To learn more about what helps shape our IT department’s culture, I reached out to a few IT employees who lead key initiatives meant to engage our team members. First, I sat down with Michele Potter and Lynne Moormann—chair and co-chair of the IT Social Committee.
Meet IT Social Committee Chairs Michele & Lynne
What’s been your career journey at Dot Foods? How long have you been with the company?
Career Exploration, Growth, & Development
You both are great examples of how Dot employees are encouraged to explore, grow, and develop in their careers. In addition to your technical roles at Dot, you both lead the IT Social Committee. Tell me a bit more about that—what is the goal of this group?
We want to provide a relaxed environment to keep everyone connected and bring some fun to work. We create opportunities to socialize and get to know other IT team members better and celebrate life events by sending cards for weddings, graduations, babies, etc.
IT Social Events to Foster Strong Team Culture
That sounds like an inviting group! What types of events have you planned in the past?
In the past, we’ve held in-person game nights, murder mystery dinners, crafting and paint nights, and holiday festivities. During the pandemic, we shifted towards hosting more virtual events like bingo, trivia, and Jackbox TV games, which allowed us to connect with IT employees from multiple locations. We’d like to keep that up and going forward. We also plan an annual department outing for IT members and their families, like a picnic or sporting event.
Wow, you host quite an array of events! How do you think these events contribute to our IT department’s overall culture?
Our employees work extremely hard, but we also like to have fun. Our department has initiatives around innovation, inclusivity, and problem-solving, and all our events promote those values. We had to problem-solve and innovate last year to work around social distancing restrictions. It was great because we learned the value of virtual events and how they can make our team more inclusive of our full-time remote employees.
What do you think makes Dot IT special?
Michele – Everyone is so tight-knit and works well together.
Lynne – I feel like I landed in the space and on a team that I was meant to be on. We fit where we are. That’s a testament to our team members and leaders. We want everyone to feel like they belong.
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