Our daily huddle starts every day at 9:00. It only takes about 15 minutes. We started it at the beginning of the lockdown, when we suddenly had to work from home. The pattern is the same every day: we briefly update each other based on the following 3 questions: How are you doing? What are you going to do today? Do you need help with that?

The crazy thing is: when there was no lockdown, we never did this. And we didn't see each other very often either. We mainly worked for our clients 'in house' and therefore only spoke to each other occasionally as colleagues. When we were no longer allowed to work at our clients' premises and we were suddenly sitting at home, behind camping tables and on folding chairs sometimes, it felt very detached and we decided to start the day together.

That turned out to be a hit. Besides being useful, it was also a lot of fun to start the day together. We got a much better idea of what each of us was doing and could help or complement each other directly. There were fewer parallel inventions of wheels and the sharing of joys and sorrows about renovations that got out of hand at your home office, important client conversations in the baby's room and the terror of homeschooling was not only hilarious but also comforting.

We noticed that we started to look forward to the joint day starts. What started out as a way to not feel completely lost in working from home yielded beautiful byproducts: real connection, energy, and inspiration.

We grew as a team and playful ideas and plans emerged that also came to fruition. 

Of course, you don't manage to hook up every day. Often you are already working for your client at 9:00 am. But if you notice that every team member voluntarily joins the huddle (or check in) at least once or twice a week, then you know you have a good HR tool. 

Today I gave a training to female managers from one of the big four consulting companies. One of the participants told me that since six months she has been doing a daily 'thermometer check-in' with her team. I recognized both her enthusiasm about the results and the reticence she saw in the management above her. "Can't we start with the content right away? or are we doing a tea party in the boss's time these days?" were comments she had to endure in the beginning. But as she put it so beautifully: the check in provides stability in the team, at a time when almost nothing is stable."

But actually, she didn't have to "sell" it to management; the team is so excited about it that they'll keep the check ins in there, even when everyone is back in the office soon.