Posted: June 9, 2020
BY JACKIE SENNER, VP OF PEOPLE
Companies around the world are mobilizing to accommodate new styles of work and help those affected by the disease. By now, you know about Zoom. You know about Slack. You know about LinkedIn and Instagram and other great technology that helps us connect. But these tools are only as powerful as skill with which they’re leveraged.
In every corner of the world, our colleagues are coming up with new, creative solutions for bridging the disconnect caused by social distancing. We’ve been inspired and galvanized by their efforts, and we wanted to share them with the world.
Below, you’ll our official guide to thinking outside the box when supporting your employees from afar!
GET SOCIAL ON SLACK
At ZX, we use Slack for company-wide communication. Most channels are for work-related collaboration, but we’ve also started a few channels strictly for fun, like #zx-dogs (for dog-lovers to share pictures of their puppers) or #whatsfordinner (for foodies). It’s a great way to boost both engagement with the tool and (hopefully!) overall morale.
We also created the new #together-we-stay-well Slack channel featuring employee-sourced resources on mental and physical wellness.
SUPPORT THE PARENTS
Working from home can be hard. Working from with children? That’s a completely different ball game. At ZX Ventures, we built a Working from Home Guide for Parents to help families adapt to the new normal, which we then disseminated to our parents via both email & Slack.
In the guide, we included resources on remote learning, keeping your child engaged, and more. Plus, we provided a clear, concise run-down of the childcare resources available to ZX parents. If your company has something similar built into its benefits plan, be sure to include them!
DON’T NEGLECT NEW HIRES
To ensure smooth virtual transitions for new employees, we created a Remote Onboarding Guide for New Hires. The show must go on—and with ingenuity and grit, our colleagues are making sure that it does.
VIRTUAL HAPPY HOURS
By now, you’ve probably heard about the latest trend in quarantine social life: virtual happy hours! Get creative by playing distance-friendly games, like trivia, Psyche!, or online Pictionary.
We’ve also found great success in taking quick, 15-minute “coffee breaks” with our team members; these casual chats help simulate the experience of being at the office and getting to see your friends. It’s a great way to combat feelings of loneliness.
EXERCISE TOGETHER – LIVE!
At ZX Brazil, we are live-streaming free, weekly trainer-led workouts, including home-friendly HIIT classes, on Instagram. Staying home doesn’t have to mean staying idle!
REMEMBER TO CONGRATULATE YOUR TEAM
“When you work remotely, you lose the unplanned watercooler or cappuccino conversations with colleagues. These are important parts of the workday that have a direct impact on performance.”
There are plenty of great tools to help you virtually celebrate big life events, like birthdays, the arrival of a new family member, or career milestones.
Just as we are heartened by the innovation and tireless dedication of our teams, we hope to inspire—and be inspired by—everything the readers of our blog are doing to support their friends, families, and communities. We want to hear from you: get in touch via our LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram page.
Jaclyn Senner is the Global Vice President of People for ZX Ventures. She joined ZX in February 2020 to lead recruitment and employee experience. Prior to ZX Ventures, Jaclyn spent five years at AB InBev where she was responsible for global talent acquisition strategy, including employer brand, workforce diversity, next generation talent, market intelligence, data-driven assessment and early career mobility programs. In her role at AB InBev, she oversaw the High Potential Talent Programs designed to recruit diverse, ambitious and curious undergraduate & MBA students for the next generation of global business leaders. Jaclyn is a graduate of Boston College and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
