Which internal communications ideas work for remote teams?

The ones that propose gestures away from the screen, such as caring for a plant, backed by a playbook and activities with continuity. A warm, humorous tone helps the wellbeing message not to feel like yet another obligation.

How do you help employees switch off when working remotely?

By offering simple, physical routines that invite people to stop, such as caring for a plant, and communicating them as a habit shared by the whole team. The key is for the gesture to be appealing, not a chore.

GenteraCase study

Gentera “Hola, soy una planta”: internal wellbeing communications for remote work

Gentera wanted its employees, in the thick of working from home, to be able to switch off, slow down and enjoy the moment. “Hola, soy una planta” (“Hi, I’m a plant”) framed it as activism: planting and caring for a plant.

ClientGentera
FormatInternal wellbeing campaign

The challenge

The challenge was to help employees, in the context of working from home, switch off, slow down and enjoy the moment.

Working from home erased a boundary that the commute used to provide. Without that natural break, the working day stretches, screens follow one after another and switching off becomes almost impossible. Communicating wellbeing in that context comes with a paradox: any digital message is just another notification on the very screen you want to pull people away from. The usual challenge with this kind of campaign is to find a gesture that works away from the computer, invites people to stop without feeling like another obligation and lasts over time, because you do not slow down for one day, you slow down as a habit.

The idea

The proposal was to develop activism through planting and caring for a plant, to get employees thinking and to encourage them.

It fits the objective almost literally. A plant knows nothing of urgency: it grows at its own pace and asks for regular attention, a few minutes away from the screen. Looking after it forces you to do exactly what the campaign wanted: stop, slow down and be present. The name, “Hola, soy una planta”, gives the plant a voice and brings a friendly, humorous tone that takes the weight off a serious subject. Around the idea came a playbook, a programme of activities and dedicated art direction so the activism had staying power and was not just a one-off gesture.

What we did

Creative concept “Hola, soy una planta”
Activism built on planting and caring for a plant
Playbook
Activities
Art direction

Key takeaways (expert view)

If your team works remotely and never switches off, give them something to look after away from the screen; the habit will do the rest.

A gesture away from the screen

If the screen is the problem, the solution cannot be another notification. The plant gets employees away from the computer with a physical, everyday gesture. It is a very useful lesson for remote wellbeing campaigns and for hybrid events in the industry: the best resources are the ones that connect with the participant’s real space, not just their camera.

Give the object a voice

Having the plant introduce itself, “Hola, soy una planta”, turns an object into a character and gives it a likeable tone. Humanising the central element of a campaign makes warm, humorous messages easier. Venues and event suppliers can use the device in their own brand: an iconic object with its own voice is memorable and very easy to turn into content.

One concept, two objectives

Planting and caring for a plant was also used with Nestlé, there for change management. A concept serving different challenges shows that the key lies in how the message is adapted to the objective. For agencies and brands it is a practical takeaway: a good metaphor is reusable if you adjust the story and the activities.

Services involved

→Live campaigns →Communications agency for the events industry →Experiential marketing