From virtual bingo to charity challenges, find out what the Cleaver Property Management team have been up to in lockdown...
It's been a little while now since we announced that the Cleaver Property Management team would be working from home for the foreseeable, and while our Directors are busy making preparations for us to slowly ease back into office life, there will be no major changes to the set-up just yet. We are the cliché of a 'close-knit' team here, so the initial prospect of not going into the office was difficult for many of us.
We truly believe in the positive effects that good employee wellbeing can have on the service that ultimately you, our clients, receive. That's why, back at the beginning of lockdown, we shared a post on staying healthy, happy and motivated while working from home, and we were determined to follow that through. So, we thought we'd share some of the things we've been doing as team, to help us get through lockdown with our sanity intact!
A Delicious VE Day Surprise
Of course, Friday was the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, and Martin and Susan had a surprise in store for us all. With a little help from Sarah, they (safely) delivered each and every one of us a delicious VE Day hamper from
Robyn's Nest Cafe
in Warfield. Homemade biscuits, victoria sponge, finger sandwiches, a scone the size of your head (complete with clotted cream and jam, of course), and even a party popper!
Friday Games Those of you familiar with what goes on at Cleaver HQ, will know that we always look forward to 4.30pm on a Friday, when we hear the drinks trolley start to jingle as Zoë wheels it around the office! Well, we haven't quite had that luxury during lockdown, but we've been making sure we still squeeze in some team time at the end of the week. We've played virtual bingo, tested each other with brain teasers, and now a few of us have some prizes to look forward to when we return to the office.
Charity Challenges You may have already seen our #TwoPointSixChallenge video floating around Facebook, or on our previous blog post. But in case you missed it, here's what happened: Martin and Sue generously offered to donate £100 to each Cleaver Property Management team member's chosen charity,
if they were willing to carry out a 2.6 Challenge (and provide photographic evidence, of course). Almost everyone got involved, and by walking, dancing, cycling (some of us in costume), telling jokes and more, we raised £1,800 to be shared among a variety of deserving UK charities. This was a brilliant way to lift our spirits mid-lockdown, by having fun and giving something back at the same time. Find out more and
watch the video here.
A Focus on Wellbeing We try our best to focus on employee wellbeing at Cleaver Property Management, particularly during these challenging times. Often co-ordinated by Susan Cleaver, with help from other members of the team, we do our best to share ways of looking after our own (and each other's) mental and physical health, at work and beyond. And
sometimes,
we decide to share them with you, too. Our blog post,
Working from Home: tips to stay positive, motivated and healthy, was written at the start of lockdown. It was created off the back of a health & wellbeing presentation put together by Susan and Magda, which they initially just shared with the team. But of course, we're here to look after you, so it didn't seem right to keep it to ourselves!
What Next? As we said, not much is set to change just yet. Our maintenance team are safely carrying out jobs on site and prioritising them by urgency, while our office-based teams continue to work from home. Martin and Susan are developing a plan to slowly and safely introduce us back into the office when the time is right. Until then, we will continue to look after you from the safety of our homes, and can only thank our clients for the patience they have shown whilst things have been a bit, shall we say - different. And of course, we will continue to do our best to keep team spirits up, however silly we may have to be to do so. And we will continue to share with you as we go along.
Until then, stay safe and well.
Best wishes,
The Cleaver Property Management team.