At Hitachi Solutions Portugal we recognise the importance of maintaining our employee’s wellbeing. Our team is famously sociable and so we knew that, during these unfamiliar times, the transition to full-time remote working would be tough. Here are just a few of the actions we took in response to the pandemic…
During lockdown, we worked hard to keep communication up and stay sociable. We had teams doing daily stand-ups, the whole office coming together for virtual weekly happy hours and a schedule of new social events for employees to participate in, such as virtual quizzes.
More recently we have created a Community Channel providing a platform for everyone to have a voice within our team to highlight concerns, raise awesome ideas, all via our digital suggestion box embedded into Microsoft teams. These can be raised both by a named person or if needed anonymously.
We know that sometimes our employees appreciate a conversation with somebody outside of their team, or line management hierarchy, and so we had a member of our Human Resources team conducting regular catch-ups with the team members to ensure they all continued to feel supported and any issues were raised. We were also able to promote the use of our ongoing Employee Assistance Programme, which provides confidential 24-hour support, and provide regular tips on supporting mental health through our newly created Teams Channel, “The Staying Inn”.
As a technology company we were well prepared for remote working, however, we knew that some employees were better equipped than others. Our library of e-learning courses has helped our employees access tips on how to maximise their productivity at home and also learn new skills such as how to lead virtual meetings.
And finally, as life continues to be different, we want our employees to know that despite the distance we continue to be there for them, which is why they have recently enjoyed the delivery of a Work from Home Survival Kit. The kits arrived in September, and as we enter the winter months with talk of a second wave and uncertainty on when life will return to normal, we hope that this gesture reminds everyone they are a part of a supportive and far-reaching team. We are Hitachi and we are better together.
Jessica Smith is Human Resources Director at Hitachi Solutions Europe with overall responsibility for the HR efforts across the region. She has 14 years’ experience designing and implementing HR practices for technology solutions businesses.
