Jigsaw puzzle strengthens ODIN Engineering’s team spirit despite distance

We at ODIN Engineering have made a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with a design from our regular team-building day; it was delivered in person by the management to all employees at their home address. The goal is to both retain and reinforce our strong sense of solidarity, when we develop together business-critical special-purpose machinery for the industry, even if we are far apart.

Doing puzzles has become a particularly popular pastime during the coronavirus crisis—and ODIN Engineering is no exception.

Since 11 March, when the government urged private corporations to arrange—to the extent possible—for their employees to work from home and to use the salary compensation scheme instead of sacking people, more than half of ODIN Engineering’s staff have been sent home with salary compensation, while the rest are working from home, at the office or on the  production floor.

“This period, when so many of us are sent home, is difficult for our employees. The ODIN puzzle gives the entire team something they can get comfortable with at home. At the same time, it reminds the employees of their colleagues and the workplace,” says the CEO of ODIN Engineering, Mads S. Rasmussen, about the jigsaw puzzle, which depicts the entire ODIN team together on a team-building day back in the autumn of 2019.

A strong team spirit at the company

Mads S. Rasmussen’s priority during this period is to take care of his employees and show them they are indispensable. Therefore, the management spent two days of delivering—in person—the puzzle to each individual employee, a route that covers most of the islands of Zealand and Funen.

“I find it important to create a sense of security and solidarity among our employees during this period so that they feel they are still part of the company, even though they are currently sent home. This activity can hopefully bring us closer together, even though we are far apart right now,” says Mads S. Rasmussen.

He also hopes that the initiative can contribute to retaining as well as reinforcing the strong team spirit at the company, so its employees still find it easy to work across professional boundaries once the coronavirus pandemic is over:

“We have a presence and a common frame of reference that is important to maintain in these times. We become closer, even if we are separated by physical distance. We have a really strong team spirit and all very committed employees. Many of them are simply crazy about getting together to build some business-critical special-purpose machinery again. I would very much like them to continue to do so.”

Specialists attentive to precise and accurate measurements

It is precisely jigsaw puzzles that reflect some of ODIN Engineering’s values. The company’s skilled engineers, designers, technicians, smiths, electricians, machinists and purchasers work daily with very precise and accurate measurements.

According to Mads S. Rasmussen, ODIN’s employees are detail-oriented, innovative and, in particular, good at finding the right pieces.

“Our ability to build business-critical machinery for leading manufacturers all over the world is rooted in ODIN’s culture, which is all about skilled hands and wise heads working closely together. The hard-core, “geeky” employees can do the puzzle in a flash and face-down at that,” he says, smiling.

The employees give each other status updates of how far along each of them is in completing the ODIN puzzle. They do this at virtual, internal meetings on Microsoft Teams, which have become an integral part of ODIN Engineering’s professional and social activities.

Follow ODIN Engineering’s Facebook and LinkedIn. Post a picture of the puzzles you have done during the corona period. There will be ODIN puzzles up for grabs!

This picture shows the route, where Mads S. Rasmussen passed by all the employees with the jigsaw puzzles: