Before the first lockdown, Robaws was already experimenting with teleworking. Like their product, they ensure that their employees can also work independently of place and time. Thanks to group efforts by the whole team, all employees work very smoothly at home, just like in the office.

Between the first and second lockdown, employees worked in bubbles in the office. Then, when finally the second lockdown became a reality, the team had already been prepared by the first and so the changeover went much more smoothly.

 

Playing the cards openly

One challenge Line plays with as HR manager is the fact that, like everyone else, she is also equally uncertain. "How long will it take? "All you can do then is to be open and ensure constant communication with colleagues." Line tells us. By playing the open card herself, colleagues also come easily to talk to her about what is on their minds. "A chat on the phone, a text message... It's those little things that do a lot for everyone."

 

Close colleague group

Teambuilding remains important to still create team spirit from a distance. The office has a ping pong table where a game of 'table tennis' is normally always played in the afternoon. Since that was no longer possible, colleagues organised virtual ping pong. Every day, employees play a short game of maximum 15 minutes (e.g. among us, cards against humanity, ...).

Some online team-building activities are also organised. The employees were sent an aperitif package with Blind Tiger gin at home and consequently they did an e-peritif. Sometimes things can also be a bit more active and competitive which is why Robaws organised 'The digital bake off'. "Some colleagues crawled into their finest kitchen apron and tried to make the most beautiful chocolate cake. Unfortunately, we never got to find out who made the tastiest one" laughed Line.

Hiking could not be missing either, of course, the latest hype during corona. "As soon as it was allowed to go hiking with 4 we held hiking meetings. No real meetings were held but, for example, for the onboarding of a new colleague, this was a way to promote group spirit." Explains Line.

 

Growing in times of crisis

"With us, a reverse movement happened indeed." At most companies, the number of employees has decreased but at Robaws, new employees are just being hired. "We notice that our customers are just now starting to realise how important digitalisation is. And that of course creates a lot of jobs!" explains Line.

Training and integrating these new employees into the colleague group was certainly a challenge. About five hires were made in the past six months. "Some colleagues have never even seen the new recruits in real life. Fortunately, today we live in an era with plenty of online meeting methods anyway! And of course where we used to organise a team activity when we made a new hire, we will definitely catch up on those moments!!!" Tells Line.

 

Staying motivated

Line herself is still super enthusiastic and motivated. "But am I always as enthusiastic and motivated there every day? No, and I'm not going to lie about that either. Everyone has an off-day, everyone has a day where things don't go their way." Admits Line. So do employees at Robaws. But to solve that, each team hears each other daily during a short 10-minute stand-up meeting. Here, each colleague goes over their day, what has already been done and what is still on their to-do list. These meetings ensure that you have something to strive for every day and thus stay motivated.

"Definitely don't get rushed or feel obliged to put in a mass of overtime every day. Go a tad further each day than the original goal but think about stopping in time and the necessary relaxation to perform even better!"

 

Advantages of teleworking

Never before has there been so much emphasis on internal communication and, in all honesty, it is sometimes much more efficient online. Robaws learnt many things from this pandemic that the teams will continue to apply later on in the workplace: stand-up meetings, review meetings, team-by-team activities...

"To be clear I miss the colleagues, the lunch, the laughter and banter in the office even though I am often the victim of the latter." Laughed Line. But also admits that towards housekeeping and organisation, it is a dire luxury.

Line and her husband had been dreaming of taking in a puppy for years but obviously you have to take good care of it, especially in the beginning. Through corona, they finally took the plunge and have had a puppy named Olaf in their home for 3 months now. "In the meantime, he also knows how to keep calm when his 'dog mom' is at work. A perfect preparation because Olaf will soon join me at work as an office dog." Line tells us. "Studies have proven that a dog at work can reduce stress and improve the working atmosphere."

 

What after corona?

Line is a fan of after corona still working from home for a few days but not every day. Communicating online goes smoothly however a live meeting is still a different dynamic. As soon as the barrier of only meeting and chatting online is removed, colleagues who work from home every day will risk falling by the wayside.

When working from home, it is difficult to check whether working hours are followed up. At Robaws, flexible hours already allow employees to choose when to start, finish and take breaks. This sounds very nice in theory but in practice it is often impossible. Therefore, Line also advises everyone to always be at work within office hours. "If you only take a break at 2pm to eat then you only need to get 1 phone call and you can already lose half an hour of your break. Take breaks at the right time, I think that relaxation is so important." Explains Line.

 

Some tips to stay motivated

1. Still, try to keep working as you would at the office. For example, keep the same hours so you stay in the same rhythm as before.

2. If you can manage to sit in a room separate from the living and sleeping area, do so. You will find that you spontaneously get that 'work is done' feeling when you then enter the living space.

3. We all know it, for our meetings online we wear a shirt/blouse to look respectable. Underneath, we wear comfy jogging/pyjama trousers. Really dress up like you're going to work, you'll spontaneously feel a bit more confident and get out of that 'lazy mode' quicker....

4. Try to cut down on screen time outside working hours too, take a walk or browse around the action store nearby. These are much more quality breaks that you can come out of much more relaxed.

5. Communication is very important! With our internal chat box that keeps everyone in constant touch, we maintain contact with each other and everyone can be helped quickly