Does anybody else out there want to reset 2020?
Count the Rebels in.
Until we manage to invent a switch button or the time-travel machine, the current situation is testing our adaptability to the fullest.
No matter how hard we’d all want to change what’s happening around us, the truth is that there are some things that we simply can’t control. However, what we can do is control the way we are reacting to what is happening to us.
Having this in mind, we’ve decided to make the best out of the situation and reflect on the learnings.
We invite you to go together through our journey from Rebels to working-at-home-Rebels
How it all started?
Once the President of our country announced that the Government will activate the urgency procedure regarding COVID-19 we immediately knew that we must shift to Work from home.
Since we are super social, and we loooove coming to the office, this wasn’t an easy task to do.
But we did what Rebels do best: adapt and care for the people around them.
We took our laptops, monitors, keyboards and even chairs to make sure we have the full setup needed to continue delivering the same quality and productivity to our clients.
See below a few photos of our WFH set up:
To make sure everybody is on the same page, our CEO, Tudor Ciuleanu, sent us an official email explaining the RebelDot’s position in COVID-19 times.
We all promised to:
Keep our Rebel Spirit alive
Be available for meetings and calls using Slack
Deliver the same quality
Help each other and share tips and tricks for keeping our mental health
Keep having meetings as video calls
How we take care of our Rebels
Our people are our best asset. Our culture is our main differentiator.
The minute we saw that things are getting pretty serious and dangerous, our main concern was the mental health of our people. So we started working on a plan to make sure we cover all of their needs and that they feel the support of the company even in a 100% online setup.
Survey
The first thing that we did was an online survey to help us identify their needs, worries and the information they need.
The questions we asked were the following:
- What are the main concerns that you currently have?
2. What do you most enjoy about WFH?
3. What is difficult for you at WFH?
4. Do you have a daily routine?
5. Do you feel that your productivity increased or decreased?
6. How can RebelDot support you during these times?
Plan
Once we had the data gathered our HR and Employer Brand team started working on a plan where the main words were: care, support, and mental health.
Initiatives
The first initiative that was successful and we wanted to replicate was the Wellbeing Program.
We planned 5 weeks of challenges that are meant to target our physical and mental health.
Online Dates
“There is something so unbelievably refreshing about meeting individuals who are on the same life frequency as you. Everything feels effortless and natural. You just vibe, it’s beautiful.”
Although we are all working from home and keep the social distance, we all need connection. We already miss our talks in the kitchen early in the morning or our lunch jokes and roads to the cafeteria (how we miss our Farmec or CBC lunches!).
We didn’t want to lose the bond between us so we decided to twist our Blind Dates and turn them into Online Dates.
Each Rebel drinks a cup of coffee with another Rebel while solving the challenge they receive via email.
This round’s challenge was to answer the following question: What would you want to never change?
WFH daily tips and tricks
At RebelDot, we have a flexible work policy. So working from home wasn’t something new for the majority of us. However, very few of us have experience working from home for a long period of time.
Since the current situation is atypical, we started an internal campaign of daily sharing tips and tricks to help us accommodate to the new reality. Apart from the tips and tricks, we have also included a Daily reading material from sources that are verified.
Resources tracker
With all the information boom around Social Media regarding COVID-19, it was quite difficult to keep track of all the useful information and activities that we can do while WFH.
We didn’t want to miss useful information and we have decided to create an online tracker with all the nice resources and opportunities we could find.
Short of Rebel aggregator.
We filled it up with the following categories:
- COVID-19 trustworthy resources
- How can we help? (tab dedicated with causes that need support)
- Reading materials
- Mental Health
- For parents (a section dedicated to activities/articles and webinars for parents and kids)
- Movies/Documentaries
- Online Board Games
- Leisure time
- Food
- e-Health
We are very proud of it and we would like to share it with all of you. You can access our tracker here.
Keeping our habits
Probably one of the best decisions that one can take in times of uncertainty is continuing with the usual habits.
One of our habits is to have our weekly company meeting, every Friday at 11:30 A.M.
Back to office times, we used to get together, sit on our puffs and listen and joke with our colleagues.
At the moment, things are different but we have decided that now, more than ever, keeping our traditions is one of the most crucial things that we can do.
Every Friday, at 11:30, we open our cameras and we start our company meeting. The laughs, the smiley faces, and the conversations take us, at least for 30 min, back to our cozy office.
We will keep you posted with more and more initiatives that we have planned.
Until next time, please take care of yourself and stay safe!
XOXO,
The Rebels
