Hello Fellow WFH (work from home) Colleagues! As the world adapts to working in a virtual environment, the Sassafras team thought we could lend a helping hand. Our CEO, Jenny Holton, tunes in with this Q&A to share the inspiration behind the Sassafras Modern Office Manual.
Whether you’re leading a team on a cross-functional project or acting as a party of one on a deliverable; we’ve got you covered! Below you will find a link to our Modern Office Manual – full of great tips, tricks, advice and most of all FUN in a virtual office! While at home, you can still create inspiration, collaboration and recognition for your teams even if it looks a little different. Enjoy!
Where did the idea for the modern office manual come from?
The idea came from Geoff. As all of our clients and partners are adapting to working from home for the first time, he thought it would be a great space for Sassafras to share our insight and expertise in this area.
What do you hope others gain from this awesome tool?
We hope that people can learn from our years of trial and error. Our vision is to see our colleagues use the tips and tricks in this manual to continue to create relationships with each other, collaborate and ideate in a virtual environment. We hope that this manual helps people cope with such a drastic change in their work environment.
Which tip is your favorite?
My favorite tip is Embrace the Chatroom. At Sassafras, we learn a lot about our teammates through fun, engaging chatrooms. I know who loves Tiger King, but I also know who on the team does the most adventurous cooking. Chatrooms help increase social engagement but they also help me get to know my team on a more personal level and understand what is going on in their lives.
Describe the creative process a little bit.
Our virtual creative process works very similarly to how the process would work if we weren’t virtual. We do a ton of collaboration. We start with a brief, then we have a virtual Teams kick off call with all the players for clarification and inspiration. Once the creative team collaborates via screen share and pulls together the creative, they present it to the account team via Teams. There are many instant messages that go back and forth and diary posts inside our project management software before we cross the finish line.
The manual sections are very creative. Why did you choose those?
The Virtual Water Cooler is the first section and it’s all about staying connected with your team. Staying connected in a virtual environment is extremely important. It takes effort, but building bonds between co-workers is key to a successful virtual environment.
Next, we cover Collaboration and Recognition in the Teaming Up section. This section covers ways to share and collaborate with a virtual team. There are several options to collaborate based on your needs. It also covers ways to recognize the accomplishments of your team. It is easy to overlook the opportunities to recognize when you are in a virtual environment, but recognition keeps teams motivated.
There are also several Roadblocks to adapting to a virtual environment and we cover how to overcome those. Getting out of the house is essential to mental well being. We encourage our team to sit outside or even put on your walking shoes and have a meeting in motion. Fresh air and green surroundings actually feed the creative brain.
Thanks for giving us a few minutes to help you navigate this new virtual office. If you use some of the tips from our manual – post your inspiration on social media with #modernofficemanual and tag @sassafrasmarketing. We can’t wait to see the great things you are doing!
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