How to Keep Company Culture Alive During the Coronavirus Outbreak

The Coronavirus outbreak has thrown companies and workers for a loop. It’s a challenge, but during these trying times, it’s important to band together — not just within our families and communities, but with our coworkers, too. It can help us find a sense of normalcy amongst uncertainty as we adjust to our new daily routine. At Red Branch, we’re trying new ways to keep our culture alive, and hopefully sharing a few tips about what we’ve been doing and learning during our time in quarantine can help you keep your culture thriving and employees connected, too.

Tip #1: Host Daily Video Check-Ins

It’s vital for your company to nurture mental health. In the article “The risks of social isolation” the American Psychological Association states that, “lacking encouragement from family or friends, those who are lonely may slide into unhealthy habits,” and that, “loneliness has been found to raise levels of stress, impede sleep and, in turn, harm the body. Loneliness can also augment depression or anxiety.”

Abating loneliness while your teams are working remotely can be achieved through daily check-ins with your team.

Here’s How We’re Hosting Our Daily Check-Ins at Red Branch Media:

• Each morning at 9 AM sharp, we call into our pod’s dedicated virtual conference room — rise and shine, because cameras are rolling!
• We discuss with our podmates how we’re doing, what tasks we’re taking on for the day, and how each of us can help one another as needed.
• These meetings are a brief 15 minutes, but they provide critical human connection first-thing to kick off our day and get communication flowing.

Tip #2: Get Creative with Your Break Time

Just because you’re working remotely doesn’t mean you need to go stir crazy. Make sure you’re taking a work break every day to reset and refresh your mindset. This doesn’t mean heading over to your couch that you’ve dubbed as your new “break room.” Get creative; there are so many opportunities to spend your break time in a more engaging, interactive way to recharge and burn a little energy:

Some WFH Break Ideas to Get You Motivated for Your Break Time:

• Stream an episode of your favorite TV show
• Make an energizing and healthy snack to power the rest of your day
• Have a virtual coffee break with a coworker to get in your “water cooler” chat
• Read that article you put in your pocket earlier this morning
• Play an online game with a coworker (The folks at CompanyCam play Rocket League, Call of Duty, and Animal Crossing together!)
• Listen to an episode of your favorite podcast, since you no longer have a commute
• Learn something new from a YouTube lesson
• Take a walk around the neighborhood — but wear a mask and wash your hands!
• Do a 20-minute meditation or exercise video
• Clean out a closet or junk drawer

Can’t Decide on One of Our Ideas Above? Spin this Wheel Instead!

Tip #3: Stay Connected

Daily check-ins and creative breaks are great, but it’s equally important to stay connected with your team throughout the day. Here at Red Branch Media, we use Monday.com not only to manage our tasks, but have dedicated company-only channels of communication where we can post anything we’d like, whether it be funny videos, awesome articles, inspirational work, or a barrage of gifs. If your company uses Slack or Gchat, you can stay connected by creating your own company channels or workgroups and socializing with your team this way. As a bonus, if you’re feeling you need some more human interaction, why not open a Zoom conference room or Hangout and work together on a task that way!

Tip #4: Have a Virtual All-Hands-On-Deck, End-of-Week Meeting

The whole company? Yep. Here at Red Branch Media, every Friday from 3-4 pm we host an all-hands Eatin’ Meetin.’ Much like our in-office Eatin’ Meetin’, we all log on to one Zoom line and crack open our drink of choice (or the best thing we have stocked in the fridge, at least). To keep things interesting and engaging, we play a different game every week, try to make each other laugh with different backgrounds, and take the time to decompress from the workweek.

Eatin’ Meetin’ is our ultimate and most well-liked company culture event that everyone looks forward to throughout the week. It gives us something to look forward to on Fridays and provides the motivation to complete all our tasks before the weekend. Try it out at your company!

This Was Taken from Our Very First Eatin’ Meetin’ Zoom Call:

BONUS: Here’s a Great List of Game Ideas You Can Do On Your Eatin’ Meetin’ Zoom Call!

• Recipe Party (Sharing Your Favorite Recipes)
• Bon-app-etite (Discussing The Phone Apps You Can’t Live Without)
• Video Tours Of Your Workspace
• Virtually Meet Pets
• An Aha, An Apology, Or An Appreciation (Something They Liked, Talk About A Light Bulb Moment, Or Apologize For Something They Did, Or Say Thank You)
• Use Zoom Features Like The Whiteboard To Play Games
• Talk About Favorite Ted Talks, Favorite Podcasts, Books, Online Learning Courses, Share Favorite Meme Or Gif, Etc.
• Favorite Cat Video
• Who Would Win? (Superman Vs. Batman, Etc.)
• Virtual Family Feud
• Wearing Costumes
• Celebrate Holidays – St. Patrick’s Day, Everyone Wear Green
• 2 Truths And A Lie (Have People Guess Who It Is And Which Is The Lie)
• What’s Your Hobby?/Latest Project
• Trivia – Company Trivia, Client Trivia, And General
• Flat Lay Your Desk
• Round Robin – Personal Updates (What’s New, What Happened This Week, Etc)
• What If? Questions (What If You Could Go Anywhere In The World, Where Would It Be And Why?, Etc.)
• Deserted Island Scenario Game
• Virtual Scavenger Hunt
• Encourage Everyone To Make A Video Recap Of Something That Happened That Week To Share – 30 Second Or Less
• Quizbreaker.com
• Name That Song
• Word Association Games
• Collect Baby Photos And Have Everyone Match The Employee To Their Baby Photo

We hope these ideas, from us to you, will keep your company culture thriving. While things are pretty rough out there, it’s important to keep in mind that we’re all in this together. From all of us at Red Branch Media, we hope you’re staying healthy and safe. Let’s flatten this curve and stay happy while doing so!

Kyle Christensen

Kyle is the Brand Director at Red Branch Media.

Kyle leads our Graphic Design Department at Red Branch Media. His ability to manage incoming tasks, collaborate with the design team, hit deadlines and keep our file storage system well-organized has helped to shape the design department clients love today. While he’s away from the branch, he spends his time playing drums, video games, cranking the latest emo, pop-punk and screamo songs on Spotify, drinking local Omaha brews, and enjoying life with his wife. Kyle has a BASA with a Concentration in Graphic Design and a Minor in Art History from UNO.