Page 39 - AdNews May-June 2020

The creativity and collaboration that flows in a brainstorm, or the chem- istry between people as relationships form is hard to replicate virtually, but some of this is being captured in the digital environment. GroupM’s “virtual kitchen” for non-work conversations allows people to connect through Microsoft Teams on things they are interested in outside of work.
“You interact with around 100 people a day in the office,” says Mindshare strategy manager Thomas Davies. “WFH it might be 10 people on your team or client team.”
“You get ideas, motivation and energy from the people around you and those informal interactions so I’ve made a real effort to seek that out in different ways.”
Keeping connected
Microsoft Teams is used across the business, which has been fantastic for keeping connected, as well as Google Hangouts and Zoom for some client meetings and training sessions. Setting the right cadence of virtual meetings was important from the start.
The agencies are having weekly and monthly virtual town halls – nationally as well as by agency and state – to share work, news and updates as well as newsletters that showcase innovations and celebrate achievements. Under CEO Jens Monsees, WPP AUNZ has hosted all-team town halls for the first time and has continued these with virtual town halls for all 4000 employees across the group.
In GroupM, teams are encouraged to have daily virtual WIPS to prioritise work and check progress, maintain levels of contact with their clients as well as regular one-on-one catch-ups. Social initiatives such as trivia, Pictionary games, “virtual lunch”, happy hours and themed hangouts such as MediaCom’s Black Tie Town Hall, or Wavemaker’s cocktail making and cookery classes have helped keep up the social side of things.
GroupM has introduced a number of initiatives – including trivia, happy hour and “virtual lunch”
– to encourage team building while employees are working from home.
GroupSnapshot
AGENCIES: GROUPM AGENCIES AND BUSINESSES INCLUDE MEDIACOM, WAVEMAKER, MINDSHARE, ESSENCE, XAXIS & FINECAST
STAFF NUMBERS: MORE THAN 800 PEOPLE IN FOUR STATES ACROSS AUSTRALIA
www.adnews.com.au | May-June 2020 39