4 Tools Soofa Is Using To Build a Productive WFH Culture

Written by Molly LaFlesh, Director of HR, Soofa

Soofa is consistently applauded for our company culture. Since the moment we decided to start self-quarantining 51(!) days ago, we started building a brand-new chapter of Soofa culture. It’s an exciting and challenging time, and although we strive to do better every day, we’ve compiled our learnings so far.

Here are four tools Soofa is using to build a productive work-from-home culture, for founders and other people leaders.

#1: Work-From-Home Survey

If you’re afraid your team has unmet WFH needs they can’t or won’t express, try distributing Soofa’s anonymous work-from-home survey to your team. 

The results will bring up things you haven’t thought of, like adjusting hours for people with kids, mailing out physical equipment to people who are missing tools, or adding a daily morning standup.

 
Pie chart of on quality of wfh vs. working from the office.
 

And in some categories, things might be going better than you thought!


#2:  Entrepreneurial Characteristics Checklist

Is your team ready to get through the rest of the pandemic—and its aftermath? Have a look-see at this checklist we made to find out.

Our general belief is that everyone is coachable and talent grows over time, but only the most entrepreneurial members of your team—those  who check 10 or more of these boxes—will help your org get through to the other side.


#3:  Virtual Purple Couch

Soofa’s purple couch is the spot to socialize, deep focus, and/or pet a Soofa Pooch, so we’ve created a “virtual purple couch” that our team can use to grab impromptu hangout time.

It’s not only important to feel connected with others during this time to avoid feelings of isolation and other mental health issues, but it’s no surprise that in general, teams that like each other are more productive. 

We evaluated many virtual communication tools before creating an always-on Zoom room:  when you create a new Zoom meeting, choose “enable before host” under “Meeting Options.” Soon you’ll be purple-couching like a real Soofarian!

 
Molly, Director of HR Soofa, sitting on couch working with two dogs next to her.
 

#4:  Slack’s “Status” Feature

If you’re one of those entrepreneurial types we talked about in item #2, you know how hard it can be to make time for yourself. But you’re also smart enough to know taking breaks makes you more productive.

Slack notification feature

Encourage your team to use Slack’s status feature so they can take proper breaks and put their dang phones away.

(P.S. hit me up if you also relate to this Alt Press article about emo lyrics in AIM away messages.)

Bonus:  Our Favorite Yoga Video

Here’s a Soofa classic, which we often do together on Friday afternoons. I guarantee you have 10 minutes a week for this, and you’ll feel twice as productive after. 

 
 


Happy WFHing! Let me know if we missed anything.

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