Well, folks, we made it! It’s been six months since we started working remotely, and with a little communication and flexibility our team handled it like rockstars. We already had a few team members working remotely, but with the relatively unknown risks of COVID-19, we made the decision to move our whole operations remote in early March. With the majority of our work being digital and the wealth of virtual tools at our disposal, our team easily transitioned to a work-from-home life. Here’s our team’s take on adjusting to our new way of working and our perspective going forward.
Brandon Silverstein, Managing Partner + Web Developer
“I was really proud of our team for how smooth we transitioned to working remotely! The adjustment period was minimal because we were already using tools to stay organized and stay connected inside and outside of the office. Even though we used to sit within feet of each other in our cozy office, we already used Slack to communicate with each other about important work questions (and non-important memes and GIFs.) We kept all of our work files on secure services like Dropbox and Github, so accessing those files from a computer outside of the office was a breeze. I’ve picked up two new office mates since we started working from home. Rufus and Smuckers hang out all day in my office watching me work, but I’ll take breaks to pet them and give them treats!”
Armando Alvarez, Partner + Creative Director
“Incidentally, Hello Amigo has been prepared to work remotely and without headaches for some time now. Our business development, project management, marketing and communications heavily rely on the use of online platforms. It’s been extremely impressive to see our team continue to produce quality work for our clients without skipping a beat! Although working from home can easily create bad habits, the team has shown quite the opposite and, to my surprise, I’ve seen some improvements to communication and creativity. In a way, the pandemic has exposed new and better methods that will help us continue to grow as individuals and as a team.”
Lisa Chavira, Senior Visual Designer
“The transition was easier than I anticipated, because I realized how organized we are as a company. Everything has run well for us and we’re getting our work done on time. I also feel like it’s allowed us to organize our operations even more. And we still find time to have fun with our Thursday afternoon games. On a personal level, I would say I’m snacking more. But if you ever looked inside my file cabinet at the office, you would know I always snacked a lot. Best decision when setting up my home office? Bringing home my nice office chair!”
Angie Kimmel, Content Marketing Specialist
“Thankfully I already had most of my work set up on my laptop, so in that respect the transition was easy. In the beginning, I quickly noticed how much I missed the team and needed that face-to-face engagement, so I’m really appreciative of our Thursday fun sessions. Like many parents, I’m balancing working from home with full-time parenting. If anything, I think that’s caused me to better manage my time and learn to prioritize tasks. Another upside to working from home: it eliminated the 1.5+ hours I spent commuting to and from the office which gives me more time to spend with my family.”
Analisa Silverstein, Account Executive
“Working from home has been great! Honestly, I transitioned pretty quickly. I think what really helped is the project management training I did with Louder Than Ten that introduced me to remote team collaboration tools like Mural, and using Teamwork to organize our team’s tasks and deadlines. Having been trained to manage a remote team prior to COVID-19 prepared me to put these experiences into action. I do miss seeing our clients face-to-face, but I do like the features that having virtual meetings allows us to do like sharing screens and recording meetings. I also have had a couple of virtual speaking engagements. Those are really fun, and I hope to do more. I’ve had fun researching fun activities for our team to do in a virtual setting, to allow us to still feel that team bond you get in an office.”
Daniela Vazquez, Web Developer
“The transition of working in an office to a work from home setting has been good. I did not really experience any major challenges adjusting to my new schedule and lack of interaction. What I have enjoyed the most from virtual interaction is the widespread adoption of Zoom in some of my older family members. My parents are in their early-60’s and it’s been great seeing them chat on Zoom with their friends and being more hands-on with tech. I have grown especially proud of my 85 year old grandmother that has also learned how to use Zoom. Although this pandemic has taken away most human-interaction, it has replaced it with some great human effort to connect with friends and family, despite it being virtual. If anything, this pandemic has taught me that there is no longer an excuse for not connecting and interacting with people. It just requires some extra effort and a change in attitude.”
The pandemic has reinforced our ability to communicate with clients even if we can’t meet in person. We have clients in El Paso, across Texas and throughout the U.S. Thanks to a plethora of virtual tools, we’re ready to commit to a local or long-distance relationship with you. Give us a call or drop us an email to get started on your new logo, website or advertising strategy.
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