We Commit to Supporting Your Family Life.
- Working from home comes with its challenges, especially as households can be very busy places. We see it as a very positive thing that people are able to spend more time with their families, and we are committed to ensuring that we are sensitive to the potential of having all sorts of things going on in the background when working from home. We like the phrase ‘we are not home-working, we are at home trying to work’. The dynamics of home working need to be understood, and we are respectful that work is taking place in a home environment with so many other things going on.
We Commit to Supporting Flexible Working to Suit Your Personal Needs.
- We understand that we are all balancing our work and personal lives in ways that we never have before. We encourage everyone, whether you’re home-schooling, providing care to others, or addressing other personal needs, to block time on your calendar during the day to be able to focus on these things. And, we commit to respecting those boundaries when we schedule meetings. All we ask in return is that we all keep an open channel of communication, so we can continue to run our business as smoothly as possible.
We Commit to Supporting “Not Camera Ready” Times.
- We will not ask people to turn their cameras on whilst on video calls if they do not want to. Whilst we encourage the use of video during meetings so we can feel more connected to people, there will naturally be times when it’s just not possible given our home circumstances. There may also be times when the technology does not work reliably. During these times, we want everyone to feel comfortable that they can simply turn the video off as needed. Again, it really is okay and we are all here to support each other.
We Commit to Being Kind.
- It will always be in our minds that, when on video calls, we are effectively guests in each other’s houses. Therefore, we commit to being polite guests.
- We will not make people feel bad about interruptions or make someone feel self-conscious about their surroundings.
- As and when we meet members of your family, we will be kind and polite to everyone. It is totally fine if children make noise or jump on camera, or pets make an appearance or say hello – they’re family too, and we enjoy meeting people (and pets!). It is all part of providing better insight and understanding into who we are as people, whilst also respecting people’s rights to privacy
- We will genuinely show interest in a positive way, for example, if we notice something interesting, we’ll ask you about it, because we really are interested.
- We will not comment on or judge anyone’s video quality, lighting, background, workspace, etc.
We Commit to Setting Boundaries and Prevent Video Fatigue.
- We will use sensible judgement for meetings, as we recognise that video fatigue is a very real and a new phenomenon for us all.
- We commit to making the most of our calls by making them as engaging as possible.
- We will not take longer than we feel we need on video calls to ensure the key information is communicated and all participants can be heard
We Commit to Taking Care of Ourselves and our Team.
- We will make it a priority to take care of the needs of our physical and mental health.
- We will stand up frequently, stay hydrated, and try to get the sleep we need.
- We will block out time on our calendars to have lunch and dinner AWAY from our workspaces.
- We will take regular breaks away from screen time, to reduce the risk of eye strain
- Where possible we will get outside each day. We need to look for opportunities to change our routines while ensuring that we are social distancing.
We Commit to Frequently Checking in With Our Team.
- We will frequently check in on the physical and mental health of our team members, friends, family, and neighbours, whilst respecting people’s privacy.
- We will create space for connection by asking people about them and their loved ones’ health & safety in one to one conversations.
- We will send simple texts and emails to just say “hello” and to see how you are doing. If you need help with anything, we will genuinely do our best to support you.
- We will be human and show empathy and understanding so that we create a safe and engaging space for people to do their best work and to feel supported in doing so
We Commit to Staying Connected.
- We commit to create social interactions virtually, or physically where possible, with our team members. Whether it is a coffee break, team get together, lunch trip, or any other social activity, we will find ways to stay connected.
- Whilst video conference technology provides opportunities to stay connected, we will always try to balance this with regular opportunities to meet up socially and in person, whilst respecting social distancing measures
Our commitment has been inspired by a pledge made by IBM.
