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How to keep employees socially connected

Let\u2019s face it.\xa0 Times right now are pretty stressful at best and downright scary at worst.\xa0 We\u2019ve sent our employees home and changed the way we do business as we cope with how to keep our employees truly connected and business moving forward.\xa0 Many of our people are more focused on navigating the dangers of going grocery shopping and how to keep their kids educated and entertained.

Convey kept its office open and available to employees who wanted to come into work until we decided it was no longer safe to do so and sent everyone home to work virtually.\xa0 We\u2019ve got a lot going on as we launch our virtual trade show, Cloud Conventions, in May so finding a plan and process to keep everyone motivated, feeling connected and staying productive has been top of mindshare.\xa0 Right now, we are all being over-webinared to death, so having a better way to stay connected is critical so we don\u2019t just check out.

Being a veteran of the conference calling industry, as well as having run an addiction treatment program, I went back to that well of my past experience to create a plan and process for social connecting while social distancing that seems to be working for our company.\xa0 Here is our plan and process that I want to share with all of you.

We start with an 8:15 Huddle

First thing in the morning, we have a quick huddle over video conferencing that focuses more on how we are doing personally vs. what we are doing professionally.\xa0 Cameras are turned on, even though we don\u2019t look that great in our pajamas or sweatpants and with no makeup, but we can see the environment that everyone is working in, even if their cats jump on their desk. Here are the three questions we ask our team:

1.\xa0 \xa0 \xa0What did you learn about our current situation with the virus?

2.\xa0 \xa0 \xa0What are you watching that you\u2019d like to recommend to everyone?

3.\xa0 \xa0 \xa0What did you accomplish personally?

The answer to the first question is designed to have us talk about the progress our country is making in the fight against Covid-19, debunk any false information, and do a reality check on how long our situation might last.\xa0

Since we are all streaming Netflix or Amazon, we can connect socially on shows that we are all watching together.\xa0 Right now, our guilty pleasure is Tiger King, a 7-part documentary about Joe Exotic and his big cat animal park in Oklahoma and his death match with animal rights activist Carol Baskin who runs the Big Cat Animal Rescue in Tampa.\xa0 This gives us a big laugh and an opportunity to talk about the bizarre story that has gripped the interest of America.\xa0 We\u2019ll be on to the next binge-worthy show soon.\xa0 We would have talked about this live in the office and doing so virtually gives us as close to the same experience as possible.

The question about personal accomplishments keeps people focused on finding something small they can do to feel they are not just wasting away at home.\xa0 We have people share their online workouts, something new they cooked for dinner, or even attending support groups online.\xa0 Tonight, I\u2019m participating in a virtual trivia game that our team is doing vs. going to the restaurant we owned that had to be shuttered during the crisis.

Break up the day with a virtual lunch.

The first day of our total work from home environment, we had everyone meet for lunch over video.\xa0 We got a chance to catch up socially, find out what everyone had cooked, and just hang out as we would have at the office.\xa0 We won\u2019t do that every day, but I suggest once or twice a week as a great way to break up the day.\xa0

End the day with a 5:00 daily recap.

Our last call of the day is at 5:00 and we ask everyone to weigh in on the following:

\xb7\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 What was your bi