A month ago, I travelled from Galway to Dublin to meet my colleagues and visit the Comit office for the first time since I joined the team in February.
The day started early when I boarded a bus to get to Dublin. I was a little nervous at the start - not knowing what to expect, but at the same time, I was also very excited to be meeting everyone and check-out the office.
I have been with Comit for the last eight months and like many others, I have been working from home. So, when I went into the office, it felt a little different initially, but I soon got acquainted with my new surroundings.
While working from home was the responsible thing to do during a pandemic, there are a number of normal work activities I missed, and close connections with colleagues was a huge loss. Working alongside your teammates not only helps in building stronger relationships. It also increases your appreciation for their time and work styles and ethics. There are many shared lessons that everyone can benefit from by simply being in the office.
Through this blog, I’d like to share my experience and learnings from being in the Comit office.
1. Helps reinforce the culture
With the technology available today, it’s often feasible to work from home. However, while working from home we tend to forget certain aspects and cultural values that would be more evident in the physical setting. At Comit there is a great appreciation for individualism. Everyone is encouraged to bring their most authentic selves to work and to use that to drive creativity. I realised that being in the office facilitated a higher degree of collaboration and creative thinking. It also enabled quick and spontaneous idea sharing and improved communication. When in the office – it became easier to just walk up to someone and ask their opinion or perspective on a topic.
2. Better networking opportunities
Spending face-to-face time with my co-workers helped me build a social connection - making it easier to voice my ideas. Apart from just discussing work, I also got an opportunity to know a little more about my teammates over lunch for which we went to a nearby pub named. It felt great to be able to sit across from my colleagues and enjoy a meal while chatting about our personal interests and experiences.
Over the past couple of months, I have had many catch-up calls with my colleague and mentor, Rebecca. You’d think I know her well by now, but guess what? I never knew she loved horror movies and shows as much as I did. This goes to show how you could be an efficient team and achieve targets remotely, but physical interaction adds another crucial layer to your relationship. This goes a long way, especially in PR and communications.
3. Conduct face-to-face meetings
For certain work or projects, it may be necessary at times to hold face-to-face meetings. Comit has an open-door policy when it comes to any discussions. However, this open door just does not work quite so well when it’s a virtual one. When a teammate is with you in the office, it’s easier to have discussions and conduct meetings as and when you need to. Less scheduling and more spontaneity leads to more efficiency, faster problem solving and better interaction.
4. Collaboration
Technology has played a huge part in helping us to collaborate with clients and colleagues over the past 18 months. What would we have done without it, but it is just not the same as meeting in person.
Comit has so many amazing technology clients and in most cases, we have not had the chance to meet them in person. This is so unusual for us, as we love meeting our clients. The same goes for teammates. So much information sharing happens through short and somewhat more formal Teams conversations between colleagues over the course of a normal workday. Working from home means that these interactions tend to be more scheduled or take place over an app. That extra effort makes people less likely to ask questions or share something they just learned.
To end the day a few of us went out for an amazing dinner at Etto and then a few pints at O'Donoghues Bar…the perfect way to end the evening!
While we all discover how to navigate the uncertainties in a post-Covid world, it is important to keep learning and doing great work. I am certainly looking forward to more such opportunities to meet and interact with my co-workers.
If you’re interested in knowing more about the work, culture, and team at Comit why not get in touch to find out how our team can help yours.
Follow @comitmarketing
