How Talent Group Built a Culture During a Pandemic

By Talent Group | Blog | Oct 13, 2021

There is no denying how difficult the past twenty-something months have been for some businesses and individuals, as the world as we know it has completely evolved. Corporate America as well as many businesses outside of that realm have experienced a shift in culture; with the most apparent shift being in how the modern workplace has evolved from a traditional “9-5” in the office, to a more remote, work-from-home structure. One of the biggest internal challenges correlated to this shift in the workplace is maintaining an existing culture, and even more demanding is building up a culture. We are going to talk about a few ways Talent Group was able to not only maintain, but able to continue to build up a desirable culture that is attracting the top talent at every level.

Collaboration

Without consistently working in-office, employees lose out on face-to-face interaction. While the need to be able to openly collaborate is very important, it is almost equally important as humans to allow ourselves to decompress throughout the workday. When in the office, you are easily able to spend a few minutes discussing your fantasy football team or the new restaurant you tried over the weekend with a coworker. With the new remote-centered work model, that ability has become hampered. In order to increase employee interaction – while also creating a productive work environment – Talent Group formed a couple different “committees” to collaborate on specific projects within the company. For example, one of the biggest needs of Talent Group (prior to the pandemic) was a rebranding of the company. As a result, the Branding Committee took form – consisting of employees sitting in both the United States and India – which required its members to connect once a week to present creative ideas, carry out votes on split decisions, and most importantly have a few laughs throughout the meeting. This approach allows your employees to be heard and represented, in addition to the opportunity to get to know their coworkers on a more personal level.

Communication

In accordance with collaboration, the need to maintain a steady communication stream is of the highest importance for good business practice. Not only does communication generate a higher level of transparency both internally and externally, but it promotes productivity among employees. Without the ability to simply walk over to a coworker’s desk to ask a question, it is important to provide ways to communicate directly and quickly with your peers. Talent Group has transitioned all its employees onto Microsoft Teams, which serves not only as a digital conference room when needed but also as a platform to send instant messages, calls or video calls to anyone within the organization. Without this platform, communication can get messy and inherently alter the flow of productivity.

Another new and unique form of communication that Talent Group is currently in the process of adopting is a newsletter, which will be available for everyone both inside and outside the organization. Much like our current blog and news section, this newsletter will contain business developments, employee spotlights, holiday celebrations, and segments from department heads that will inform on any current or upcoming projects. Creating a newsletter or something similar not only provides a tangible communication piece, but more importantly creates a platform for employees to submit new ideas or updates on their work that will be shared with the entire organization.

Enable

Talent Group is all about commitment to both their employees and their clients. One of the ways Talent Group has remained committed to their employees is by sponsoring some employees to further their education – whether that be by way of an MBA, skill certifications, or workshops/bootcamps. This is an excellent way to provide employees with a way to not only sharpen their skills for the immediate future, but to provide them with a lifelong skill set that will also benefit the company. Enabling employees in this fashion can act as a huge incentive for them to perform better in their work by utilizing their newly refined skills and sharing newly acquired knowledge with their peers – which then feeds into increasing both communication and collaboration.

Unification

At the end of the day, Talent Group wants everyone in the organization to feel welcomed and heard. While someone may temporarily receive the spotlight for a job well done, Talent Group makes sure that all work is appreciated. We are involved in an industry that requires the work and dedication of everyone to get the job done properly. With employees sitting in multiple locations throughout the US and India, everyone goes about their work-life balance in a different manner. However, when we established a set of core values, Talent Group ensured that we would be able to move and grow as a unified front with those core values at the center of every decision. It’s important now more than ever that people are unified and lift up their peers especially when they need it, and even if they don’t.