CORPORATE CULTURE – Why FUN is so important, especially during a pandemic
Prior to the pandemic, we encouraged a culture and atmosphere of camaraderie & fun throughout the company. During these times, when the stress and fear for small businesses and workers are greater than ever. Social distancing measures and rules are in place and the instinct and indirect result might be to socially as well as physically distance yourself from your colleagues.
Our advice?
Do the opposite.
Managers need to have compassion and empathy for their employees. Don’t cut back on the office lunches, the team building exercises, sharing stories about your two-legged or four-legged children, in-office karaoke or other connectivity and morale boosting exercises that HAVE IMPACT.
These are the support mechanisms that lay the foundation for a strong sense of trust, caring and support that will keep everyone motivated. It also helps ensure that they everyone continues to be engaged and to provide excellent customer service to your clients in even the most challenging times.
This can still be accomplished when working remotely. Managers can maintain connectivity through Microsoft Teams. A few ideas we have used are to have cupcakes delivered to our staff, drop off flowers for those that are celebrating birthdays or work anniversaries, send pics or short videos of our pets, share our COVID hairdos and/or beards, (with a promise to hit the delete button after viewing!)
Making it part of your process to add a proactive activity promotes kinship amongst your employees and lets them know that they are not only valued as employees, but as human beings.
Please share your thoughts and/or methods of keeping your employees supported and motivated… always looking for new ideas!
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Great post! This is so encouraging and timely. Idea to show employees they are valued: COFFEE! Coffee is as universal as emotions: compassion, fear, connectivity. Thank you for sharing! Look forward to your thoughts on the idea of COFFEE as a way to keep employees engaged, supported and motivated.
Absolutely! All cultures and age groups around the world partake in at least a daily cup of coffee. This would be an excellent addition to your corporate culture and to making employees feel valued. Coffee also has many benefits…. It’s a great way to hydrate, boost alertness and prompt conversations that lead to ideas…. And, like you said, totally AMPS UP connectivity!!!