As many organizations are working from home, many leaders are asking, how can we keep our staff engaged, and maintain our culture through this turbulent time.
We definitely don't have all the answers, and we are continuing to figure out what works for us, however as one of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For," a two time winner of Inc. Magazine's "Best Workplace," and a six time winner of Crain's Chicago Business' "Best Companies to Work For" we thought we'd share what we have been doing while working remotely in the hopes that it sparks some ideas for other organizations. We will continue to add to this blog as the weeks go on - so come back for more inspiration!
Updated February 12, 2021

Virtual Vacation
Can’t travel overseas? No problem! LaSallians virtually traveled the world to some of the most exclusive spots 😉
Updated January 29, 2021

2021 Kick Off
We kicked off the New Year with a virtual all-company meeting to reflect on 2020, celebrate team and individual successes, and look ahead at what’s to come in 2021. We also recognized a group of LaSallians who stepped up to GSD and support the Briefcase in a year unlike any other with grit and determination, earning themselves promotions and some of LaSalle’s most sought-after accolades.

Team & Individual Goal Setting
As the saying goes, “It’s only a dream until it’s written down...then it’s a goal.” While we have company and team goals, LaSallians put pen to paper to outline what they want to achieve – personally and professionally – in the year ahead. To hold one another accountable to achieving these goals, LaSallians shared their aspirations with their manager and a member of HR to revisit throughout the year.

Back-Office Party
Teamwork makes the dream work and that couldn’t be truer for our back-office teams! All of LaSalle’s back-office teams gathered for a virtual celebration to cheers one another and kick off 2021 LaSalle-style: together and laughing. Leaders across the organization joined to give special shoutouts for each team’s support and contributions to LaSalle’s successes in 2020. Playing some trivia via Kahoot!, we learned some VERY interesting facts about our fellow LaSallians while sipping cocktails made from recipes sent out prior to the festivities.

Staff Gift Pick Up
Our CEO gifted LaSallians Patagonia and Northface vests as an added thank you for our work this last year. Setting up safe curbside pick-up locations, LaSallians safely gathered and enjoyed warm drinks and treats from the traveling Cookies w/Flavor food truck.

Walking Challenge
Some LaSallians have teamed up for a step challenge to beat the winter blues: The challenge: whoever first reaches 125 miles in a month wins! Our furry friends will either be VERY excited or exhausted as a result 😊
Updated December 22nd, 2020

Virtual Holiday Party
While we may not have closed down the House of Blues for our annual holiday party this year, we still brought together over 500 LaSallians, clients, family and friends for a night of comedy via Zoom. Hosted by Pat Tomasulo of WGN Morning News, we had special musical guests and local comedians perform for an hour of holiday fun. Event attendees raised $8,000 in donations for Lurie's Children’s Hospital, which was matched by our CEO, Tom Gimbel, for a total of $16,000.

10 Days of Giving Recap
Over the last two weeks, LaSalle Network employees participated in the first-ever 10 Days of Giving where we partnered with causes near and dear to our hearts, volunteering nearly 1,000 hours both in-person and virtually. From packing more than 1,500 food boxes for families in need, to wrapping 300+ presents for underprivileged children, to helping adults with disabilities with job-search coaching, to caroling at residences for adults with special needs, we were able to safely give back to our community when it was needed most. We unpacked all 10 days and lend ideas for ways you and your teams can give back in the year ahead in our recap blog here: https://bit.ly/3mJFpzP

Team Holiday Parties
While in the office, teams would traditionally get together to celebrate the holidays and toast to the New Year. Many teams kept the tradition alive virtually this year with their own Zoom parties and happy hours. Our teams got creative, doing virtual white elephant gift exchanges, murder mystery parties, and ugly sweater competitions!
Extra Day Off
Rather than work our traditional half-day before the holidays, Our CEO decided to give LaSallians a little extra time off to relax and be with family this year. After what was a challenging year for many, a few extra hours to savor the holidays is just what we needed!

Winterns’ 6 Week Sprint
LaSalle welcomed a small army of 17 virtual interns last week, dedicating their winter breaks to learn new skills and advance their career! Spread across various teams like research, recruiting and marketing, these interns are going the extra mile to add vital experience to their resume.

Holiday Townhall
We added a little Christmas cheer into our weekly Townhall! LaSallians showed their holiday spirit with Christmas sweaters, hats, and festive virtual backgrounds.
Updated November 20, 2020
10 Days of Giving

LaSalle is kicking off the holiday season with 10 Days of Giving! With virtual and outdoor, socially distanced volunteer opportunities, LaSallians, friends and family are volunteering for more than 11 causes in the first two weeks of December. Stay tuned next week to learn more about which causes we’re supporting and how!
LaSalle Veteran Network

LaSalle Network is proud to announce its commitment to helping more than 1,000 veterans land employment in the next year through its newest program, the LaSalle Veteran Network. To learn more, click here.
Thanksliving Virtual Cooking Class

In any other year, we’d be having our 4th annual Thanksliving dinner at Manny’s Deli where we’d get together over good food and good company. This year, we put a twist on our tradition to enjoy tasty meals together virtually. Chef Carol, former Capitol Grill chef, hosted a cooking demo on a few of her favorite Thanksgiving side dishes including a cauliflower casserole and apple praline cobbler...we’re drooling!
Canned Food Drive

LaSallians broke out into teams for a friendly competition, raising money for a canned food drive! Teams had two days to gather donations and team leaders used the funds raised to shop for nonperishables, donating 5,061 items to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and $2,200 to Feeding America. As a whole, LaSallians helped to feed almost 80,000 people!
Super Market Sweep

After gathering donations, team leaders brought the whole company along virtually as they shopped for nonperishables during our weekly all-company meeting.
Halloween Contest Winners

The people have spoken! LaSallians, friends, family and followers tuned into our virtual Halloween costume contest and who took first place? The “cast” of Schitt’s Creek! Click here to see the rest of these creative costumes.
Award Winners and Promotions

We celebrated those who went above and beyond in the third quarter, producing great results and growing in their role. Check out which LaSallians earned promotions and titles to some of our most sought-after awards here!
Updated October 23, 2020
Virtual Bridal Shower:

We celebrated LaSallian bride-to-be Jenna Spathis with a virtual wedding shower for her and fiancé, Max. The shower was complete with games and a special champagne and treat delivery!
In-Person Management Meeting:

LaSalle Network’s management team safely came together to brainstorm, strategize, and focus on closing out the year strong! Thanks to our very own LaSallian, Jason Siegel, for hosting us on his family’s farm and pumpkin patch, Cottonwood Farm!
Fall Fest:

While we have been dedicated to maintaining our culture virtually, LaSallians came together in person for the first time since quarantine for a socially distant Fall Fest. It was not only great seeing one another in person again, but also great to meet the many new puppies and babies of LaSalle!
Halloween Costume Contest:

While in the office, LaSallians get into the Halloween spirit with our annual costume contest and being remote won’t stop us from continuing this tradition! After dressing up for a company-wide town hall, our Facebook followers will decide which individual and which team had the best costume. Cast your vote on October 30!
Canned Food Drive:

As a part of our annual Thanksgiving charitable drive, we have set up boxes at each office for LaSallians to drop off canned goods to donate. In November, teams of LaSallians will then volunteer to package up and deliver the goods to families in need around the Chicagoland area.
Q4 Kick Off:

To kick off Q4, we hosted a virtual all company meeting to recap the last 90 days, share goals, and discuss what’s to come in the months ahead. With so many LaSallians going above and beyond to help grow the business, we also celebrated exciting awards and promotions.
Instagram Takeover:

Our very own LaSallian of the Year, Katie Knotts, took over our Instagram for our virtual Q4 Kick Off! We tuned in to watch her cranberry juice challenge (bike edition), see her WFH outfit, and celebrate virtually with all award winners.
LaSalle Themed Song:

What says ‘I bleed green’ better than a personalized, LaSalle theme song? Our song was played for the first time during our virtual Q4 Kick Off and every Thursday since to celebrate ReBirthdays (aka LaSallian work anniversaries). You can make your own song on SongFinch.com.
Team Meet Up at the Park:

For the first time in months, one of our teams all gathered at a park for some social distanced bonding time. We got a mini lesson on jewelry making and put our lessons to work – some turning out better than others :)
Time Off to Campaign:

LaSalle offers every employee paid time off to campaign for a political cause or candidate of their choice. While some in-person campaigning may be limited, click here to read more about how you can get involved.
Interviewing LaSallians:

Virtual Poster Board:

While in the office, teams would make posters or cards when celebrating special events like ReBirthdays, and include favorite memories. To keep this tradition alive virtually, LaSallians are using Kudo Board to submit photos and notes for a special occasion.
Sharing Inspirational Videos:

As a company, we watched a short video by Simon Sinek discussing the challenges millennials in the workforce are faced with today, and how it has impacted their career success and networking abilities. The video shared highly relevant advice and tips on how to build resilience and how to form better relationships with coworkers. Click here to watch.
Updated August 22, 2020
LaSallemas 2020:

August 17, 2020 marks our 22nd year in business! Each year we have a week of celebrations leading up to this special day that we call “LaSallemas” (aka our company’s anniversary), typically filled with surprises, games, performances and happy hours. This year, we had to improvise and recreated the celebrations virtually. We hosted daily virtual competitions hosted by varying LaSallians across all 5 of our offices.
Eye Spy:

I spy with my LaSallian eye...someone with a Santa hat on! The first 5 people to scroll through their Zoom screens to find the hidden LaSallian were the winners.
Never Have I Ever:

We broke out into Zoom Rooms to play a LaSalle-themed “Never Have I Ever” game. Have you ever...won an award? Met your spouse or best friend at LaSalle? The first person with all ten fingers down definitely bleeds green!
Caption This:

We dove into the archives to find classic photos from the last 22 years. LaSallians submitted their most creative captions, with secret judges voting on whose was best.
Scavenger Hunt:

We hosted an at-home scavenger hunt via Zoom. LaSallians sought out different items from around their homes like LaSalle t-shirts, something sticky and something that smells. The first one back to the computer with these items was the winner!
Team Videos:

Home Deliveries:

Talent Show:

Memories Shared:

Each day in August leading up to LaSallemas, our longest-tenured employees shared their favorite LaSalle memories, from the first day LaSalle opened in a cramped office with a small-but-mighty team, to incentive trips and LaSallemases past. Not only were the stories emotional and hysterically funny, it was a great way for newer LaSallians to learn more about the stories and people who have molded and shaped LaSalle to be the company it is today.
Day of Giving

With 200 sets of hands-on-deck, we contributed 1,000 hours of community service to benefit charities such as Pitch in for the Parks, Center for Enriched Living, Aspire, Kenneth Young Center, Special Olympics and Cristo Rey.
Updated June 18, 2020
BBQ

Virtual ReBirthdays

Pictionary

Updated June 11, 2020
Diversity & Inclusion Discussion

Sharing ‘Wins’

Buzzfeed Quizzes

Virtual House Party

Poker Night

Updated June 4, 2020
Country Western Night

Share your Station

Summer Bucket List for Kids

Updated May 28, 2020
Orange Theory Class

One-on-One Walks

Wellness Wednesday

Updated May 21, 2020
How Well Do You Know your Vice Presidents?

Positive Affirmations:

Pay it Forward:

Virtual Onboarding Happy Hour:

Book Club:

Updated May 14
Virtual Baby Shower

Charity Events

While in-person events have been put on hold, LaSalle is accepting the #moveforthekids challenge from afar! May 15 - 17 Lurie Children's Hospital is hosting a virtual workout challenge with live classes, an independent 5k run and a toast to our healthcare heroes. To join in and support the cause, visit Move for the Kids here.
Mental Health Resources

Peloton Challenge

Start a Meeting with a Stretch

Updated May 8, 2020
Mixology Class:

Cooking Class:

Team bonding:

Dance Class:

Mother’s Day Celebration:

Daily Town Hall Meetings:

Morning Stand Ups & Wraps:

At the start of each workday, each team meets for a Stand Up, they use Zoom to see one another via video, and discuss each person's priorities for the day, and any roadblocks they're facing. This updates the rest of the team on what each person is working on. It not only encourages collaboration and can streamline projects, it also gives the team a sense of who needs help. At the end of the day, the crew gets together again for a Wrap via Zoom video, and shares what they achieved. Stand up and wraps help keep everyone accountable to one another.
Virtual Happy Hours:

While in office, we typically host several celebrations weekly for employee’s work anniversaries or accomplishments. We have kept this tradition going by joining one another virtually, beverage of choice in hand.
Theme Days:


Hats off to our fifth week of working from home! We're keeping Town Hall interesting with theme days.

While Wrigley Field may be closed, we’re still celebrating. We surprised CEO Tom Gimbel for his birthday by all sporting his favorite team: The Cubs!
Virtual Lunches:

For those of us missing our group Chipotle runs, a video call lunch has been a unique alternative. Some LaSallians have posted their lunch times on our all company Microsoft Teams chat to include whomever wants to join!
Communication Channels:

Communication is key while working at a distance, especially across multiple teams, states and time zones as many people ventured back to their hometowns to be with family. Besides our daily Zoom video meetings, we have incorporated our company-wide Microsoft Teams chat to share pertinent information and a channel specifically for "Work from home" to share tips on working from home successfully. This doesn't only include work talk or current events...we also have a Teams channels featuring the dogs of LaSalle and the cats of LaSalle.
Sunrise Yoga:

We started Work From Home Week Two with a virtual sunrise yoga class, led by our very own, instructor certified LaSallian, Kristin Dozier! Greeting the new week refreshed and re-energized was the perfect start to a Monday morning and reinforced the importance of a morning routine.
Ice Cream Social:

LaSallians love their treats! While we haven't been able to celebrate in the office with our regular snack days commemorating a ReBirthday or holiday, on Tuesday night LaSallians tuned into a group Zoom with their favorite treats in hand. Ranging from Chicago's favorite ice cream, Jenni's, to Ben & Jerry's, dairy-free, and plant based treats, we snacked together and shared stories. Casual connection like this keeps the LaSalle culture and camaraderie alive!
Virtual Piano Bar

We had our bi-weekly virtual happy hour with a twist on Thursday night, featuring a musically talented friend of LaSalle, Jim Schiffer, performing our favorite songs. LaSallians gathered their cooped ups kids, spouses, roommates and pets to join in the fun and dance and sing along. The crowd favorite? Billy Joel's Piano Man, of course!
Celebrating our Interns:

We have been blessed with a small but mighty crew of college interns from various colleges. When our office decided to go remote, all of them chose to stay on with us and continue their work from home, as well. With school closures and graduations postponed for the time being, we hopped on a video call to celebrate them virtually.
Trivia Night:

Week three of quarantine has us WIGGING out! We have a few trivia fiends here at LaSalle, so what better way to celebrate the start of April than a LaSalle themed virtual trivia night? Throw in a few costumes and your beverage of choice for the perfect mid-week morale boost.
Virtual Surprise Bachelorette:

Chalk the Walk:

Bingo:

We hosted a virtual Bingo night featuring quarantine themed squares. How many have you completed?
Pen Pals:

We teamed up with several nearby nursing homes to forge new friendships and start a pen pal program. While seniors are isolated in their rooms, we found a way to spread joy with notes, crossword puzzles and a few crayon drawings from our LaSallians in Training.
Dance Party:

How do you start your days while working from home? To keep our energy up, we're sharing a pump up song of the day. It's surprising what a few shoulder shimmies can do to start the day off right.
Messages:

This week LaSallians each came to Town Hall with a message written to hold up to the camera and read as a group. Ranging from humor to heart felt, this was the perfect way to check in and take pulse of how the group was feeling.
Virtual Training:

Training doesn’t stop just because we’re working remotely! LaSallians tuned in to virtual trainings this week to continue to sharpen our skills while working from home.
HIIT Class:

A team that is active together is stronger together! Personal trainer and friend of LaSalle, John Schrieffer, hosted a virtual Orange Theory style HIIT workout.
Would You Rather? Virtual Game Night:

Would you rather work from home in your BATHTUB or OUTSIDE (rain or shine!)? We hosted a quarantine themed Would You Rather game night and happy hour.
Administrative Professionals’ Day:

Step Challenge:

ReBirthday Celebrations:

Supporting Local Businesses:

Superhero Day:

Spa Night:

Day Off:

After 7 long weeks of working from home, our CEO, Tom Gimbel, decided to give everyone a well-deserved day off. To keep business operations running, LaSallians are alternating the days they take off. His one condition? Everyone spends some time reading, meditating and getting refreshed for the weeks to come.
Inspiration from Other Companies:
We've been hearing from our clients about the things they are doing to keep their staff engaged. Here are some of our favorites:
- Wellness Checks: The HR team rotates through their list of employees, deciding who talks to whom each week to check in and see how each employee is doing.
- Virtual Buddy System: Some companies have paired up employees to check in or connect with one another via phone or video chat each day. Each employee has a buddy
- Wellness Inspiration: Some companies have instituted 'step challenges' to get employees moving by sharing their step count for the day and competing with their peers to reach a goal. Employees also share recipes or their favorite home workouts in an email chain or chat.
- Wellness Wednesday & Fitness Friday: Keep each other accountable & healthy.
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