Meet me at the water cooler! Ideas to Create Those Crucial Conversations!

Written By: Mary Gwyn |  Have you heard the term water cooler conversations?  For those of us with no water coolers, water cooler talk is that casual serendipitous conversation where you form personal relationships at work. It’s also a great time to share ideas, hash out a problem, or tell a story of something a resident did, or well, you get the point. 

Think you’re too busy to take that break? Think again, because the most important aspect of water cooler talk is not the gossip or family updates – it’s developing a connection so team members feel they can come to you when there’s a real problem – like they made a big mistake and don’t know what to do, or they caught someone doing something and don’t know what to do, or they have a personal concern that impacts their work. If you haven’t earned the right by connecting with them they may never tell you. The most important aspect of water cooler talk is not the fun talk: it’s when there’s a problem you need them to feel comfortable talking about it to YOU.

Want ideas to help create those water cooler conversations?  

• Start with your budget!  Budget for donuts or biscuits or something by the coffee pot once a month. Or budget for teams to have lunch together at least monthly.  Food always provides an opportunity for people to let their hair down and chat a little.  If a lunch a month is budgeted, they pick the day, and they make it work to spend time as a team or work family.  The connections are made! 
• Plan some special events for your team to stop, celebrate, take a break from the day!  It’s not hard to find a special reason, like Service Team Appreciation Week, or Cinco De Maya, RPM Careers week, Trivia Lunch  – so many possibilities so that teams have a reason to get together, celebrate as a team, and of course post pictures on social!
• 2 Truths and a Lie game – schedule 15 minutes at a staff meeting to do more than talk about the occupancy! Do the old standard 2 Truths and a Lie game. It lets a team see how well they know one another and possibly learn something new.  

Can’t easily shut down the office? Consider things where team members can communicate as the day goes by:

• On-Going Game or Conversation:  Consider playing a game and having people play their part when they come to the water cooler or coffee maker even if no one else is there. It can be as simple as having a crossword puzzle sitting there with a pen and people fill in the word they know. When someone else walks by they may ask, what’s 5 letter word for… 
• Have a big complicated 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle sitting on a table in the breakroom.  It’s a natural draw for a few minutes break.
• Start that game where each person contributes to a story by one word. You put it up on the wall with a pen hanging and each person writes a word when he/she walks by.  
• Joke of the week – have a wipe erase board where people add their joke or pun for the week. At the end of the week everyone votes for the best one.
• Put magnetic letters on the refrigerator in the breakroom, and see what amazing words or phrases that show up to express someone’s inner self!  Then try to guess who did it.

These seemingly simple ways of connecting with your team members are the little ways you and your team members earn trust with each other.  Remember, if you don’t share the talk about the day to day or share a laugh it’s a lot harder to be trusted when there’s a tough conversation! 

What are ways you help your team connect and have water cooler conversations? Share your thoughts at Mary@AptDynamics.com.