Cross-functional comms support

Internal communication that built connection in the pandemic

The Zettle Virtual Office

The challenge

As COVID-19 ‘WFH’ measures went from ‘let’s get this in place quickly’ to a long term set of circumstances, Zettle by PayPal needed a digital space. Not only for collaboration, productivity and interaction. We needed a place to be – to laugh, commiserate and banter like we would in person. While individual teams sprang into action setting up remote meeting structures and virtual coffee dates for day-to-day workflow, there was nowhere to get together collectively as an organisation of employees.

The approach

The goal was, in a nutshell, to support morale across the workforce while aiding business continuity. Which wasn’t terribly different from every other company facing the same sudden COVID-induced need to adopt remote work. But Zettle by PayPal had a truly unique culture – it was built on big energy that came from in-person togetherness. So we set up the #ZettleVirtualOffice, a Slack channel for the 800+ people who comprised Zettle’s workforce at the time.

The solution

Whether sharing a team update or a meme, the #ZettleVirtualOffice was a way of keeping our culture alive and kicking. It was a meeting point and hub for company announcements, practical support material for existing employees as well as new hires, wellness initiatives and remote work tips.

Some quick facts

Established March 2020
Channel: Slack
Audience: 800+ employees
Popular content formats: photo sharing, competitions, announcements, remote work tips, employee showcasing and wellness initiatives

Long term initiative: hybrid workplace strategy/communication plan

Seeing the positive effects of the Zettle Virtual Office inspired a self-initiated project – moving into 2021, I put together the Zettle Hybrid Workplace Strategy & Communication Plan. Providing some background on how remote work had become the new normal with audience mapping, the strategy established a vision, mission and purpose, addressed challenges, set goals, provided references and championed cross functionality, planning for internal communication, company culture and site (office) management going forward.

Key insights

The evolution of the Zettle Virtual Office presented opportunities to improve ongoing internal communication efforts, as well as strengthening links to its parent company’s employee community
Without a physical office available, Zettle’s digital workplace had become the hub for employer brand content and central to evaluating the success of the company’s Employer Value Proposition
The Zettle Virtual Office had become essential to maintaining morale and culture given the decision to extend remote work from October 2021 until Q1, 2022.

Credits
Internal content creative and strategy: Amy Braunerhielm Ma
Art direction: Satasha Wong, Sanne Eriksson, Artan Mansouri
In-house client (Employer Brand team): Gabriella Nelson