Company Culture While Working From Home with CEO, David Black
Wondering how to keep company culture alive while working from home?
SocialMadeSimple’s CEO, David Black, sits down with Business Development Manager, Ryan Chiasson, to share ways we have kept our culture, how to do it, and even some remote work tips!
“We have to be very cognizant of people’s mental health and make sure that everybody’s okay in this environment and if not, what can we do to fix that?”
Ryan: We often do these coffee breaks on Fridays where he’ll either play a character or have us play a game; and it’s all random. We never know what we’re going to get ourselves into! It only lasts about 15-20 minutes but it breaks up the week and month and day; ending the week on a high note! It just brings us all together! Everyone’s laughing, everyone’s smiling, it’s that 15-20 minutes where we take our heads out of the sand so-to-speak and are able to come together as a company and have a little bit of fun!
Transition: Company Culture While Working From Home with David Black
David: I believe we can’t overlook the strain that it puts on us as people. I think we’re social creatures and you can take a lot away from being in the office, being among other people, getting into conversations. Some of us might be seeing each other even more regularly on these Zoom calls, but there is still something missing. One of the things I tried to do was get us on random calls with random people, amongst ourselves, so we can keep in touch with people who otherwise we might not be talking to. Hopefully, people enjoy those – not sure if they do.
Ryan: Oh I do, for sure!
David: Do you?!
Ryan: Definitely – it really breaks up our day-to-day routines. I think you make a really good point that working from home for an extended period of time definitely can provide a strain in different areas that we don’t think about. For example, I miss going into the office a little early, sitting down, having a cup of coffee, and just getting into the zone knowing that I would hear you whistling down the hallway, and I’d be like, “There’s David!”. Just having that social interaction I think kept us on our toes, energized, and motivated. Not to say that we’re not motivated when working from home, but you’re absolutely right about establishing a routine.
I’ve talked about this on the show before – one of the biggest things that were tough for me was differentiating both my workspace and work hours. Being at home, it’s much easier to put in that extra 30 minutes or extra hour, while at the office it’s easier to feel like you can leave your work at the office. Versus at home I think, “I’m here, I have the time so why not keep going?”. So hopefully we will be able to transition into an office space in 2021. Hopefully!
David: Yeah – who knows when! I would say I’d love to have something to go to right now and can definitely go to a shared space down here just to get a day’s worth of work or something, or go down to the work bar in Needham. I think we have to be very cognizant of people’s mental health and make sure that everybody’s okay in this environment and if not, what can we do to fix that?
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