COVID-19 has certainly stressed many companies’ policies and procedures, and as a company founded on flexibility, we have really leaned into our support of employees working wherever they feel most creative, and most secure during this turbulent time. We’ve all done our best to adapt to the changes COVID-19 brought to our day-to-day activities, both personally and professionally. However, knowing stress levels were increasing, people were feeling isolated, and burnout was beginning, we realized our increasing responsibility to keep morale high and make sure everyone at SourceCode still felt connected. Throughout the last few weeks and months of remote working we’ve focused heavily on team building activities, open dialogue, and supporting employee wellness.

With remote working, team members lose the chance to bump into each other and strike up conversations naturally. We implemented our own best practices to intentionally connect throughout the day and have added weekly team-building activities for employees to participate in. We launched a number of Slack channels (#TBT and #OOTD), have shown off our new “office” mates (kids, pets, roommates, partners, spouses, you name it!), hosted trivia happy hours, celebrated the secret chefs of SourceCode, and even learned TikTok dances. In the time of social distancing, initiatives like these have helped us all feel a bit more connected and helped to ensure that, although the world is changing, we are here for each other.

Managing a distributed workforce is undeniably different from managing a concentrated one. Effective and open communication is absolutely crucial for a remote team. Tools like Slack and Google Hangouts have been integral to SourceCode, before and during the pandemic, to ensure timely, productive communication. Providing a deep level of transparency across the business has fortunately been ingrained into our ethos pre-COVID. To help keep employees feeling informed while remote, we have hosted weekly all-team town hall meetings as an opportunity to share company news, client updates, give shout-outs, and allow employees to ask questions.

We also understand that disruptions to routines can bring on strain and anxiety, and stressful times like these are precisely when people need wellness practices the most. We’ve ensured employees have access to resources to help take care of their mental health and physical wellness. From investing in corporate wellness benefit platform, Gympass, to surfacing free resources available such as online counseling platform, Talkspace, and Peloton Digital for on-demand fitness classes, and even encouraging PTO time, we are committed to talking about, and supporting employee wellness and work life balance.

We are in a time where uncertainty lingers on everyone’s minds. There are endless options for remote team building activities, but the key is to find or develop initiatives that will be most effective and appreciated by your team. The team building activities introduced during quarantine have reinforced our company culture, helping to build a sense of camaraderie during these difficult times.