It has been almost 2 years since the WHO declared Covid-19 a pandemic. The world of work has almost completely changed or in other words is being reshaped. All activities have to go through a virtual space, your colleagues seem to have become completely remote working forces. So in the midst of upheaval, how will we thrive?
With fram^, it is fortunate that even in the pandemic we are not slowing down but growing firmly. The solidarity and attachment of all members is creating a very fast and sustainable development momentum for us to prepare for an explosion once the pandemic comes to an end. To keep this going, it is more important than ever to relentlessly make remote employee engagement activities. Through our online activities, we are fostering strong relationships and maintaining connections between members, which also contributes to better employee retention, higher productivity as well as better overall satisfaction and happiness.
Hence, in this article we express our concern in remote employee engagement activities as well as how we organize them to keep our employees fully supported and our culture thriving throughout this insane period of time.
The impact of COVID-19 has undoubtedly caused complete disruption to the employee experience, it can be a very rocky path for our business if there is no focusing inward. According to a study by mental health provider Ginger, 62% of workers report losing at least one hour a day in productivity due to Covid-19-related stress, with 32% losing more than two hours per day. Therefore, online engagement activities are a great spiritual medicine for employees to feel the cohesion, empathy from colleagues and superiors, helping to limit the depressed and exhausted, plus, gives them a sense of belonging and motivation.
Besides, we keep in mind that employees work remotely, geographical distance cannot be avoided, but there should not be a gap in connection, communication and relationships between members. Luckily, Internet connectivity has paved the way for us to bring employees closer together and stay in touch despite being geographically dispersed by organizing virtual remote team building activities.
Above all, all members are the most important assets, so even when we work remotely, our employees’ morale and interests are the most important investment that we put all efforts into to keep them satisfied. Thereby, we will certainly be rewarded with happier, more productive and engaged employees.
And just as importantly, we also have hundreds of other ways to both increase engagement and make our remote workers comfortable, have fun. So here’s how we spread the fire to our members even from miles away and promote team bonding by organizing some remote employee engagement activities!
No exaggeration, but at fram ^ we work really hard and play hard too! So even Covid -19 might have put a strain on many aspects of us, that doesn’t mean a holiday office party is out of the question. All of our so-called traditional in-office activities have now been transformed into an online format but the fun has never diminished!
For example, as per our usual tradition every mid-autumn season, a cozy party will be held at the office, which is beautifully decorated and prepared with various types of lanterns as well as delicious dishes. But what about the online mid-autumn party? There’s certainly no shortage of fun and mooncakes either! Many tasty mooncake gift boxes were directly sent to our beloved members’ homes. And on the full moon day, we went to the virtual office, chatted and played many interesting games together. The vibes still looked like a real office party.
After a long and productive working week, a cold beverage sounds much like a reward for all members to relax, refresh and recharge for a new week ahead. Hence Beer Time every Friday has always been our cultural thing and even Covid-19 can not stop us from doing so. Fresh beers will be delivered directly to fram-ers’ houses. We still toast and enjoy lovely conversations like an online remote party is nothing, because the most precious thing is that we are still stuck together.
Our virtual Friday Beer Time – Cheers!
It was definitely not just a party but the meaningful moment of gathering of true family. And how fun it was when we have planned a thousand ways to celebrate and hang out with each other once the pandemic is over to make up for the time that Covid-19 has taken.
The party surely won’t be complete without games, and guess who was the chosen one? – Our Chairman, Christopher!
The quarterly meeting is a time for us to review the results after months of productive work, check in on our company’s cultural health, team performance as well as to share the next company’s objectives, to make sure that all members are working towards a common goal. But in the case of online meetings, we allocated 50% of the meeting time for members to communicate and interact with each other since it is the most important thing when working remotely.
Sharing about our upcoming engagement activities!
Together we entered our new virtual office, met “in person” with colleagues and played virtual games that seemed to make us unable to stop laughing and actually forget about the time.
Fun fact, because of the large size of our virtual office, many members get lost in it!
The competition is just a call since all participants are already winners. Creating these activities are also the best way to promote the cohesion of the members, improve the overall work environment, bring relaxation to the members when working from home and most importantly bring the sense of belonging and creativity. Sharing some photos is not just for viewing but it’s like a domino effect that helps to share good vibes to all members. We use our familiar hashtags like #wearefram #framgroupfamily to motivate members to stick around.
The corner of working place #sharingthevibe #homeworkingcorner #framgroupfamily
These photos are not from “Master chef” but from Fram’s chefs!
We also created our own closed community page, where members can openly share their knowledge and experiences with others. Thereby promoting sharing, cooperation and mutual support in work. Moreover, we truly believe that this place will be a reminder to the members of the home they belong to and all “legacies” they have shared. Our community is especially in need of new members to create a stronger and wider community. Join us if you’re reading this!
Covid-19 has profoundly affected how things work, but businesses can not let it change employees’ experiences. Leverage the power of technologies, hosting interesting bonding activities which will attract and positively inspire talents, business will successfully land and retain a competitive workforce.
All of the above are just small aspects of what we are putting efforts to bring the best experience to all members. In fact, whatever these activities are, the most important thing is that we certainly want each member to know that their presence and their contribution is the most important part of our journey!
And for the talents who are in the process of working remotely, know that you are always an important piece of the puzzle that determines the success of any projects and you are the biggest assets of your company! Plus, by exploring this article, hopefully you are inspired to work with us and once you experience it you will find it’s not just a word!
