Chances are if you’re reading this, that means that you’ve had at least a few touches with our company. You may have noticed that we really value our people; creating a positive culture has always been a priority for us. If you don’t know us, well then, suffice it to say that we’re pretty big on our people. Finding and keeping good talent is central to our mission, we put a lot of emphasis on keeping our employees happy. During the best of times, that’s pretty easy to do (company decathlon, weekly happy hours, annual camping trip, the list goes on and on). But what do you do when the fabric of your culture (i.e. in-person gatherings), is ripped apart all of a sudden? We had to rewrite the script, and fast. Even though things are still a bit strange, keeping the culture alive and well has remained a priority for us. And we’re still learning some lessons along the way.

Wherever possible, we’ve kept things the same. From our all-hands meetings, to regularly scheduled check-ins between managers and reports, and various external events, keeping a regular cadence to these meetings has been a priority. We’re making sure these appointments don’t fall to the wayside. Because keeping a sense of normalcy, at least in some areas, is essential when it comes to maintaining culture. We want our people to know that the company supports them. This sense of normalcy doesn’t end outside of our network walls; maintaining relationships with our partners, vendors and clients remains to be one of our top priorities. We’re staying engaged with our community by posting on social media channels every day, we’re trying to spread some positivity by holding a new giveaway each week because we want to stay connected with our community.

This is a time to step up to the challenge we’ve been presented; while consistency is key, so is openness and flexibility to an ever-changing landscape. Each month, we hold a new round of culture and wellness bingo. Everyone is given a bingo card with small challenges designed to nudge people towards health, happiness and connection. This was an easy project to convert to a virtual format. Normally we all gather in the kitchen around 4 o’clock on Fridays to imbibe and connect before parting ways for the weekend. It was easy to transfer our weekly ritual to a video format, but something unexpected happened: our turnout has been better than ever. Our people want that connection, and miss having people around. Whereas before the mentality may have been “Oh, I’ll see Alex in the kitchen at some other point in the day,” now it’s seen as our opportunity to see everyone all at one time and it cultivates an even stronger sense of camaraderie. And having a takeaway like that during a time like this is huge for us, it reinforces this idea that our people are our most important asset.

Now’s a great time to really hone in on the question, what is it that you’re here for? What’s your purpose as a business? For us, it’s never solely been about fixing computers or putting phone systems in, it’s been about supporting people and helping businesses find success. These days, it’s not just about solving each ticket that comes in, it’s also about focusing on our bigger picture; how do we help to support our community, what’s our place in that? So for you and your company, what’s your bigger purpose? There’s never been a better time to figure out what that means to you and your business.