Twelve months ago, companies scrambled to provide resources for their employees to work from home for what was thought at the time to be a temporary situation. However, as months turned into a year, employees and employers have come to see the benefits of a remote work structure. Even with the possibility of a safe return to traditional offices on the horizon, most organisations will never again see 100 percent office occupancy.
A mix of on-site and remote workers will be more common than ever. For businesses to thrive in this new environment, they must ensure the success of their hybrid workforce and carefully consider what is necessary to ensure equity and well-being among all employees. Although 2600Hz is headquartered in San Francisco, California, they have always operated with a hybrid employee base. Their Chief of Staff, Kate Zucchino, manages employee well-being, employee success, remote hiring, and much more. She took time with UC Today to share insight into what it takes to provide remote and in-office employees with the right technology, tools, and resources to be productive and successful throughout all enterprise levels.
“One of the things that’s important for us is providing tools for new hires so that they are set up for success on their first day,” tells Zucchino. “They get the laptop of their choosing and any other home office equipment based on their job requirements. We also like to make them feel like they are part of an inclusive team, so we always do a welcome email that’s initiated by myself. It’s great because everyone is really responsive, and new hires know that they are in a welcoming environment from their first day.”
Creating a Culture of Connection
Once a new hire is onboarded and welcomed to the 2600Hz family, there is continued attention paid to employee well-being. Leadership ensures there are weekly one–on-one check-ins with a manager or team lead. With extreme levels of isolation during the pandemic, the company’s focus was to ask employees how their week was going on a personal level. People’s whole routine abruptly changed, which can be jarring. Without the option to go into the office and many social hubs closing for safety measures, isolation can affect anyone’s mental and emotional well-being. The message from the top down was to make sure people were happy, engaged, and connected.
Even though most of their employees work remotely, there has always been a focus on making sure everyone feels included. There is a huge effort to make sure that employees can meet in person at least once per year. Prior to COVID, 2600Hz held an annual conference called KAZOOcon, where employees were flown to the conference’s location. “We would also host ski trips to Lake Tahoe that allows for remote employees from all over the world to meet people from different parts of the globe as well as different departments within the company,” says Zucchino.
“We understand that physical distance sometimes creates a barrier to fully understand how everyone’s work is connected, and we want to close that gap as much as possible. Ultimately, finding ways for employees to connect helps everyone better understand company goals on a broader level”
Unique Approaches for Uninterrupted Community
The long-term impact of COVID allowed 2600Hz to take full advantage of their in-house video conferencing system. Everyone would join in at least once a month for different team members to share learning projects with the organization. Topics ranged from how to make kombucha or how to make smart investments with 401ks or Roth IRAs. Employees also used the video conferencing system for virtual happy hours and holiday parties to provide as much normalcy as possible during a period of forced distance.
Zucchino notes that employee recognition is an overlooked part of the average company’s internal culture. Not all organizations are willing to make sure their employees feel appreciated, as the expectation is for people to show up and do their job without complaint. However, 2600Hz makes a conscious effort to not take its employees for granted. They hold a town hall every two weeks, giving anyone in the company a chance to shout out a co–worker who has gone above and beyond their role. “Just the recognition of a job well done is amazing,” exclaims Zucchino.
“Leadership wants more from its employees than for people to show up for eight hours a day just to be a warm body.”
This is really important because the more companies grow, the harder it is for people to feel connected to the organization as a whole. 2600Hz’s unique active open–source community also amplifies the company’s value of connectedness. It allows co-workers to look at each other’s work and learn from one another in a very organic way. 2600Hz has done a great job in being transparent with the development of their product and sharing information internally and externally. No one exists in a vacuum, and the company culture at 2600Hz makes sure no employee is ever alone, even when working remotely.
