What sort of impact has COVID had on your consultancy?
Work travel is a key factor in an enterprise like ours: client visits, conference speaking and attendance, hosting and delivering facilitated learning sessions - all of which have been suppressed during COVID-19.
At PTHR, we already follow the format of retrospectives. Reviews, look backs, reflections on how we worked. Did it all go to plan? If so, why? If not, what might we do about that in the future? So a little look ahead too to learn from our experiences.
What we are now practising is the more social side of our retrospectives - especially being a fully-remote and diverse team. And there’s no better way to socialise than with food- it's fuel for the soul.
So how does food help you keep your teams in touch?
We took a bold decision to hard-wire one hour of learning each week in a socialised setting online with a concept we called Tune-Up Tuesdays.
We also did the usual Friday social login and chat, but after a while, that felt forced and a little less activated, so we abandoned that. At times, we also have guest speakers and an hour together to learn about anything and everything - and we were looking for something extra...a tasty treat to make the event all the more special.
To deliver that we chose Uber Eats. We’ve already been using Uber for Business to provide safe and readily available business travel, so it made sense to turn to Uber Eats to deliver a social cuisine experience even in a distanced and virtual world
We donate £80 to the speaker’s charity of choice, but now with Uber for Business we can offer vouchers to our speakers as a thank you as well. We’re also going to introduce these vouchers to our existing team for Tune-Up Tuesdays so we can arrange a dine and learn for the entire team and give thanks for doing their very best for this micro-enterprise bringing more social to our learning.
It may seem simple and it may seem like we’re doing something very unspectacular with all this, but accessible food delivery while being committed to working from home, are a manifestation of recognising that commitment and togetherness from our teams.
Uber for Business may be a huge company with enormous reach, but we’re definitely feeling the flexibility and choice this brings to our tiny but ambitious enterprise. Fuelled by our aspiration and now fuelled by the food choices we make as a representative of appreciation and regard.
How does the business benefit from this perk?
We recognise the need to decompress. Project work is at times thrilling but also intense. The social element is a huge part of that, hence our introduction of food as a part of that “breaking bread” element.
So it’s not a perk (but it is a company-sponsored micro-benefit you could say). It’s a recognition of the hard work and appreciation. And of the importance of socialising even when dispersed. From a menu we can all dive into, diverse in nature catering for many of our vegan and special diets - to choose our order. It’s gestures like these we believe help create moments that matter. Small in cost and gesture, but big in impact and emotional connection.
How you too can create moments that matter
Whatever your situation, Uber can help bring your teams together for those vital moments when being together – and sharing – really matter.
If you already have regular get-togethers, these can be made even more special with a meal, whether just to create a moment everyone can share, or as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to colleagues for their hard work. With the holiday season coming up, it becomes even more special.
Many organisations are having to re-think the traditional office party. With Covid still circulating, and with remote working now a part of the working week, getting everyone together in one location isn’t either desirable or easy to achieve. But a remote party – where everyone can come together and choose just what they want to eat – is a real alternative. Equally, if you’re looking to reward staff or even clients and suppliers, vouchers for things like Uber Eats are a good way to express your thanks at this time of year.
Whatever you motivation, to find out more about just how Uber for Business can help you reach all your people, at the same time, and in a way they really like, click here.
Christophe Peymirat is head of Uber for Business EMEA
