Solving Problems/Improving Leadership

In my role as an intern, I am not looped into the higher level conversations happening within the company, but I have noticed and heard some complaints from employees regarding communication. One of the drivers of this communication breakdown has definitely been Covid, the switch to all virtual communication and travel restrictions preventing any chance at in-person meetings. For a company that is accustomed to having an office space and at the very least, the ability to travel to and from client hotspots with other employees, the completely virtual environment has had some noticeable effects. From a social perspective, the one in-person event where I could have engaged with some of my coworkers outside of a virtual work setting was at an optional, planned happy hour event. Due to a resurgence in Covid cases, it was canceled. It occurred to me while reflecting that it is a shame that I have been unable to meet anyone in the company in-person, but none of the Ametros employees have been able to congregate in over a year and it is likely harming the company. Virtual events can be engaging, but under no circumstance are they a true substitute for in-person team bonding and the chemistry that can be built during face-to-face interactions. Even showing up to work and speaking in the break room or in meetings can help strengthen the team. The other noticeable thing related to communications difficulties has been Microsoft Teams expectations. In some general company meetings, having cameras on is standard operating procedure or bumped up to the level of being an expectation. In others, not a single person will have their camera on and the whole meeting will be conducted as though it were a conference call over the phone. Even in one-on-ones, it is not uncommon to have the other person be off camera while I am on screen. In an email to the company, one VP said that people in their department were expected to have cameras on during all company meetings where they were active participants and if they were in a speaking role, camera on was nearly a mandate. While this may not change things in the company as a whole, setting rules and expectations for communicating with the larger company is a good thing that the VP of this department did to help minimize communication challenges.