Caring & daring
Stay connected
With our Stay Connected Program, we facilitate connection and a sense of belonging among co-workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. We know it’s not easy to work from home. This program shows that as a company, we care — not only about our co-workers, but also about their families.
Examples of program activities include cooking lessons, wine tasting, online Pictionary, bingo night with partners and kids, virtual drinks, online fitness training, gardening sessions, and cups of coffee with random co-workers. We make sure everyone is aware of these events and that they can join in, no matter where they are. Additionally, we’ve made it our mission to send little gifts or cards with a personal message to everyone’s ‘home office’ once every few weeks. These small, unexpected gestures help engage co-workers.
Safe workplace
As part of our Stay Connected Program, we also want to ensure a safe workplace in this Covid-19 time. When rules and regulations change, we communicate these in a clear and funny way, so everyone will find it easy to remember the guidelines.
Corina Fernandes & Tobias Platenburg
Organizers Stay Connected Program
Corina and Tobias, you are part of the Stay Connected team. How did this program start?
When Covid-19 struck and we started working from home, a wealth of initiatives emerged to connect remotely. People longed to keep feeling connected in the same way they did when working in the office. We wanted make sure co-workers could share their experience working remotely and support each other, so they wouldn’t feel lonely in these uncertain times. ‘Stay Connected’ refers to the theme of last year’s Outlook company event: ‘being connected.’
In your view, why is this program valuable to IG&H?
We believe the Stay Connected Program brings about a lot of positivity. It shows that the company appreciates, recognizes, and cares about employees. In the new situation, people work from home, which is usually the realm of your private life. This means our co-workers’ partners, families, and roommates have become part of IG&H, too. For newcomers who started working at our company in this Covid-19 time, it’s a great way to be welcomed into our IG&H family. The program allows co-workers to have fun together regardless of lockdowns or other restrictions. On top of that, it provides exciting opportunities: you can talk to many co-workers you wouldn’t meet under normal circumstances, get to know other teams, and discover new things about your co-workers’ personal lives. This helps us build stronger connections. We plan on continuing this program post-Covid-19, as it promotes employee engagement and care for each other. For example, we have noticed it greatly facilitates teamwork between co-workers in the Netherlands and Portugal.