How companies have kept connections while working remotely

The enforced shift to home and remote working has strained interpersonal and other workplace connections to the limit. Corridor conversations, watercooler chats, deskside consultations, and impromptu lunch and breaktime get togethers disappeared literally overnight in many cases. However, progressive organisations have been implementing innovative strategies to overcome this loss of connectedness and strengthen the esprit de corps which has been under threat.

“Like everyone else we were blindsided by the events of March 2020,” says Yvonne Frost, vice-president of employee experience with Poppulo, the workforce communications and engagement solutions provider. “Our initial focus was to make the transition to remote working, and we saw straight away the huge challenges that presented for people. It felt in some ways like the world was falling apart.”

'Our number-one focus was on not losing the connections that were already there'

The response was to increase communication with employees. “There was so much uncertainty around the world, we decided to make the company a constant in people’s lives. At 9am every day each employee gets the Daily Buzz company newsletter in their inbox. It features business updates as well other content on topics like wellness, fitness regimes, getting more active and so on. We decided if you were making banana bread it would be good banana bread. We also include tips and tricks for parents with young children at home and there is a lot of focus on diversity and inclusion content. Every Thursday our CEO sends a video out to employees where he talks about business as well as personal experiences.”

One size doesn’t fit all

Rachael O’Shea is head of employee experience with Taxback.com parent company the Clune Group. “We have 1,500 staff in our different companies around the world and the move to remote working was a massive challenge,” she says. “But we were in a really fortunate position in having started a remote-working pilot in November 2019 on the back of feedback from Great Places to Work. That gave us a head start and meant we had prepared the groundwork for the switch.”

Once again, communication came to the fore. “Our number-one focus was on not losing the connections that were already there. We got everyone set up with Zoom and we had rolled out the WorkVivo employee communication platform in December 2019. The company had grown so much we wanted our people to be able to connect with each other and to see each other when communicating.”

'Wellbeing became even more important. If someone was living in a crowded house share or at home with young kids, we tried to make sure they had the support they needed'

Regular online events were run to maintain connections. “We held charity events as well as programmes to assist employees’ general health and wellbeing. We ran art classes for employees’ kids so that their parents could have an hour off, for example. We have an inhouse design team in Bulgaria and classes were delivered in Bulgarian and English. The staff Christmas party was the first time we had ever brought all our staff together virtually. We turned our headquarters into a broadcast studio and held our employee of the year awards.”

But one size doesn’t fit all. “While some people really appreciated the art classes there are employees without kids, and we had to listen to them. We have a Green Zoom for eco-friendly tips and tricks. We have a book club. Our monthly hamper competition is among the most appreciated things we do. This is where employees nominate colleagues to win a chocolate hamper.”

‘Return to work’

Distilled SCH is the group responsible for popular online marketplaces daft.ie, DoneDeal, and adverts.ie. Head of HR Laura Doyle says the shift to remote working went relatively smoothly. “Like every other company it was a very quick pivot, but all of our employees use laptops and Zoom and Slack communications technology anyway.

“We had done a one-day trial about two weeks before we moved to home working in March 2020,” she continues. “It went well and that helped. A lot of the things we did in the office like daily stand-ups and company huddles were moved to Zoom. In some cases, we increased the frequency. The HR team did a lot more checking in on employees. Wellbeing became even more important. If someone was living in a crowded house share or at home with young kids, we tried to make sure they had the support they needed. We also have a social committee, and they brought all our events online. Like most companies we do quizzes and so on. We also have yoga, gym, cooking, and mindfulness classes – all online.”

Looking forward to the return to work she says hybrid working will be the norm from October 1st. “Our biggest priority is to ensure equality between the different cohorts of home, hybrid and office workers. We know we will not get it 100 per cent right straight away but we will learn as we go on. The way everyone has worked together during Covid has been extraordinary and we want that to continue afterwards.”