Best and Brightest: People, Pandemic, and Promoting Culture Remotely

April 23, 2020
by
Brian Beaupied

The C2 Group is grateful to be recognized as a "Best and Brightest" winner for the fourth year in a row, but this year's recognition has placed a whole new meaning on the role and importance of our people.

Culture & News

These days are a good reminder of the important role people play in our day-to-day lives.

This isn’t necessarily news to us, at least at The C2 Group. Our passion, processes – everything – revolve around people. Our mission centers around enabling talented people to thrive, be it our customers or our teammates.

Last week served as yet another reminder. For the fourth year in a row, C2 was named one of West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies to work for. It’s the first year, however, that we’ll celebrate from afar and away from the people that made it possible – our team – amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The award recognizes excellence in human resource management and corporate culture, based largely on the feedback from team members. We’ve long strived to create an environment where teammates look forward to work, feel supported in balancing work and family, share in company success, and feel empowered to live out our core values of being intentional, enthusiastic, and low ego.

Now, we’re striving to promote this same culture from afar.

In transitioning to a fully remote work structure, we recognize that how we support and engage the team must adjust, too. It’s also been a reminder, to some extent, of how we’ve taken human connection for granted. While we may miss office interactions, team outings, and a vibrant, in-office culture, we’re tasked, like many, in rethinking these same ideas.

Happy hours still happen, albeit from a browser and a Zoom meeting. Water cooler chats and musings now have a dedicated Microsoft Teams channel. In-office events require just a little more at-home ingenuity.

As for the work itself, the digital services we provide our clients have never been more important. It’s also never been more important in our personal lives, too, for maintaining some semblance of normal.

But even the typical workday has required some rethinking:

  • Equipping the team with the right equipment and coaching to support remote work
  • Adjusting core hours to accommodate employee and family needs
  • Baking in additional days off for mental health and wellness purposes
  • Promoting the value and importance of our recently introduced Employee Assistance Program
  • Reinforcing the role of our values, processes, and culture in seeing us through unprecedented situations

These days, more than ever, it seems like everything around us is changing. And it is.

At least one thing, though, has not: the role and importance of people in our lives.

Interested in working for one of West Michigan’s Best and Brightest? We’re always on the lookout for exceptional talent to join our team. For a list of current openings, or to submit your resume, please click here.