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It has been more than a year since Solving IT started to work from home. While some may view WFH as freeing and productive, many had to scramble working around housemates, pets, partners, and children while being reunited in endless Zoom meetings. One large downside of WFH has been the lack of connecting with our teammates personally. WFH eliminated chats by the water cooler and sharing real-time thoughts on currents events. In order to keep our team connected and sharing creative ideas, we maintained our tradition of hosting a bi-monthly Employee Book Club.
I started our book club about a year and a half ago and saw great success with it while we were in office. From the start, I noticed how this was a great way to get the team together to keep us engaged while pursuing growth and learning.
One of my favorite memories of book club was when our team met to discuss Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. We were able to take the military themes outlined in the book and relate their principles to our industry. Since Solving IT has started working remote, each Book Club has offered momentary escapism and most importantly, a new personal link between team members has been a way to feel normal rather than the awkward Zoom happy hours, or daily Zoom check-in meetings. Being able to connect and share thoughts on a book, provides us exposure to different ways of thinking and helps us become more well-rounded employees and humans.
To conclude, the benefits of starting a book club at your workplace drive engagement, promote innovation and creativity, aligns talent and business strategy, and most importantly it builds camaraderie.
Interested in starting an Employee Book Club? Check out the steps to get started and a few of our teams favorite books!
How to Implement an Employee Book Club
1. Determine if employees are interested – send out an email to gauge interest in reading a book on their own and then meeting once a month to discuss the book.
2. Have everyone send a suggestion to you and create a poll so the group can vote on a book. Once there is a clear winner send it out to the group and set a date to meet.
3. It is recommended to have your company purchase copies of the book or allow you to expense them – a small price to pay for knowledge generation.
4. Read, meet, and discuss. If your book is picked – you lead the discussion. Be sure to come prepared with several discussion questions to make sure the group has an exciting conversation.
5. Before you wrap – make sure you discuss the timeline for selecting the next book.
Solving IT Employee Book Club Recommendations
1. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
2. The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger
4. The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova
Photo by Cottonbro
