Staying Close, Even from Afar
By: Samantha Dahlstrom
Tags: Company Culture, Remote Work Culture, Startup Lessons, Remote Work, Covid 19

Staying Close, Even from Afar

When the Novel Coronavirus Disease, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in mid-March, we made the decision to close our offices and have our team work remotely. Working from home was already part of the fabric of our company, but working remotely full time was new to many of our team members. This presented new challenges for our team, which is why we had to deliberately implement new ways to stay connected with each other, even if we couldn’t physically be together. Here are some of the ways we’ve found success. Samantha Dahlstrom Follow Dec 2, 2020 · 3 min read

Trivia Night

Even before COVID-19, our team was a huge fan of Trivia Night. Always hosted by one of our own, the competition can get pretty fierce. The major difference between having trivia remote vs. co-located is that we can’t play in teams right now. Investing in pre-written trivia packs makes the process smooth and easy for the host, and players, now playing individually, don’t have an advantage for knowing the host well.

Jackbox Game Night

Chicago-based company Jackbox Games makes silly, quick games that everyone can play virtually. Since all players need to jump in is a smartphone or tablet, add in a Zoom call and you’ve got a recipe for success. Drawful 2 has been a crowd favorite so far, and while the produced art has varied, the hilarity is consistent.

Happy Hour

Each Thursday at 4:30 p.m., everyone is invited to a Zoom call to check in and kick off their weekend. Our People Ops Director, Sammy, usually has a really bad joke up her sleeve, and a few people can regularly be seen sipping on White Claw. It’s always a treat to see everyone’s cats, dogs, and kids. Hearing 30 people try to synchronize “Happy Birthday” at the same time over video call? Maybe not so much.

Slack

When we entered quarantine, we were subscribed to a chat service, but found the quality of work life improved for most when we made the decision to switch to Slack. Mindfully transitioning to Slack in conjunction with the leaders in our Project Management Organization allowed us to organize our channels, with prefixes like #team- for collaborative working groups, #comm- for committees, #feed- for automated feeds, and #55- for fun, non-work banter. In addition to upgrading the organization of our company’s digital communication channels, Slack has allowed our team to relay frequent announcements and company news in a consistent way.

#55-virtual-coffee

Speaking of Slack, we created a special channel that connects two random people for casual conversation over coffee using the Donut add-on. Our CEO has even joined the channel! We’ve found that linking just a couple folks for non-work banter has been significantly more impactful than an open call where anyone can pop in or out.

Webcams On

Last but not least, we’ve made the deliberate choice to be a “webcams on” company. It helps combat feelings of isolation across the team and also shows that we’re all embracing a certain level of vulnerability, which leads to more authentic connections. Our team members benefit from being more engaged, and the speaker has the benefit of seeing participants’ reactions.

Through some trial, error, crowdsourcing, and a bit of team spirit, we’re staying connected, even from afar.