Staff Engagement

The onset of the lockdown brought the realization that in order to support the students and parents, the staff would have to maintain a positive state of mind and learn to quickly adapt to the situation. Thus, various initiatives were undertaken to engage with all the staff across AKESI. Town hall Meetings were conducted by the Senior Management to apprise staff on the current organizational state and the way forward. As soon as the lockdown started, a cross functional team was setup to check on individual staff wellbeing, work-life balance and identify any challenges in this unique virtual office environment. Chai pe Charcha (Casual Conversations), a unique concept was introduced to interact with staff across the units. This helped Employees take a break from work and connect with fellow colleagues for some fun and games. One of the session’s theme was ‘Mad Hatters Party’, where everyone had to wear creative head-gear. The Staff actively engaged in virtual activities around the theme of Women’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Parents’ Day, Teachers’ Day, Yoga Day, International Girl Child Day, International Men’s Day and Navaratri. To know more about the Women’s Day celebrations, click here. Social distancing can also be of fun when it’s Social disDANCEing and distanSING – The concept helped the employees showcase their talent. The staff whole-heartedly participated in the show ‘AKESI’s Got Talent’ and showcased their inherent skills of art, décor, music, and many more. Since the start of the lockdown, regular positive messaging and awareness mailers have been shared with all employees. Some of the themes of the positive messaging have been - How to Manage Stress, Effective usage of WIFI, Emotional Wellbeing, How to Boost Immunity, Cyber Security, Pandemic Protocols in Our Spaces and Monday Motivation messages. Weeklong celebrations were done with messages and activities around Mental Health Awareness, Immunity, “Self-care & Stress Management, Benefits of Mindfulness & Mediation, Emotional Wellbeing, Gratitude, Environment, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Yoga, and many more. Fun contests like the Work from Home Selfie Contest were conducted to make ‘work from home’ exciting. Employees were given an opportunity to click a selfie and share them. On World Photography Day, all photography enthusiasts among staff were given an opportunity to take photographs around a specific theme. The budding photographers captured beautiful images. Winners were announced in a virtual ceremony organized by the AKESI team. To know more, click here. With the introduction of WFH, all staff were confined to their homes and couldn’t meet each other. But this did not stop us from sharing beautiful moments with each other. Birthdays of Staff were celebrated by sharing a photo collage of fellow colleagues wishing the staff member on their special day. Employees shared their ‘work from home’ and ‘work for home’ stories, which captured glimpses of their personal life during lockdown period. To know more, click here. To recognize the efforts of colleagues during the crisis and appreciate their support, Thank You Cards were rolled out.

“This is a time that will call for the very best of truly educated minds: your skills and specialised knowledge, but also your patience and tolerance. Above all, it will call for your understanding. May you bring reason, and hope to all whom you touch in your professional and personal lives, and may you find your work deeply rewarding.”

- His Highness the Aga Khan