Like me, Christian loves the culture at Liip. And the tips we are going to share with you are things that we have been doing at Liip for quite a while.

Handy tools and user-friendly technology

Let’s jump right in! Being “there for your team” means having the right tools to work with. Such as an instant message app, video conferencing tools, secure logins, company servers, and also a software to record your hours. Privacy and security are still important – you might want to look for Swiss developed and hosted solutions. At Liip we even developed our own ERP software – Zebra!

These are some of the tools we have been using for years. As a digital agency with five locations across Switzerland, we need tools that are cloud-based, user friendly, easy to implement, reliable. When we made these choices Swiss alternatives were not as powerful as today. You might want to consider Swiss alternatives too.

Relevant and transparent information

Update your team regularly with relevant and transparent information. Use digital coffee breaks for informal chats, replacing the ad hoc ones previously held in open spaces. Aim towards inclusion and sharing information so that all are feeling part of the team. Yep, even while being physically apart, you’re still a team and you want to keep a strong sense of belonging!

For instance, within Liip several initiatives were launched:

  • Company wide announcements shared as #announcements in a dedicated Slack channel on a very regular basis, at least as often as the Federal Council announcements
  • Daily stand-up via Google Meet in each team and in each “location”, one Liiper is facilitating by inviting each Liiper to share his or her update one at the time
  • Dedicated Slack channels such as #home-office, #remote-work or #remote-coffee-break to hang out with colleagues, each channel has a dedicated Google Meet link to join in.

To dive deeper into self-organisation during Corona, have a look at our best practices:

What a great start of the day! Claes, Jonathan, Eléonore and Karin at the Daily.

Team building in these unprecedented times? Yes, of course! And this is better not related to work. For instance at Liip we transformed our weekly sport sessions in online sporty gatherings. That’s great because Liipers from all over Switzerland are taking part in the boot camp course which was initially held in ZĂŒrich or in the yoga class which is happening in Lausanne normally. Our “Apéros” have been replaced with remote-aperos across Switzerland as well.

Empathy

The use of the right technology is one thing, but don’t forget the human factor. As a leader keep in contact with your team with voice and video calls. It’s important for your team to know that you are here for them as support and to listen to their worries. As the current situation might be really tough to cope with for some. Empathy is key!

This might be as simple as:

  • Start your meetings with a check-in round, ask every participant to share their thoughts or emotions or whatever crosses their mind.
  • Don’t assure “no news is good news”, reach out to each member of your team regularly, ask open questions and listen.
  • Give feedback and let people know when you are happy with the work they’ve done too. Compliments aren’t only important right now, but even nicer to digest during home-office.

The right technology, transparent information and a caring environment are what we experience at Liip, not only during Corona times. So be sure to keep that working, even when you’ll be back in the office!

Thanks for reading! This was the first issue of our new format “Liip tips”. Are these insights helpful? We’d like to give you ideas on what to do next. And we’re always happy to support you in digital challenges. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback!

Thank you very, very much to Christian and Sylvain for the production and post production. You rock! And thank you to Jenny for your endless support!