When you step inside credHQ’s open-floor office, the first things you’ll notice are the large common areas—adorned with comfy couches, standing desks, and our homey kitchen island—that might feel reminiscent of other neighboring San Francisco startups. Our team always appreciated these casual meeting areas, but over the last few weeks, they’ve taken on even greater importance.
These spaces are host to brainstorm meetings, our weekly all-hands huddles, and elaborate “crediversary” celebrations. But, these areas also act as our team’s cozy living room—where we catch up over cold brew, love on our four-legged friends, decorate for the holidays, share and celebrate each other’s life milestones.
It’s these little life moments that we started missing since we transitioned to remote work on March 11, in response to COVID-19. So, in addition to shifting our regularly scheduled meetings to video calls, we’ve gotten creative to build virtual touch-points to connect as a team, as we all navigate a new normal.
We’ve been sharing resources for teams in the era of COVID-19, and that includes resources for maintaining culture—here, we’ll share some of the ways our team is staying connected during shelter-in-place.
Virtual Happy Hours
Cracking open a bottle of wine to commemorate the end of the week is a cred tradition that started long before we moved to WFH. Now, we celebrate our Friday afternoons on Zoom. We’ve incorporated lively “Drink Talk Learn” sessions, where we surprise each other with presentations on our favorite random topics, planned themed happy hours (like Tiger King), and played games, like Pictionary-equivalent, Drawful, Jeopardy, MadLibs, and trivia.
Showcasing Our Team’s Talents
Among our team of events specialists are many talented individuals—in our mix, we have a wellness expert, chef, fitness guru, and even a pop culture connoisseur who keeps us up-to-date on the latest trends. Over the last few weeks, these teammates led us through a virtual HIIT workout, guided meditation, dalgona coffee tutorial, and a cooking class where we mastered Bucatini Carbonara (yum!).
Slack Laughs
Our team has always been active on Slack, but lately, we’ve brought much of our typical water-cooler banter online. We use our all-company channel for daily QOTD (Question of the Day) conversation prompts and even some #hottake debates.
Casual Check-Ins
In addition to large-group activities, we’re also focusing on opportunities for cred team members to connect one-on-one. Across the team, we’ve been working to maintain our ties by opting for casual video check-ins, a replacement for when we might have previously stepped out for coffee or popped by someone’s desk. These informal opportunities to connect are invaluable, as so many of us are missing our old social calendars.
How has your team been staying connected lately? Let us know in the comments below, or get in touch!
