As I write this, we are six weeks into lockdown, and because we asked our team to work from home early, we are now in our eighth week of remote working.
For some of us, the novelty of working from home has now worn off. The very real challenges of working in a more isolated way have begun to set in, including struggling to get motivated, less than ideal working situations and juggling childcare with work.
One of the guiding principles at Resolve, something I am very proud of, is that we see people as valuable. We are a small team, so we can work hard at caring for and valuing our staff. We don’t have huge budgets, but I am a firm believer in the simple things that make a big difference, and you can do a lot with a little thought.
In these isolated times, I think it means so much to have connection and someone thinking of you, and demonstrating that, which is what we have tried to do at Resolve.
Here are a few of the things we'd recommend giving a try:
Send sweets in the post
There are loads of places that will send a box of sweets in the post to any address in the UK, and they fit through the letterbox. We did this as a surprise and as you can see from this reaction, it was well received...
Host regular remote team meetings
There are loads of tools out there to allow you to connect with your team. We use Teams and occassionally Zoom. The key here is to make sure that you do something fun in addition to updating the team on any relevant news. Quizzes have worked well for us, and we have used Kahoot, but you can also do your own with the fastest response in the chat function winning. I have also heard of companies dressing up and enjoying coffee, cake and chat at 11am.
Post thank you cards
Simple, inexpensive and so effective. I have handwritten 31 cards in the past few days to thank my team personally. There is nothing like a simple card through the post (I think I should do this for a few customers too!)
Check in with people
Simply call one of your team and ask how they are, either over the phone or via video call (which I prefer, as you can see them face to face). Ask about how they are dealing with lockdown – it is simple, but often overlooked.
Send surprise gifts
With everyone working from home and drinking their own tea and coffee, we ordered personalised flasks to people's homes. Again, they were a nice surprise and they give the team the chance to feel a bit more in "work mode" when enjoying refreshments from their desk.
I hope these ideas have given you some food for thought as you navigate these strange times!
