Great places to work

Lessons learned from remote working

Within days of the pandemic announcement back in March 2020, BRG exited its Sydney office and decentralised the team to a full remote working model.

Deploying the team to home based working, and empowering them with the right tools and technology within a week was no easy feat. It was not a unique situation, many companies faced similar circumstances.

With no office, and no opportunity to physically interact with people, BRG’s People & Culture (P&C) team were faced with a challenge – how could they effectively onboard new starters, whilst ensuring BRG’s tone and culture still resonated? And how could they maintain conversation and engagement between existing team members?

Whilst many leaders faced this challenge, at the core of the enterprise is its commitment to culture – the challenge was set and it required a deep understanding and strategy to ensure that BRG’s experience of work was not just maintained but elevated. The leaders were determined to provide the same kind of welcome, engagement, inclusion and support that new starters normally experienced when attending BRG’s office, so the P&C team set about designing and implementing a comprehensive remote digital onboarding program.

They established set monthly intake dates so there was always more than one person starting at a time, paired new starters with aspiring leaders to mentor them virtually, and delivered interactive online training modules encompassing BRG’s history and culture, led by senior leaders.

Within days of the pandemic announcement back in March 2020, BRG exited its Sydney office and decentralised the team to a full remote working model.

Deploying the team to home based working, and empowering them with the right tools and technology within a week was no easy feat. It was not a unique situation, many companies faced similar circumstances.

With no office, and no opportunity to physically interact with people, BRG’s People & Culture (P&C) team were faced with a challenge – how could they effectively onboard new starters, whilst ensuring BRG’s tone and culture still resonated? And how could they maintain conversation and engagement between existing team members?

Whilst many leaders faced this challenge, at the core of the enterprise is its commitment to culture – the challenge was set and it required a deep understanding and strategy to ensure that BRG’s experience of work was not just maintained but elevated. The leaders were determined to provide the same kind of welcome, engagement, inclusion and support that new starters normally experienced when attending BRG’s office, so the P&C team set about designing and implementing a comprehensive remote digital onboarding program.

They established set monthly intake dates so there was always more than one person starting at a time, paired new starters with aspiring leaders to mentor them virtually, and delivered interactive online training modules encompassing BRG’s history and culture, led by senior leaders.

Welcome kits were delivered to homes, full of goodies and experience vouchers to create excitement and embed a sense of BRG’s purpose – shifting the way people experience life. Over ensuing months, BRG expanded its FTE by more than 50%, requiring remote onboarding of more than 40 people.

Remarkably, BRG found productivity excelled while employees worked remotely, seeing record growth across the year. However, the very essence of BRG – employee connection – started to decline, requiring the need to innovate further.

Experiences @ Work was promptly launched in July 2020, a highly unique employee engagement program co-developed by Group CEO David Anderson and Director of People & Culture, Madeleine Robins. It has since become a core part of BRG’s employee value proposition, and an absolute highlight of life working at BRG.

This program ensured the broader team remained connected while working remotely, stimulated important conversations and effectively integrated new members into the team. During lockdowns, BRG implemented online Experiences @ Home, with shared group experiences. As restrictions eased, BRG moved to physical gatherings, engaging teams in once-in-a-lifetime experiences. These continue monthly, and recently, were hosted within BRG’s new head office (launched in April 2021) with experiences such as gin tasting, sushi making and cocktail crafting lessons.

While some of BRG’s team will choose to continue to work remotely, others are taking advantage of the new office and are either working full or part-time in the award winning eco inspired space. One thing that BRG has learned throughout the pandemic, is that work is what you do, not a place you go. And that Experiences @ Work are definitely here to stay.