Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the city of San Francisco, life at Remix was running smoothly, with employees coming to their office and putting in a normal workday at their well-equipped desks with few distractions. Once the city’s mayor announced that all nonessential offices must close, however, the employee experience changed drastically, with remote work making it difficult for its Bay Area employees to stay productive and connect with their colleagues and partners around the world.

“The biggest concern our employees shared with us was burnout, more than anything else. A lot of people were trying to figure out their new cadence of life,” said Quinn Morgenthaler, Remix’s head of people. “We all have different home conditions and there is no blanket solution for it. Many people had their income affected, and their life plans, such as childcare and travel, were suddenly shifted. No one had any answers for how to handle all of it, so there was just overwhelming anxiety.”

Finding productivity at home and easing the return to the office

Remix realized quickly that one of the biggest issues with transitioning to  work from home was employees’ lack of equipment. With some team members working at their kitchen table, and others on their couch, it was important to get them chairs, monitors, and whatever else they might need to create a comfortable WFH environment.

Meanwhile, Gories Kwong, Remix’s employee experience manager, began to manually build spreadsheets and calendars, along with rules that employees needed to follow when it was time to re-enter the office. Quinn soon realized that this method was unsustainable.

“There was so much constantly evolving, and it felt like we were moving one step forward, two steps back. We didn’t integrate any symptom surveys or feedback-communication loops into our manual process because we simply didn’t know how.” 

In July 2020, Remix added Sequoia Workplace (formerly the Return to Work Center) to support employees who wanted access to the office, while also lessening the administrative burden on Gories and Quinn. Now, Remix is allowing one person in the office at a time, but instead of having a Dropbox Paper sign-up sheet, employees make reservations online, confirm their appointments, and complete a COVID-19 survey and consent form before even leaving their home – all from their Sequoia mobile app.

“With all the off-the-shelf additives from the Sequoia Workplace solution, in addition to the webinars and education that Sequoia has brought to us, we have completely changed the way we make decisions,” said Gories.

Having the combination of our standard benefits, the wellbeing bundle, and the Workplace program, all in the Sequoia app, has given our employees a sense of hope and confidence that no matter where they find themselves in this COVID lockdown journey, there is something to help them feel better.

Supporting Remixers’ wellbeing

With employees continuing to deal with the stress of the ongoing pandemic, presidential election, and other social turmoil, Remix felt it was important to offer additional support. Remix rolled out one of Sequoia’s Wellbeing Bundles, giving their employees access to an array of physical and emotional wellness tools, including Headspace and Ginger (emotional wellbeing support programs) and Physera, and Aaptiv (physical wellbeing programs).

“Having the combination of our standard benefits, the wellbeing bundle, and the Workplace program, all in the Sequoia app, has given our employees a sense of hope and confidence that no matter where they find themselves in this COVID lockdown journey, there is something to help them feel better,” explained Quinn.

“Whether it’s One Medical helping them access free and convenient COVID tests, or having virtual physical therapy visits through Physera, Sequoia has brought together a succinct platform to grab whatever you need at any moment in time, and seamlessly share those benefits with your dependents,” she said. “And for our employees who want to go into the office, they now can, and they know that there’s a clear and safe path for them to get there.”