1. Create cohort groups

Invest in cross-team relationships by gathering together cohorts of people who started at the same time. People in these groups will have something in common (the year they started working for the organization) but will be diverse in age, experience and functional expertise.

How to do it

• Create annual get togethers of all the people who joined your organization in a certain year (or range of years for longstanding employees)
• Explore with them how their cohort group experiences their wellbeing using the Tenure filter in the Friday Pulse heatmap report.
• Advice on how to talk about scores and experiences can be found here
• Make it your goal for these group to become a supportive peer-to-peer networks which help the individuals within the group celebrate successes and navigate setbacks.

2. Create multi-functional workstreams

Create opportunities for people from different teams to work together. When we work with colleagues who have different worldviews, educational backgrounds and other experiences, we can take new perspectives back into our 'home' teams and gradually build more interconnections and professional empathy between different teams.

How to do it

• Be alert to opportunities where a multi-functional workstream would be effective.
• Create a list of skills needed and recruit colleagues from a diverse range of teams to join the workstream.
• Multi-functional workstreams only work when people have time to commit to them so ensure everyone has the capacity to fully commit to their role and responsibilities.

3. Encourage social relationships

Find ways to bring people together from across teams to broaden and deepening social relationships. Hold all-company meet ups to mark the changing seasons and make ceremonies around them. Provide free food and/or drinks in the office to give people an excuse to mix and mingle.

How to do it

• Ritualize your get-togethers and get them in the company calendar as repeat events.
• Make an event of free food and drinks by setting a time and a place away from people's usual places of work.
• See what you summed up from the last all-company meet up into the beginning of the next one.
• Make sure you cater for different dietary needs and drinking preferences too!
• If budget is an issue, encourage colleagues to bring in food from home and put it in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves.
• And have fun - lots and lots of fun!

Case studies

Forward Partners hold weekly Monday lunches so the whole team can eat together, bond over the weekend's activities and prepare for the week ahead.

Advertising and creative firm Albion, cease work at 4.30pm each Friday, and open a mock-up bar serving drinks. Chief executive and founder Jason Goodman says "Friday night bar is a ritual at Albion. It's the signal that calls in the weekend and makes sure people stop work at a reasonable time and can wind down with each other before heading off for their weekend. It's our equivalent of family time and enjoyed by all.”