As a fully remote agency, we feel we should mark Mental Health Awareness Week with a very clear message… home working should not mean lone working.
Working from home has many benefits and more and more companies are offering it as standard post-pandemic. But isolation is a risk, and as a remote agency, we take this really seriously due to the impact it can have on mental health.
So we’re here today to share how we keep the team spirit alive, create a sense of community and, above all, make sure we all feel supported… even though we work from different locations. If you have a team that is based remotely, feel free to pilfer some of our ideas and give them a whirl!
The morning briefing
We start each day with a morning briefing. A general catch up of where we’re all up to with our projects and discuss what’s in the pipeline, but also a chance to say hi, check-in with each other, lend support or share some laughs depending on what life is serving up at the time.
Google Chat, Spaces and Meetings
We’re huge fans of Google Workspace and use the whole kit for our everyday operations. But Chat, Spaces and Meetings are especially great for keeping in touch with each other day-to-day. They allow quick and easy comms, be it for work or just a bit of remote office banter!
We have dedicated Spaces and Meeting links for different uses…
Creative Juices – a place for creative inspiration, we share branding that catches our eye… that gets the creative juices flowing.
Announcements – the virtual office megaphone, we use this to announce key moments or messages – new staff members, new clients, team reminders, training days… things we all need to know about.
Shooting Shit – well, this is where anything goes and the banter flows! A social space that often gets us giggling. A recent favourite highlight is Mike sharing evidence of him being the face of St John’s Ambulance a few years back… sporting the most excellent tash…
The Water Cooler – a direct link to a team meeting space, where you can hop on for a quick chat if you have a question about a project you’re working on… much like you’d catch up while grabbing a quick drink. Some team members even hop on here in the evening just to chew the fat too!
While we’re very aware that should be a clear cut off when you’re working from home to encourage everyone to down tools, we have two WhatsApp threads…
Treerooms – another option for sharing insights into our life outside work. We share pics of what we’re up to, so we have a sense of community and understand what makes each other tick… outside branding! Notice the lack of ‘h’ in the name… we’re cool like that!
Social Snaps – a space for sharing snaps that we can use on our social channels, whether it’s of us being out and about meeting clients or a photo of one of the team working from a cool place to show the benefits of us being a remote agency. Or just a snap of something interesting they’re working on.
Quarterly training days
As soon as we went remote in 2020, we implemented quarterly in-person training days. Not only does this give us a chance to further our CPD, but also get together as a whole team. We mix the day up with some learning, coffee breaks, a nice lunch… and yes, we head to the pub afterwards!
Monthly drinks
As the majority of us are based in and around Nottingham, we take the opportunity to have a face-to-face social meet up once a month, all getting together for a Friday beer after work. We find this really gives us a chance to keep our connection as a team going strong.
So, there you have it – the Threerooms ways of making sure that home working isn’t lone working. We’d love to hear if you found any of these helpful, or if you do anything different to ensure that your remote team stays connected and feels supported from their virtual desks! Get in touch here.
A specialist Brand Agency
An award-winning strategic branding agency, Threerooms has spent over 15 years making brands stronger and businesses more successful. Whether modernising brands with meaning or crafting effective marketing campaigns, our amazing team is focused on delivering brand transformation while providing exceptional customer service.
