Source: Hallnet & the Active Housing Team
Like most organisations, our biggest adjustment during the Covid-19 outbreak has been shifting from office working to working from home. Not only has this been a new experience from a work and productivity perspective but also from a social perspective.
To try and replicate our normal working week as much as we can, we have set a number of weekly and monthly activities and plans to help keep our staff motivated and socially active as well as to keep productivity high while working from home. Some of the things we’re doing include:
1. Each team member completes a daily stand-up
Each team member posts in a company-wide channel what they will be working on for the day. This helps to create transparency and accountability of workloads while working from home.
2. Regular internal team meetings over Google Hangouts
We hold morning team meetings on alternate days for staff to discuss what they’ll be working on for the next couple of days in order to get everyone motivated and in the zone. This is also an opportunity to talk about things unrelated to work and give staff the chance to chat about their day as they normally would in the office.
3. Monthly ‘working from home’ staff survey
We ask staff a range of questions around working from home to gauge how they are feeling and to see if there is anything we can do to support them. The aim is for everyone to feel happy and productive in their new working environment.
4. Monthly company meeting over Hangouts
We usually hold this in person every three months but we are now running virtual company-wide meetings every month. We talk about company updates, news and goals which help to keep staff motivated, calm and all on the same page.
5. Staying active
We are doing this in a number of ways. First, we have a weekly lunchtime workout on Hangouts where the team will do mobility exercises specific for people who have desk jobs. We also have our #2020in2020 challenge, where the team have a goal to complete 2020 miles of walking, swimming, cycling or running by the end of 2020. Each mile completed raises 50p for a local homelessness charity.
6. Schedule lunchtime activities
As well as lunchtime workouts, we also have ‘lunchtime learning’ every week where team members can share knowledge about something that isn’t work-related. We also have lunchtime meet-ups on Hangouts where staff can eat their lunch and chat as a group.
7. Social activities
So far, we have organised pub quizzes and a poker tournament on Hangouts, which have had a great turnout so far, with the quizzes including members of staff members plus their families, partners and roommates.
