Here at NeuGroup, our employees spend a lot of time (a LOT of time) on Zoom calls, Microsoft Teams meetings and just old-fashioned phone calls. While we love to help our members share and learn together, we also like to connect behind the scenes.
- To give everyone a consistent break, keep the mood up and stay in touch outside of work tasks, once every two weeks our employees meet for Lunch & Learn, an hour long session where two employees share on whatever they have on the mind.
Connect to break up the monotony. These Lunch & Learn meetings range from topic-based educational presentations to a look into someone’s hobby, and help our team bond while also building each member’s knowledge base.
- It’s the same philosophy we try to bring to our meetings in every NeuGroup, which often feature virtual performances, games or food pairings to break up the “Zoom fatigue” and foster connections between members.
- Does your company have any initiatives to recreate the unplanned, loosely organized magic lost due to WFH environments? Learn more about joining NeuGroup to become a part of these experiences and get tips from peers on fostering a positive work culture.
Learning from each other, with each other. Typically, each of our Lunch & Learn meetings kick off with a more educational presentation from a team member who brings a helpful deep dive into a relevant topic. These range from explainers on high-level economic concepts to offering tips on our day-to-day work.
- In one recent meeting, peer group leader Anne Friberg, who has been with the company since its origins as the publication iTreasurer, took employees through a history of the company. The trip down memory lane for NeuGroup veterans also served as important context for the newer employees.
- In another recent session, NeuGroup founder, CEO and master distiller Joseph Neu offered his own tips to breaking down the key insights from our meetings for NeuGroup Insights. We are always seeking to connect our members to exchange information, but it’s also key to distill that knowledge exchange to help all members of the NeuGroup.
On the lighter side, the follow-up to that half-hour is often a fun presentation on employees passions outside of work. We’ve gotten presentations on movies, sports, even coffee!
- In one of these more lighthearted sessions, peer group leader Andy Podolsky shared a brief introduction to a sport he enjoys called Paddle. He started with a brief history of paddle-based sports and even included stories of his favorite games, often played with clients.
- But even the fun and games aren’t all fun and games. Peer group leader Julie Zawacki-Lucci’s presentation on long-distance running offered tips on setting pace for a marathon—an admirable challenge (that this writer has no plans to pick up).
