A Year of Remote Work: How the Payability Team Comes Together While Apart

Payability team remote work

It’s been over a year since New York City and the rest of the world went on lockdown in March 2020 to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. While our executive team allowed anyone concerned about the virus to work remotely long before the lockdowns began, no one thought or predicted that we’d still be apart a year later. 

As we mentioned in our initial statement on COVID-19, we feel really lucky to be a tech company that can easily continue to work and fund eCommerce businesses remotely. Over the past year, Payability helped and continues to help thousands of eCommerce SMBs get the capital they need to run their businesses efficiently and meet this sudden increase in demand. 

While we had our video calls and continued on with business as usual, we missed seeing each other every day. We missed the happy hours, the coffee breaks, and the inside jokes. So sometime last spring, a group of Payability employees began birdwatching. It started out as a small group sharing pictures of pigeons, European starlings, and the occasional blue jay. But, it soon expanded to include more of the team and a much wider variety of birds as team members ventured outside the city to quarantine. Virtually we got together to form the Payability Audubon Society Slack channel. 

While we couldn’t be together in the office or build a “typical” office culture, we could build comradery across teams and have the unplanned interactions that we lacked by sharing photos of our feathered friends. 

Here are some bird sightings from the Payability Audubon Society:  

Product Manager, Rebecca Miller, shared a photo of an owl that likes to hang out in the backyard of her home in Atlanta in the Payability Audubon Society Slack Channel. 

Longtime birdwatcher and Payability’s Head of Sales, Anthony Mansfield, identifies a bird spotted by our Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Alex Sklar, at his home in upstate New York. 

Marketing Manager, Vicky Sullivan, shared an eagle sighting spotted during a camping trip in Maine. 

In case you’re wondering, if it’s just birds that we share pictures of, the answer is no. We also have a Slack channel dedicated to our beloved cats and dogs that keep us company during the pandemic. 

Here’s a cute one: 

Graphic Designer, Alden Bohrmann, shares photos of his adorable new Springer Spaniel puppy. Alden is also the Co-founder of the mission-based DTC brand The Scribes

It’s crazy to think about how much has happened since we saw each other last in March 2020. We’ve learned to work together while apart, found new ways to connect, brought on 20+ new employees remotely, and watched eCommerce move forward 10 years in only three months. As we continue to work remotely and keep each other safe during the pandemic, we’re hopeful for a swift end to COVID-19.

Find out what’s happened in the eCommerce industry since March 2020 and what it might look like post pandemic.  

Pro Tips: If you’re interested in taking up birdwatching, we recommend you download the Merlin Bird ID and eBird apps on your phone. Birds don’t stay in one place for too long. So be sure to take photos fast. 

Victoria Sullivan
Victoria Sullivan is a Marketing Manager at Payability. She has over eight years of social media, copywriting and marketing experience. Prior to joining the Payability team, Victoria developed social media content and strategies for top technology brands such as Skype and Samsung. She holds a degree in Advertising from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She can often be found in a yoga class or working on her fashion blog.

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