How To Build Stronger Connections Beyond Your Department
As much as businesses are composed of different departments and teams, it’s easy to find yourself confined to your own space and only interacting with your immediate colleagues. However, fostering interdepartmental connections can help your company run more smoothly and lead to better work opportunities. Here are some tips on how to build stronger connections beyond your department:
Be More Social:
Socialising is an excellent way to make connections and learn more about people beyond your department. You can strike up a conversation in the elevator, chat over coffee, or even greet someone when you’re buying snacks. These casual interactions can help establish bonds with new people.
Introduce Yourself To Unfamiliar Faces In Meetings:
Rather than avoiding contact with people you don’t know, take the time to greet them and introduce yourself. Learn their names and faces so that you can talk with them more comfortably later on.
Organise Staff Lunches:
Staff lunches are a great way to mix and mingle with colleagues from other departments. Whether you’re attending a departmental gathering or a lunch and learn opportunity with someone from another team, these connections can be invaluable.
Reach Out To New Names In An Email Thread:
Consider sending over an email to extend a greeting and learn more about the role of someone from another department who is working on a joint project. It’s a great way to connect and get yourself on their radar. Ask them for a coffee sometime. You’d be surprised how generous people will be with their time in your workplace if you just ask.
Set Up Shadow Opportunities In Other Departments:
Shadowing someone in another department is an excellent way to learn more about how the company operates and to form relationships beyond your own department. You’ll have someone you can reach out to with questions later if their department is ever needed.
Attend Work Gatherings:
Be it going for a drink, playing darts or joining a company running group, these tend to be places where people from all departments come together to connect. It’s a relaxed way to meet new people and start forming bonds via the activities you do outside of the workplace.
Join Business Groups Or Social Committee:
Joining a business group is a great opportunity to meet new people from other departments who share a collective focus. You’ll all be there for the same reason, making it easy to start talking. If there is a social committee, speak to your business leaders about setting one up. People are always appreciative of others taking the lead to provide opportunities for staff to be more social.
Learn More About Departments Your Department Works With:
Focusing on the departments your department already works with is an excellent way to expand your circle without feeling overwhelmed. For example if you work in the finance team, you might work closely with the legal or compliance team. You can discuss shared projects, the work you both do, and other easy topics.
Building strong relationships within a company is an excellent way to work more effectively, find better solutions, and make new acquaintances. Even just taking the time to greet someone new and introduce yourself can set the stage for deeper bonding the next time you see them. Focus on being kind, aware, and building strong connections, and over time, you’ll find yourself with an expansive social network that you can lean on. It’s a great way to find new opportunities and improve your value to the company, so get out there and say hello.