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Engaging Hearts and Minds
“Your team is your first brand ambassador” – James Sinegal
The unprecedented times of COVID-19 presented challenges to organisations around the world It has put a strain on the daily interactions that we took for granted by pushing us into a virtual world overnight. The key to keeping our teams and colleagues engaged is communication. It is our responsibility to ensure that motivation levels don’t drop and we continue to provide a healthy environment to enable our people to flourish. Our culture at PMC guides us in everything that we do, and this pandemic hasn’t changed that. Our culture binds us together.
PMC adopted home working in the UK on 16th March and a week later in India on 23rd March. The connection and communication across our two offices have always been a big part of what makes our culture so unique. Tough times ask for innovative ideas and we stepped up, our teams across the business ensured that we remained connected without interruption for our customers.
Engaging teams virtually
Our India based teams ensured that the team bonding activities continued. We moved from the physical office to the virtual office on Microsoft Teams. Various weekly activities ensured that the teams are continuously engaged, motivated, and inspired.
Testing team playing Bollywood quiz
Talking about the various activities in the Product team during working from home, Deepak Agrawal, Product Delivery Manager, said “We use Microsoft Teams and do various activities regularly to keep everyone engaged. WFH is new for everyone and we understand the challenges associated with it. These activities not only ensure that team bonds virtually but also stay happy and motivated.”
Bonding Creatively
Our other teams, including Application Support and Operation Support, also ensured that their weekly interactions remained fun by playing bingo and Pictionary. Our Head Office team became creative during their weekly team interactions. The various activities involved treasure hunt, gibberish game, and aliens have landed.
HO team playing Treasure Hunt
Talking about the various team engagement activities, Dhaivat Trivedi, Finance Controller, said “While we remain socially distanced and confined in our homes, these activities help us stay digitally connected. We all know that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. These activities help us to keep the feel of office engagement, fun, and bond alive. I see the team feels charged and motivated by the end of the activity and games. While we part from the virtual meeting, we do so with an honest smile and fond goodbyes, with promises to meet for another round next week”.
Sales & Marketing Team Connecting over their V-Drinks
United Multi-Location Teams
Our teams are spread across two continents, and now over 350 locations. It is vital to stay connected and have a sense of belonging especially during these unprecedented times. Our UK and India HR teams ensure their weekly HR calls are full of fun and laughter.
India and UK HR Team during their weekly HR Catch-up
Sharon Bassindale, an HR Administrator with our UK team, adds “Our HR Friday catch-ups are quite literally bringing social distancing to life. It has been great getting to know our multi-location team and learning about their hidden talents in the games by playing games such as Pictionary."
Yapster – Our company-wide social media channel
While moving to the ‘Work from Home’ model, PMC adopted Yapster as its official social media channel. Yapster is a fast and simple workplace messenger app, allowing colleagues to send text, photo, and video messages in a safe online workspace. It is a place for PMC employees to take part in social events & activities, share positive messages, and celebrate success. Our PMC events team ensured regular activities on Yapster which made connecting virtually fun and interesting.
The secret to happy teams is constant communication, ample care, and tremendous compassion for each other. At PMC, our culture drives us to excel. Our culture and values transcend into everything we do and will continue to guide us always.