Meet and greets are great!
A meet and greet is an informal meeting at work with a goal of building rapport with a coworker. Meet and greets are generally done one-on-one but can also be done in a group setting. They are typically 30-minutes long. Here are some situations where you would want to do a meet and greet to start building connections with other coworkers.
You’re New to the Team, Department, or Organization:
If you are a new hire or simply new to a team, your manager may have already scheduled meet and greets for you. This typically happens in the first week or so. You’ll most likely meet with your team members first and then with other coworkers whom you may have future projects with.
Keep in mind that these meet and greets can be group ones. For example, your manager may schedule a meet and greet with you and the Sales Team. If this is the case, the group meet and greets are generally with small teams.
If your manager didn’t schedule meet and greets, don’t let that stop you. Feel free to ask them who would be a good contact for you to connect with. Afterwards, you can send the meet and greet invitation.
Further Reading: 9 Tips for your First Day & Week on the Job
Unfortunately, new hires often stop doing meet and greets after this initial arrangement. Don’t let that be you.
Someone is New to the Department:
Oftentimes new hires often stop doing meet and greets after their onboarding period. Don’t let that be you! Even if you are no longer the new person, there are still new people joining the team and department.
If the new hire’s manager didn’t schedule a meet and greet with you, take the initiative and send the new hire a meet and greet invitation. You’ll be surprised how enthusiastic and happy people are at receiving meet and greet calendar invitations.
| Example of a Calendar Invitation: Hi Tonya! Welcome to the department! I’m a Sales Associate part of the West Coast division. It looks like our paths may cross in the future. I’m scheduling some time for a meet & greet for us to get to know each other better. Looking forward to meeting you! |
However, bear in mind the new hire’s onboarding schedule when sending the meet and greet calendar invitation. They may be busy the first couple of weeks.
You’re Working with Someone from a Different Department:
Meet and greets aren’t just for new hires. If you are part of a project team and there’s someone you’ve never met or haven’t had a chance to work together before, send them a meet and greet invitation. During your meet and greet, you can talk about working style, other projects you currently work on, or more personal topics such as hobbies or favorite shows.
Not only is this a great way to meet people outside of your department, the meet and greet will build trust and deepen your rapport. As a result, in the next project team meeting, conversations will go a lot smoother.
In the calendar invitation, just be honest. Check out the example below:
| Example of a Calendar Invitation: Hi Chad – it was great meeting you during the Facility Think Tank meeting. As this is our first project together, I thought it’d be a good opportunity for us to do a meet and greet to get to know each other’s working styles and perhaps other projects that we are working on. Looking forward to connecting with you! |
Meet and greets are important in trust and relationship building. As a result, as a leader, please encourage your team to schedule these meet and greets. This will foster a collaborative work environment and increase productivity.
Further Reading: 5 Important Features in an Effective Buddy Program