A major part of HGS’s office culture is its monthly huddles. They served as both a fun way to end a work day, while also acknowledging any wins experienced, big or small. Over the years, different themed huddles showed how creative our teams could get. Whether it’s small pageants or a music festival, there was always something to look forward to.
With the current global situation however, it was uncertain how huddles would happen moving forward. With HGS strictly following all social distancing guidelines, large gatherings in an area – like huddles – was out of the question. It seemed that, for now, HGS huddles would be on pause until it was okay to have everyone together again.
At least, that’s what most thought.
New Normal, New Rules
In the last few weeks, we’ve talked about how people use videos to keep in touch with everyone. It’s especially true with families who catch up regularly to check up on each other. If you’re reading this, no doubt you’ve seen and even taken part in “Zoom parties” or virtual gatherings.
This is the main principle in which HGS’s virtual huddle is based on. As mentioned earlier, our office huddles are all about getting together, catching up and celebrating different wins. Despite current circumstances, HGS’s huddles did not completely stop. With a few adjustments, HGS continues to hold monthly huddles filled with the same enthusiasm and creativity it always did.
Keeping The Spirit Alive
Capturing what made our huddles very engaging was going to be a challenge. The interactivity and playful banter between people was always a highlight of each one. Luckily, HGS is not short on talented, creative individuals who were able to think outside of the box for the virtual huddles. Organizers prepared creative slideshows celebrating company milestones and also shared some ongoing news. The only difference now was that everyone was gathered inside a virtual meeting room. HGS still found time to recognize birthdays, work anniversaries and upcoming events through the virtual huddle and was met with the same level of enthusiasm.
Our company huddles often kicked off with a special message from our Managing Director Angela Vidler. For our virtual huddles, this was made even more special as Angela joined in to deliver her message personally to all our sites. Also like our traditional huddles, we had some fun games for all our participants. This was also something kept in our virtual huddles through the form of online quizzes and trivia. Showing once again how competitive HGS is, many of the participants did their best to answer all the questions to win prizes. To top it all off, the games become even more competitive when Angela takes part in them!
Keeping In Touch
2020 has certainly been a year full of unexpected events. While many do miss some of what normal life used to have, making most of the situation is what counts. There may not be many chances for office chatter, coffee with officemates or mid-day snack runs. However, that also does not mean being unable to interact with everyone completely.
HGS takes plenty of pride in the office culture it cultivated, and the monthly huddles were always part of that. Which is why it was so important to continue them even if teams cannot physically be together at the same time. Not only does it keep the spirit of office camaraderie alive, it’s a good chance to check in with some old friends and see how they’re doing.
