Social tools for remote teams

Working remotely is a blessing – but it can also be lonely.

Teams succeed based on the culture they manage to build. Truly successful teams have a culture of trust and social cohesion.

Successful remote teams do not happen by accident. The ones that succeed leverage the benefits and overcome the downsides of a remote setup. The benefits are well known (more). The downsides are less tangible. In particular it can be hard to collaborate with a colleague you do not know well.

The Socializer

The Socializer helps you get to know your colleagues.

It is a virtual water cooler for teams that do not otherwise have a natural meeting place. Each day it pairs you with a colleague, encouraging you to spend 5 minutes talking about something that is not related to work. What you talk about is up to you. It could be:

• your love for the neighborhood pub-quizzes, or
• your latest hobby of collecting artisanal shaving creams, or maybe
• the new sourdough starter you made over the weekend!

How it works

Status quo your team today

Your team is distributed and remote. It is an exceptional team, but all the same it feels as if you are working alone.

Step 1 Install the Socializer bot

Install the Socializer bot to your team on Slack. Every day around team-noon (what?) it will pair up your colleagues two-and-two.

Encourage your team to take 5 minutes of their day to get to know the person behind the avatar.

Step 2 Enjoy peace and harmony

Anecdotal evidence shows that teams using the Socializer develop stronger interpersonal bonds. The daily socials become a moment in the day that people look forward to and cherish. The teams become places of work that people enjoy being part of and associate with.

May you derive as much joy from your socials as we have!

The positive effects of the Socializer are many. It has made me feel a lot more comfortable with my team members. As a bonus it also helps me develop my communication skills!

Edon Gashi – Developer and Teacher

The Socializer is especially useful when on-boarding new team members. Knowing how their colleagues tick takes the edge off work related conversations.

Felix Bauer – CEO Aircloak

I can’t believe there are still distributed teams without a socialiser bot!

Daniel Lennon – Open Source Developer

Loneliness is one of the biggest problems of remote workers – that is a well known fact. Contrary to my first five years as a remote worker I now work on a team that uses the Socializer. The effect it has on morale and building good relations is obvious!

Andrei Bozantan – Developer

My team has been using the the Socializer (and it’s predecessor) for well over four years now. It has become a part of my workday that I would not want to be without.

Cristian Berneanu – Developer

Prices

Humane prices for humane teams

The Socializer comes at different price points. The features offered are identical. Feel free to choose the one that fits your teams budget best. As a rule of thumb: if none of the prices breaks the bank the higher ones would be the preferred ones (more about the prices).