When it became clear that the pandemic was going to have a significant effect on our daily lives, our CEO Matt Armanino quickly recognized that regular communication was going to be vitally important to keep our mobile work force up to date, connected and on purpose. He took author and speaker Patrick Lencioni's advice and created a rallying cry to guide us through the uncertainty.
Since March, our teams have been focused on the rallying cry of "strength through togetherness and collective creativity" and achieving that through increased outreach, doing things differently and focusing on what matters most. During this pandemic we have had the opportunity to continue to be steadfast partners for our clients and colleagues, focusing on what's most relevant and finding creative solutions that matter today.
Leaders need to be very present right now, communicating often and effectively to make people feel connected. Matt worked with our Director of Internal Communications, Kevin Turco, to launch a weekly video series highlighting examples of how we are living out our rallying cry for this current time we are in. Kevin shared that video is the best medium for delivery of these messages because of the ability to convey tone and non-verbal communications better than emails or memos. It was also important that the messages were not only from Matt but also featured our people. By seeing Matt and each week's guests through Zoom, the video conversations demonstrate a sense of strength and connection with the rest of the firm.
Stories have been both externally and internally focused, from how we are serving our clients to what we are doing to stay together and connected. In one video, our data and analytics team checked in to discuss how they have partnered with the rest of the firm to build the COVID-19 Recovery Tracker and a Return-to-Work App for businesses navigating this uncharted territory.
Armanino Foundation Executive Director Mary Tressel joined Matt for a chat about how she came up with some creative alternatives to make our annual Great Give, a day of volunteer service to nonprofits in our communities, special even from home. Our Culture Committee was also featured, where they shared how they are maintaining our connective tissue through weekly spirit challenges such as showing off work-from-home companions on our firm-wide Microsoft Teams channel.
Each video ends with a personal note asking our people, "What takeaway or learning have you had from these times?" or "What new hobby or skill have you picked up?" Many of the responses have had a common thread. Our teammates are recognizing the blessing of the increased amount of time at home they are getting with their loved ones. We've also discovered that several of our colleagues are musically inclined or becoming excellent chefs!
It is our hope that the rallying cry helps us maintain our positive energy through this pandemic. A recent internal survey of our people revealed that the weekly videos have been points of light during otherwise cloudy times.
