{"id":4249836,"date":"2020-11-06T13:05:04","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/insight\/maintaining-company-culture-in-a-virtual-world\/"},"modified":"2020-11-06T13:05:04","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:05:04","slug":"maintaining-company-culture-in-a-virtual-world","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.deptagency.com\/en-nl\/insight\/maintaining-company-culture-in-a-virtual-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining company culture in a virtual world"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\n\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBack to all articles\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n<\/button>\n\t\tMaintaining company culture in a virtual world\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\n\t<\/div>
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\n\t\tAlexandra Moorhouse\t\t
\n\t\tMarketing Director, UK&I\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t6 November 2020\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\tHaving been in our home offices since March, as we head into Lockdown 2.0 working-from-home feels like the norm. Second time round, it all feels much smoother; productivity remains buoyant and morale is strong. For many, the work\/life balance has improved, and employees are enjoying the autonomy of their\u00a0 flexible working life. We\u2019re all starting to wonder why we ever needed to physically meet with our peers on a daily basis.\u00a0 As time goes on, we\u2019ve realised that sitting around a table together isn\u2019t necessary to share ideas, data or strategies. Despite this, we should remember that meeting face-to-face was key for other, equally important, reasons.\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tThe real value of face-to-face was unlocked outside of the meeting room. The sense of camaraderie and teamwork when laughs were shared, challenges were tackled together, and innovation was sparked.\u00a0 Creating a vibrant team culture is grounded in everything outside of those meetings; it\u2019s the exact reason why companies host away days, Pizza Fridays and internal events.\u00a0Businesses that accept the current climate and seek innovative ways to connect with their employees will keep a shared sense of purpose intact, whereas those that stand still risk seeing motivation diminish.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tOur new virtual world\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tA culture fueled by employee engagement creates a unique community of people working together towards a common goal. It\u2019s about getting people excited to be part of the journey and emotionally committed to the company vision. It\u2019s not about high salaries, benefits or being thanked after a long day; those are now\u00a0expected\u00a0<\/em>alongside a great culture. With so much economic uncertainty, both employers and employees are asking for loyalty and understanding.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tBusinesses that facilitate ways to socialise in a personal and professional development capacity, enable staff to feel more involved and less isolated in their remote setting. It\u2019s a telltale sign of a positive dynamic when coworkers choose to spend time together outside of work. Fun activities enable departments to intermix, when otherwise they wouldn\u2019t have a reason to. This can help to break silos, which all too easily evolve when teams are working apart.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tHow can we virtually unlock the power of bringing people together? Without casual micro-interactions at the coffee machine or beer fridge, people aren\u2019t checking in with each other. Newsletters and intranets keep everyone in the loop, while messaging software keep staff on task \u2013\u00a0 but how can companies utilise technology to intermix and promote a shared sense of positivity?
\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tDEPT\u00ae’s virtual weekender\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\t\tDEPT\u00ae had to rethink its annual flagship event, which usually brings together its 1,500-strong team from 13 countries. The DEPT\u00ae Festival takes place in Amsterdam every year and is a full weekend of inspirational talks, team mingling and epic parties. Instead of postponing the event in 2020, DEPT\u00ae gave it a digital reinvention.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tDEPT\u00ae connected existing technologies such as Zoom, Slack and Vimeo, with the build of a custom made, interactive, 3D festival map protected by single sign-on. The design and layout digitally recreated the festival site from the previous four years, squeezing in 15 stages and 35+ short and snappy presentations from staff and industry heroes like world-famous designer Stefan Sagmeister.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\tFor DEPT\u00ae, it was important to find the right balance between experience, fun and thought-provoking content. Presentation topics ranged from diversity and inclusion to data intelligence, the future of voice, and coding for a 3D world. The fun was provided by virtual meditation, magicians, karaoke and DJ sets. \u2018Easter eggs\u2019 were hidden around the virtual map, leading people to things like the 10 most famous internet cat movies, and a crazy Zoom background contest. The virtual Photo Booth generated a live photo wall, and in all 13 countries, Depsters could have food delivered to their doorsteps after a visit to the digital food truck.\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\u201cWe have shown that an online event can certainly be as effective as an in-person experience. As long as you can generate connection, interaction and think of the event as a 360-degree experience,\u201d says DEPT\u00ae\u2019s Creative Director, Max Pinas.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t