TEAM BUILDING INITIATIVES
While all the billable work is important to making sure the companies and clients are making their forecasted numbers, it's the internal initiatives that keep teams motivated, happy and coming back every day. It's a passion of mine to make sure everyone feels valued, appreciated and excited to show up every day.
Here are a few examples of internal initiatives that I've spearheaded in the last decade.
IDEA PIPELINE
The Idea Pipeline officially launched in January of 2020, just in time to get established before COVID hit the scene in March. It was the perfect time since work slowed to a grinding halt, and lots of employees were able to contribute to the Pipeline and bring fresh ideas to the table for revenue streams, workflow improvement and even fun team-building ideas.
The Idea Pipeline is a company-wide initiative born out of the Leadership Forward Program, of which I was a part of the inaugural class at Miles Partnership in 2018. Through the program, we were all injected into leadership roles at Miles, and given the opportunity and platform to create something that could benefit the company in some way.
Myself and coworker Janet Fusco saw the need to create a program to encourage and capture employee ideas, and connect those idea makers to leadership in the company that could help them bring that idea to life.
I developed the logo and brand for the Idea Pipeline, and applied that to the emails that I designed and coded, running each campaign through the Mailchimp Platform to keep the program front and center for employees.
Advisor Spotlight Series
Launch Email
Reminder Email
Within the first 2 months of launch, we had 48 ideas move through the pipeline, connecting people to leaders, working through challenges and opportunities, and helping to launch their own ideas over the course of the next year.
PAPER PLANE PROJECT
The Paper Plane Project was created as an opportunity to connect with other designers in the Sarasota Office at Miles Partnership. In the office, the teams are separated and designers don't interact as often as they could. This monthly event was created for us to work alongside each other, have valuable conversations about our projects, experience and skills, to create an internal design community and to support each other in our craft.
Getting to know each other in an informal setting only supported team building and common trust to break down the walls of separation that our “team structure” indirectly (or directly) created.
Each event had fun team-building activities, snacks, good music and most of all, camaraderie.
SMALL EFFORTS MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES
I'm a firm believer that "a little effort goes a long way". While big ideas are important, let's not forget about all the little things that help keep teams strong, active and involved:
Galentine's Day - Inspired by Parks & Recreation character Leslie Knope, this event was a way for us to celebrate each other as professional women, give thanks for all we do on our team and show gratitude through chocolates and silly gifts for each other.
Alliteration April - A series of events in April to take a moment to celebrate each other (Mocktail Monday, Workout Wednesday, Taco Tuesday, and so many more)
Major Birthday Celebrations - For team members turning a milestone birthday, our team would go all out for themed day-long celebrations, including getting the entire office to participate in an Alice in Wonderland scavenger hunt and building a full scale Game of Thrones castle and throne, complete with costumes and cakes.
Peanut Butter Jelly Time! - When communication styles began to breakdown across team members, I took it upon myself to create a workshop for us to write down "instructions on how to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich to an alien from outter space". It helped us understand that we make assumptions when delegating or passing off work, and to be thoughtful about the instructions you send to coworkers.
Pumpkin Spice Day (Unofficial) - In southwest Florida, there are no seasons, so this marked the day that we all brought in pumpkin flavored goodies, dressed in boots and scarves, and created "Autumn" in the office. When we all went remote, I kept the tradition alive by mailing goodies to my teammates.
I'm not afraid to get involved. I want the people around me to know that they're appreciated and valued. Happy employees do better work.