Small improvements to communication helped Oddbox cope with demand

The boom in online shopping and environmentally conscious consumers has put “wonky veg” subscription service Oddbox on a path of increased demand requiring the hiring of ten staff members since lockdown began.

During the crisis, looking after the 35-person team at Oddbox was the first priority. The business has offered staff perks that can boost wellbeing, added stages to its onboarding process and changed its communication channels to cope with the coronavirus crisis.

“The first thing we spent a lot of time thinking about is our team,” said Oddbox co-founder Emilie Vanpoperinghe. “We wanted to help people manage their mental health and the anxiety and the pressure of growing so quickly.”

Find the right communication channels

It’s helpful to establish cultural norms for communications channels. The technology’s been available for some time and was already embedded in Oddbox’s processes. The key was to identify how communication would change.

Increasing the number of all company discussions makes sure everyone is aware of what people are working on. Each team holds a weekly Zoom call to talk about priorities and how people are feeling. Business messaging service Slack is more informal. The team has regular work discussions as well as channels to cater for more informal conversations, such as one to share social ideas.

Emilie has also increased the number of virtual coffees to get a sense of how people are feeling and identify anyone that needs support. They’ve done team socials including a team quiz and scavenger hunt too. 

“We’ve asked managers to have more informal one-to-ones with their teams. Everyone’s calendar is open. I’ve asked them to book some time with me if they want to talk about something specific,” she added.

A survey asked the team whether they thought management was reacting to the crisis in the right way, if they felt supported by the organisation and their managers, and whether they had any specific concerns. Reopening the office was the biggest worry.

Each of Oddbox’s staff has been given a creative budget to spend on activities they can do at home during lockdown. Team members have spent money on everything from musical instruments to gym equipment.

Look to your network to hire

Oddbox new hires include temporary and permanent positions. Candidates were found through a mix of reaching out to their network and a normal recruitment drive.

“Some partners of our existing team are now supporting in administration or customer communication roles. That means that training can be partly done in person. 

“We’ve brought in some people that we were in touch with in the past and had already met, so they already understood the ethos,” Emilie said.

Adding steps to your onboarding programme

Businesses that are thriving during the lockdown have had to onboard team members virtually. Emillie’s advice is to add additional touch points to your onboarding process. The current programme includes:

• Spending time talking to each team
• Virtual lunches and coffees
• A session on Oddbox’s history
• A round-up from one of the founders

“We’ve created a buddy system where there’s someone at their level in a different department that can talk to them in case they have any questions,” Emilie explained.

How is your business emerging from lockdown? Do you have an interesting story about employee engagement to tell? We’d love to hear about your experience. Here’s how.