Remote work tools for maintaining team connection?

[AuroraS]

Our team has been fully remote for over a year and we're struggling with maintaining connection and company culture. We have the basic remote work tools for communication and task management, but we're missing that "water cooler" feeling. What remote work tools or practices have you found effective for maintaining team connection and culture in a distributed environment?

[JosephR]

For maintaining team connection remotely, we use Donut for Slack. It randomly pairs team members for virtual coffee chats each week. We also have a water cooler" channel for non-work conversations. Monthly virtual game nights using Jackbox Games have been surprisingly effective for building camaraderie. The key is creating structured social opportunities, not just hoping they happen organically.

[TimothyQR]

We use Gather.town for virtual office spaces. It's a 2D environment where you can move around and have proximity-based conversations, just like a real office. We have a main area for all-hands meetings, team rooms for smaller discussions, and social spaces for breaks. It's been the closest thing to replicating office serendipity we've found.

[GraceJ]

We use Friday for asynchronous check-ins and team updates. It prompts team members to share weekly wins, challenges, and personal updates. The water cooler" questions feature sparks non-work conversations. Combined with weekly virtual coffee pairings (we just use calendar invites), it's helped maintain connection without adding meeting overload.