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Minneapolis Star Tribune - Investment in technology and communications, plus a work-from-home pilot project this year, prepared Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union to quickly move 550 employees from 30 branches to home offices, CEO Dave Larson said. That included buying and setting up computers and other tech for everyone working from home. A rapid increase in videoconferencing — from 35 sessions the month before the stay-at-home order to 1,100 the month after — helped offset the absence of staff meetings, branch visits and other traditional “touch points” with employees, Larson said. Switching from mostly written communication to weekly video updates last year also served as good preparation for maintaining communication. Larson was cautious about the pilot, which involved 60 to 70 employees working at home once a week. However, he says, call center performance improved even as employees answered customer calls at home, and month-end accounting got done much more quickly. “We’ve told our employees that work-from-home will continue,” Larson said. “We believe the organization is running more effectively, and our metrics tell us that and we see the engagement level. If we see some sort of change, we’re going to reevaluate that. But if something is working, is going in the right direction, I’m a believer in ‘Let’s keep doing this.’”