How one can flip digital groups into tight-knit communities: confirmed recommendation from Radha Agrawal

This week our master once led 40,000 people in a huge virtual dance party for Oprah. (Oprah!)

As someone whose dance moves resemble a malfunctioning robot, I admit that the concept seemed incredibly awkward to me. But looking at the videos made me realize that Agrawal was right: people desperately need connection.

Radha Agrawal is a community architect, speaker and entrepreneur, and she helps companies (like Meta, Nike and Campbell’s) create stronger communities within their workplaces. She is also the founder of DAY BREAKERa morning dance party in 33 cities around the world.

Let’s move on to his three tips for cultivating your own community.

How to Master the Art of Building a Thriving Community

1. You need a community architect. (And no, not the intern.)

Before you scoff at a big article about “community” and “friendship,” let’s take a hard look at some numbers:

In 2023, only a third of employees were engaged in their work Disengaged employees represent $1.9 trillion in loss of productivity 92% of executives say this high engagement = more satisfied customers

Or let’s take a personal example: I met my best friend, Kristen, at the office a few years ago. She is now a bridesmaid at my wedding and I told Radha that I would turn down a job elsewhere even if I was offered $20,000 more, because I would much rather continue my weekly tradition of chatting in the coffee shop from the headquarters with Kristen.

Community has the power to keep employees happy, engaged, and willing to go above and beyond to keep your company’s cash flowing.

To cultivate a community, you have to prioritize it.

“You need to hire a community architect — and I’m not talking about giving that job to the entry-level intern,” Agrawal told me. “Your community manager should be recruited with the same level of seriousness as a marketing director or general manager.»

Once you have your CCO, you will want this person to sit down with the head of each department to understand the needs behind each role.

“In a disaggregated work-from-home environment, it’s difficult to create a sense of camaraderie and loyalty within a company without first understanding who the humans behind each department are. You will need to know the miniature ecosystems within the company and bring them all together into a cohesive value alignment,” says Agrawal.

2. Work isn’t just for unsubscribes‘ and burns.

Agrawal recognizes that loneliness exists at all levels, whether you’re a CEO, middle manager, or a new intern.

And Agrawal sincerely believes that work can be a solution to this loneliness. In fact, she met her own husband in an office.

“It’s important to remember that workspaces aren’t just spaces for working and burning. These are spaces for socializing, and they are where you make and receive your social connections the most.»

Agrawal believes it is a leader’s responsibility to determine how each member of their team wants to socialize.

For example, she is interested in newcomers to her own team: “As the founder of my company, I want to understand and learn what the younger members of my team want. What do they need? How do they socialize? How can I support them in their camaraderie? This level of curiosity is so important within a team.

My own socializing preferences? Two words: Margarita night.

3. Offsite, offsite, offsite.

In the midst of a pandemic, I remember all too well the clumsy attempts to connect.

Zoom in on happy hours. Remote treasure hunts. Virtual quiz.

The effort was good, but it was nowhere near as powerful as the one HubSpot put together last March (which culminated in a team outing to a karaoke bar, where we brought the house down with a soulful rendition of the Celine Dion film). My heart will continue).

Agrawal highlights the importance of working off-site as an opportunity to keep employees motivated and engaged. She also encourages more consistent in-person events where possible.

“The important thing is to give it a name and give it a cadence. There is a sense of place that you create when you consider energy, intentionality and space..”

Agrawal provided me with a few examples: Maybe your company hosts a monthly poker night or starts a roller skating team that rollerblades in silly costumes once a quarter.

If bringing everyone together in person isn’t an option, can you encourage mini meetups in different cities? And if not, how can we facilitate the establishment of virtual connections?

The simplest solution is to ask your employees: what would motivate them to come to work every morning?

“Too often we think of community building as buttocks, but not as human beings, with thinking, feeling souls.”

Remember, those who think and feel souls can account for nearly $2 trillion in lost productivity – treat them like humans, and you might be shocked by how that influences the results.