Whether you take your coffee black or with sugar and cream, everyone seems to love taking a break from “the grind” for Women in Tech coffee breaks!
Our Women in Tech ERG (Employee Resource Group) recently added virtual coffee breaks as new networking series. Debuting in October 2021, the coffee break series was rolled out by the programming and events community as an alternative to the traditional networking opportunity. This is especially important to maintaining casual, fun conversations in our virtual, global environment.
READ MORE: Women in Tech Recognizes Global Excellence in Global Career Panel
Spilling the Beans of Employee Engagement at Perficient
As many of us continue to work remotely, virtual spaces can prove challenging to build interpersonal relationships with our colleagues and clients. By tapping into our inner barista, a friendly break to chat builds community and connection, two key goals of our employee resource groups.
As noted in Forbes, “The physical distance creates a natural inertia away from authentic light-hearted personal connections and toward days filled bouncing between solitary work and task-driven meetings (sprinkled with occasional administrative/logistical headaches along the way).”
This has forced many of us to think outside the box and optimize the value virtual spaces offer in building relationships. In addition to traditional “water cooler” topics, virtual spaces open the door for insights you may not otherwise gain. This could be in the form of a cat stepping across your camera or an interesting picture as your virtual background; something to spark conversation.
BONUS: See more about Women in Tech at Perficient
Colleagues Say Coffee Breaks Perk Up the Day
I’ve personally met several people with whom I would not have otherwise crossed paths and have taken away insights and learnings for my teams. We discuss topics ranging from management style, client conversations, and life outside work.
Heidi Kim, Senior Project Manager
“Candace Cooper, a technical consultant, and I are now running the WiT Coffee Break and we’d just like for people across Perficient to get to know one another if any way that would be beneficial for them — finding friends, getting support, networking to see if you’re interested in working with or moving to another team, etc. The small groups of just 4-5 people ensure that everyone is visible and can participate in the conversation.” Heidi Kim, Senior Project Manager
“The chance to meet with other colleagues in business units I don’t work with directly was a lot of fun. I find a lot of joy in meeting new people and whether it be in-person or behind a screen, the chance to broaden my internal network not only makes my job easier when needing to find the right person to talk to about a project, but overall more enjoyable! Our group had so much fun we wanted to keep going past the initial half-hour! I am really looking forward to the next chance to connect.” Marisa Lather, Global Social Media & Employer Brand Marketing Manager
WIT offers many wonderful networking and group events, and coffee breaks create a small group setting to meet friends and engage in a more casual forum. We offer a “bottomless” thanks to everyone who helped put these together. Our next coffee break series kicks off early next year!
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