This post was brought to you by our awesome friends at Museum Hack: renegade museum adventures for team building, client, and private VIP events (that are actually fun.)
Fireside chats are a new way of communicating company wide! You can set an agenda to share important announcements, and also open up to questions from your colleagues. It’s meant to be an open forum for inter-department discussion and transparency… and it’s like a boost of magic for improving both when you get it right. Below are some tips for organizing your own fireside chat!
What are Fireside Chats and why do we do them?
It started back in September during a time of transition, as a tool for our lead managers to hold open-style discussions about what was going on in the company. These chats were specifically means to improve communication with our 100% remote team; we otherwise make announcements to our renegade tour guides via local hangages and trainages. Our team ended up loving the chat so much that we have had four since then, and it is now a monthly event that we all look forward to! We are all about Fireside Chats because they promote team building through informal inter-department communication and company transparency.
How does it work?
Our rockstar Senior HR Associate, Tamara, has taken it upon herself to plan and schedule out our Fireside Chats. These are normally held during the week, mid-late afternoon for two hours. They are not mandatory and because they are on the longer side, people are encouraged to show up when they can and even jump in and out if need be. The Fireside Chat invite is sent out via Google Calendar and posted in both Slack and the MH Facebook group. It includes the date, time, link to the call, facilitator, topic, and questions to think about. We use Zoom to host the call, and make sure the room is always accessible via Slack, Facebook and Google.
How are Fireside Chats structured?
One or two facilitators (typically from the same department) have a loose agenda, accompanied by a visual presentation, to start us off. The facilitator’s presentation usually takes up the first hour. Afterward, the call is open to anyone to jump in with questions, or what we call AMA, Ask Me Anything. We end every call by discussing suggestions for our next Fireside Chat i.e. who in which department we want to hear from and general topics of interest. Finally, someone on the team compiles a doc with notes on the call for everyone who wasn’t able to make it.
Some of Museum Hack’s Fireside Chat Topics:
- Company financial targets and progress
- Hiring processes
- How to increase ticket sales for our public tours
- The sales process for team building events
- How to collaborate between our marketing + creative department (guides)
- Company Values
- Audience Development
Should you do Fireside Chats with your team?
YES! Fireside Chats have fostered new levels of connection, trust, and confidence within our team and we know it can do the same for your company. Don’t get bogged down by the technology, the point is to connect with and open up to your people in a collaborative and transparent way. You could do this in person, on a phone call, or like us with Zoom, Google Hangout, or another technology.
If you are interested in supercharging your communication and team building, check out Museum Hack’s Renegade Team Building Tours. Our guides will take you on an unconventional tour that connects the greatest art and objects civilization has ever created with your company values, mission, goals and more.
Have more innovative Fireside Chat or teambuilding ideas? Share in the comments!
This post was brought to you by our awesome friends at Museum Hack: renegade museum adventures for team building, client, and private VIP events (that are actually fun.)
