CAITLIN BRADY

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Connect with Co-Workers, Virtually

What started as an idea to connect coworkers, foster camaraderie, & share of information in the office transformed into a vital way to unite our three studios together throughout the Covid-19 work from home era.

Our Thursday Breakfast events were started in 2019 to accompany breakfast food delivery at our San Francisco office- most folks would grab food and scurry back to their desks. My co-worker and I thought that adding a more regular element of socialization would help foster a greater sense of camaraderie in the office.

A five minute presentation or activity could inspire further conversations about topics or with people that are outside of someone’s usual day to day. For our first event, my co-worker and I took up-close photos of unique objects around the office, put together a worksheet, and then asked teams (we assigned people to work with people they didn’t know well) to find the object pictured for a prize. It was a huge success and fostered interaction amongst a really diverse group.

After transitioning to WFH, our Thursday Breakfasts have been crucial to keep people updated on projects in the office and offer a quick break for a goofy activity. Our firm has three offices total; I have come to know the other offices’ employees so much better through these events. Usually I would only interact with them at the holiday party!

Thursday Breakfast Activity Format

  • Open event at 9:30am for light chit-chat and presenter set-up

  • Send reminder email to the firm with topic/presenter

  • Presentation begins at 9:35am and runs for (ideally) 5 minutes

  • Questions/conversation until 9:40am

  • Post a summary on our firm’s intranet for those who missed the event

Results

So far, we’ve hosted 31 Project Show and Tells, 10 Info Sessions, & 31 Activities. Project final photos and renderings have been most popular. Knowing that it’s only a quick 5 minutes takes a lot of pressure off of the team to put together a gigantic presentation. A few slides and verbal descriptions work great and coworkers are always eager to ask questions.

85% of firmwide staff have participated in a Thursday Breakfast since we transitioned to work from home.

19% of the office attends each session, on average

Presentation Topic Suggestions

  • Show and Tell: Dogs of the Office (big hit), Quarantine Art/DIY Projects, Firm Logo Art

  • Scavenger Hunt Lightning Round

  • No-look, one line contour drawing of another person on the Zoom call

  • Presentation about Volunteering, Industry Awards, or Conferences

  • Best/Worst Houseplant Bracket (big hit, but exceeded 5 min)

  • Watercolor Demo

  • Firm Rendering Showcase

  • Photoshop Challenge: Coworkers on Vacation (very popular- and hilarious)

  • Name that: Logo, Architectural Landmark, Designer, Song

  • Wikipedia Race

  • Spot the Difference

  • Fill-in the Lyrics

  • Tour of: Our Office Renovation (a-la MTV’s Cribs), BD/Marketing Team (a-la Vogue’s 73 Questions), and Construction Site Progress

Have you tried to bring your coworkers together virtually? What activities did you try?