Once upon a time, our team met for a weekly all-hands-on-deck meeting. Everyone from our CEO to the newest designer sat shoulder-to-shoulder and shared lunch (gasp!) in a tiny conference room. We laughed, caught up on current events and personal successes, and talked about some exciting projects. And then, without quite realizing it just yet, we had our last in-person meeting. The next day, we scrambled to get everyone up-and-running remotely, and the conference room sat empty.

It’s been over a year since the pandemic forced us to trade our morning commutes for meetings in sweatpants. And although we’re incredibly thankful to be as busy as ever and have a growing team, we miss the spontaneity and feeling of closeness that working together in the same place provided.

In the office, we not only built our culture through events—celebrations, holidays, birthdays—but also through small, daily interactions. We could easily see when someone else was busy (head down and cranking on a deadline), but later we’d run into each other on the way to the kitchen and mention the latest episode of Game of Thrones (oh, how long ago that was) or ask how the family was doing. Now, despite seeing each other on-screen in our daily meetings, we rarely reach out unless it’s important. Luckily, many of us had built our relationships before the pandemic, but we were curious as to how new members of the team would integrate into our culture.

Maria Wester, our fantastic human-resources specialist, has years of experience. Her job is all about being someone people can rely on when they have a question or issue and works best when employees feel 100% comfortable talking to you. So, it was no easy task when we asked her to build strong relationships from scratch while our team worked from home. Undaunted, Maria came up with a simple and effective solution: she made it her goal to reach out to a few employees a week just to chat.

“People’s eyes light up when they realize I called just to talk to them.” says Maria “I don’t have a set list. I just grab a cup of coffee and call someone. I’ve had some great conversations that usually lead to a suggestion of who to reach out to next.”

The other day, Lendell Ervin, one of our newest designers, called Whitney Tidd, our marketing and business development manager. Whitney expected the usual conversation: a quick greeting before jumping to the ask. But when she answered, the first thing Lendell said was, “I don’t need anything. I’m just calling to say ‘hi.’” What did they end up talking about? Glade air fresheners from the 80s and how horrible they were. The point is: it’s not about the topic, it’s about the laughs they shared and the connection they maintained.

We’ve learned many lessons during the pandemic, but none as important as the value of cultivating personal relationships with the people we work with. Although we’re a team of co-workers, we are—first and foremost—a group of friends and family­. And the more connected we are as employees, the stronger we are as a company. Now, with a vaccine readily available, we’re full of hope for a future where our offices are once again filled with friendly faces and we can meet new hires in person during the all-hands-on deck meeting. Until then, we’ll continue staying connected while working apart.