consistency.

Gestures of Comradery and Support

  • Coffee is the perfect way to offer a subtle gesture of comradery to our colleagues.  We know each other’s favorite flavors and we fill each other’s cups as we fill our own.

Branding for Training Programs:

  • We have trainings at our office and serve them coffee in our branded mugs.  They keep the mug as a gift.

Celebrations and Consolations:

  • Working as part of a team, we celebrate and console each other.  Coffee is the perfect complement to all those occasions.

 

Corporate Partners

Eight O’Clock Coffee – A cup of Eight O’Clock® Coffee is a connection worth savoring. It’s a link to a heritage dating back to 1859 – and more importantly, to the people you share it with. Find your favorite: Whole bean, Ground or K-Cup® Pods. Flavored, medium or dark roast. Spend some time enjoying it with your favorite people.

 

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