It takes one tenth of a second for the human mind to assess its conversation partner.
In these 100 milliseconds, the brain whips up an ad hoc report card on likeability, trustworthiness and intelligence. While only 100,000,000 brief nanoseconds are required to evaluate a peer, HMA Chief People Officer Sherrie Gietzen believes in building on that initial fleeting moment and giving employees the time and space to get to know each other on a deeper level.
To create this virtual social space, HMA hosts regular “speed meets” — which have become a pivotal part of its virtual-first culture. The process looks like this: A host prepares a list of ice-breaker-esque questions and sets up breakout rooms of three to four people. Each cohort chats for about 15 minutes, using the provided questions as a launch pad.
“The questions take away the awkward getting-to-know-you moment,” Gietzen told Built In Seattle. As a result, speed meets are oft-requested and much celebrated. While events like this may seem like corporate fluff, they build a crucial foundation for robust and free-flowing communication.
“Frequent and transparent communication ensures people feel in the know and connect with each other — it builds trust,” Gietzen said. “Seeing faces helps build trust and rapport, and great relationships are the foundation of our culture.”
Creating a successful remote culture from thin air is no easy feat, but Built In Seattle connected with HMA to gather more insight on its face-to-face strategies for thriving in a virtual workplace.
Healthcare Management Administrators (HMA) is a healthtech company that uses a data-driven approach to provide customized healthcare plans for employers in the Pacific Northwest. HMA aims to strike the right balance of cost and quality through their network, payment integrity and robust administrative support services. Chief People Officer Sherrie Gietzen sat down with Built In Seattle to discuss HMA’s people-first strategy to virtual culture. “At HMA, we are an organization that leads with empathy,” Gietzen said. “Before making decisions and acting, we carefully consider the impact on people — our staff, their families, our clients, brokers, members and more — and the business.”
What is the biggest challenge to establishing a virtual-first company culture?
We have a solid, values-based culture of dedicated staff who want to make a difference in the lives they touch. I can think of at least three of the many pillars that contribute to our success working virtually: clearly defined and articulated strategy and goals, frequent and transparent communication, and people-first focus.
In a remote environment, having a clear strategy, communicating it often and aligning goals, people and work ensures everyone knows where the North Star is.
It also allows us to anticipate, discuss and resolve challenges before they become major concerns. In addition, we believe in celebrating our success often and recognizing each other’s contributions.
Aligning goals, people and work ensures everyone knows where the North Star is.”
What’s your number one tip for fostering connection and/or collaboration among virtual teams?
Strong connections across teams and individuals are crucial and start at the top. Our leadership team works together to clear the air and stay positively connected by encouraging and having those hard conversations when necessary. They act as role models and break down the silos created when leaders compete rather than collaborate.
What remote working tools do you lean on to reinforce culture?
At the outset of the pandemic, we adopted Microsoft Teams and equipped our people with cameras. Most of our meetings are via video, although some choose to do walking meetings throughout the day to re-energize.
While “cameras on” is not a requirement, it is encouraged: We believe face-to-face communication allows a deeper connection between people. We also use Teams for messaging, and the speed of responses helps move work forward faster than email communications. In addition, Trello helps us align and track high-level progress on initiatives.
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