How Plumb Answered the Remote-Work Call

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the idea of employing a nearly 100% remote workforce seemed not only unbelievable, but impossible. But if there is one thing that Rob Scherer is extremely good at, it’s pivoting and recognizing when – and how – to make impactful changes.

Rob shared: “When the pandemic first hit, we – like so many other businesses – had to reassess and figure out how to keep our momentum while keeping our employees and clients safe.”

And reassess they did. Realizing that the work couldn’t stop even though the rest of the world seemed to, Rob and his executive team of Anneke Stender, Justin Atneyel, and Nancy Nelson, made the decision to send their employees everything they needed to set-up fully functional at-home offices: laptops, cameras, and anything else they required. They barely skipped a beat in getting their teams up and running from their remote-work locations.

“What we quickly came to see was that 1) with some small adjustments, we could successfully manage a remote workforce and 2) we could now open our recruiting efforts to well beyond our southern California borders. In short order we went from a team of 100% Californians to an international team of superstar accountants.”

The switch to distant working has not been without its challenges. The team used to meet regularly on the patio for lunch or evening drinks and activities, and Covid put an end to that. Rob and his leadership team spent a great deal of time thinking about ways in which they would be able to continue the important work of team building and staff camaraderie.

“Some things we came up with worked great, and others fell flat. And some initiatives might work for now but will need to be tweaked in the coming months. We want our Plumb team to continue the incredible work they do, day in and day out, but we also want them to enjoy their work, to enjoy their colleagues, and to feel respected and appreciated.”

Some of these morale-boosting initiatives include monthly lunches with colleagues, set-up not by team, but by time zone. Every employee receives a Door Dash gift card to order lunch, hops onto Teams for their virtual lunch date, and spends an hour chatting, laughing, and catching up. There’s usually a fun poll to break the ice, and the winners receive another gift card as a prize. These lunches are great because it provides the opportunity for people on different sides of the business to get to know each other – something that would not have happened pre-Covid.

In addition, there’s now a weekly “Monday Morning Kick Off” virtual meeting where the entire Plumb team gets together to get grounded and inspired for the week to come.

“We use the weekly MMKO as a way to check in with everyone, to ask everyone to focus on a selected idea from our guiding 13 Plumb Principles, and to provide any important updates – whether they are corporate or personal. We share everything from new client wins to wedding and baby news. It’s just a really nice way to start the week, and the feedback from our employees has been great.”

At the end of the day, Plumb was able to come out of the dark days of Covid with a new light. With employees across the country – and the world – and with innovative team-building efforts, the future at Plumb might be virtual, but it’s very, very bright.