A Serene approach to lockdown

One of Serenity Digital’s strongest brand values is ensuring the wellbeing of our staff. And the lockdown period has been no different! Serenity Directors Pete and Stu have worked hard to ensure team members stay in touch on a daily basis to keep the team spirit going and motivation strong.

Daily video check-ins

Each morning the team gathers on Google Meet for a 20-minute catch up and an account of the day’s work in a nutshell. Not only does this create the feeling that we’re ‘seeing’ each other regularly and know what’s going on in each other’s lives, but it also gives everyone the chance to discuss their workload and request assistance from other team members if needed.

Quiz time!

Every Friday at 4.30pm, the team finish work early to indulge in a few games or quizzes via Google Meet. We usually attend with a drink in hand and take part in games such as Drawful, Articulate and a range of quizzes on everything from flags to Friends! It’s a great way to unwind and have a laugh at the end of the week and share our plans for the weekend.

Birthdays in lockdown

Many of us have celebrated birthdays during lockdown and although we are not gathered in the office to share one of Vicky’s homemade cakes as we usually would, Pete and Stu still managed to make them special! Flowers, cakes and treats have been sent to the birthday guy or gal in question, along with a heartfelt message or video call. To mark a certain someone’s BIG birthday recently, the guys sang Happy Birthday via video call whilst doing a team handstand!

A big well done

Although the pandemic has presented challenges, it has been recognised that the team are maintaining their amazing work! Not only are we dealing with different client needs, but also the difficulties of working in isolation from home without the presence of the team around us. Each and every team member has excelled during this period, with some fantastic projects being completed and outstanding feedback received. Serenity rewarded the team with individual treat packages sent to their homes, which were very well received indeed!

Socially distanced office

A couple of team members voiced their desire to return to the office, even if only for a couple of days a week, to have a change of scenery, to experience a more ‘normal’ work environment and enjoy some colleague banter! Serenity listened to the request, and after the easing of lockdown on 13 May, Pete and Stu devised a plan to create a safe, socially-distanced office.

Our well-proportioned office allows plenty of space for its seven members under normal circumstances, but with the current need to stay two metres apart and allow two-metre walkways around everything, the office has had to be reconfigured. There are now four ‘hot desks’ in situ, where team members can opt to come in and select a desk to work at for the day.

Everyone is asked to communicate if and when they would like to come in to ensure that no more than four people come into the office on any given day. Each desk is sanitised at the beginning and end of the day and staff are asked to bring in their individual work laptops, keyboards and mice from home each time to keep risk to a minimum. So far it has been working well with three team members regularly using the office and the others being invited back one day a week should they wish.

A few words from Team Serenity:

Copywriter Vicky said: “Serenity has been so supportive of me since lockdown began. I have little ones at home and they’ve allowed me to work flexible hours around their needs and my husband’s work schedule to enable me to get my work done at a time that is achievable. The result is a stress-free working from home experience, which allows me to continue to do my best for our clients.”

Marketing coordinator Charley said: “Although it was a shock to the system to be suddenly working from home indefinitely, Pete and Stu have made it easy and enjoyable. Our daily video check-ins are great and we also have lots of other video meetings to brainstorm and discuss individual projects, so I still very much feel part of the team.”

Web developer Niall said: “I was one of those really struggling with working from home everyday. I didn’t like being cooped up in my spare room and having no one to bounce ideas and thoughts off of. By prioritising the safety-proofing of the office, it has given me the opportunity to vary my working environment, which is essential for my personal wellbeing.”

PPC/SEO specialist Dave said: “It’s definitely been strange not to be coming into the office and spending time with everyone whilst we’ve been working from home. However, the regular video calls with the team mean they never feel too far away! It’s also been nice to be able to catch up with our clients via video conferencing as well, which would most likely have just been via email before.”

Director Pete Garrett said: “Stu and I really miss coming into the office everyday and seeing the team together! We miss the chat and the physical ‘working together’ element of office life so we’re pleased that the office is now in use again. We’ve given everyone the option to come in one day a week purely because it’ll be great to see everyone, but this is completely optional and the team must do what’s right for them.”

Like what you hear? Find out more about Serenity Digital, what a great place it is to work and the services we offer.

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