Culture Connection and Mental Health

TrainingPort’s culture is one of the key things that attracted me to the company. As early as the interview process, I could tell that TrainingPort was a company that put their people first and prioritized respect, integrity, and their employee’s well-being.

This prioritization has continued through the pandemic, and one of the ways we have done this is through our twice-weekly company-wide Team Connect Calls. We started doing these in March 2020 to stay connected as a team while working remotely. As someone who is actively working to maintain and shape our company culture, I wanted to highlight two important insights from these calls that are crucial for anyone wanting to prioritize culture, teamwork, and connection in their workplaces, during the pandemic and beyond:

Create space for connection, especially for those who work remotely.
While we spend a portion of our Team Connect calls discussing work matters, we tend to spend most of the time connecting on a personal level – sharing about how our families are doing, celebrating milestones in each other’s lives, and sharing about the hobbies we are enjoying (everything from collecting antique fountain pens to sailing and cycling – we have a team with diverse interests!).

One of the unexpected benefits of this has been the opportunity to get to know each other better, and especially those who were working remotely before the pandemic began. We have several team members who are scattered across North America and rarely work out of our main offices in Vancouver, and all have reported a greater sense of connection to the team through these calls.

For those who wish to prioritize a people-centric culture, these times of connection are crucial – not only does sharing about our work help to break down organizational silos, sharing about our personal lives helps build greater cohesion as a team, especially for those who will still be working remotely once the pandemic is done. Plus, you may be surprised by what you learn about the people you work with!

Talk about mental health.
If there is one thing that the pandemic has done, it has elevated the conversation about mental health in our collective consciousness, and this will continue to be important as restrictions ease and we all adjust back to some semblance of normal life (for a great read on this, see this article from Vice).

This is a conversation we have prioritized on our Team Connect calls. Several times these calls have been an opportunity for our team members to admit that they are struggling and gain support. They have also been an opportunity for us to talk about different strategies for addressing mental health, from going over the specifics of our Employee Assistance Plan to hearing how others are prioritizing diet and exercise without their regular rhythms and routines. We still have a ways to go, but these conversations have showcased the importance of being open about mental health in the workplace.

– Melissa White, Culture & Talent Development Manager, TrainingPort.NET