When the coronavirus forced New Zealand into lockdown in March, we wanted to make sure to keep our lines of communication open across the country. We thus decided to send out daily updates to all our people to keep them connected, communicate business updates and highlight some of the significant efforts being made by our co-workers.
Before I even wrote the first update we asked everyone’s permission to send them to their personal email addresses so we could communicate with all our people, not just the office staff. With everyone on board, the initiative started to take shape.
Beyond tracking COVID-19 in New Zealand and providing updates on government decisions pertaining to the lockdown, we also wanted to focus on wellness and the importance of our community in these uncertain times. Little reminders like staying active, reaching out to neighbours and friends, and even writing letters to loved ones we couldn’t see in person helped us all feel a sense of togetherness while being apart.
Our updates also included good news stories about our business and customers, as well as practical information pertaining to the country’s tracking app and our eventual restart safety guidelines. Of course, we also made sure to sprinkle in some of our patented Kiwi humour, along with some words games and submissions from our readers, like pictures of husband/wife bake-offs, gardening projects and much more.
As you may know, New Zealand has been among the countries to most effectively respond to the pandemic. As such, we decided to trade our daily updates for weekly ones sent out every Friday. They are still a great means of keeping everyone in the loop and we just recently sent out our 60th update!
This very human approach to our commitment to care value has proven to be simple yet effective. Plus, in addition to keeping everyone in the loop, we’ve also had the opportunity to learn more about each other. For instance, Scott Gausden, a Team Leader on our Manurewa Injection Moulding team is also somewhat of a YouTube star with 11,000 subscribers and some 700 videos on electronics and electronics repairs. And Dianne Tapling from our Marley/Dux Contact Centre recently set a world record by deadlifting 175 kg at the New Zealand Championship this October!
By Scott Townsend
General Manager – Marketing
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