Celebrating VE Day and How the World has adapted to a new way of working

In January 1941, Winston Churchill gave a sombre address to the House of Commons. ‘Our Empire and indeed the whole English-speaking world are passing through a dark and deadly valley,’ he remarked in one of World War Two’s bleakest periods. ‘But I should be failing in my duty if, on the other wise, I were not to convey the true impression, that a great nation is getting into its war stride.’

Healthcare workers are the new soldiers, scientists are the new generals and politicians are calling for mobilisation. Just a few weeks ago, Queen Elizabeth II made a rare televised address and urged us to adopt the same discipline and resolve shown during WWII, once again drawing parallels between today’s pandemic and the effects of war some 80 years ago.

In an effort to overcome a new way of living, many businesses have had to convert their skills and repurpose production lines in an effort to turn the tide of the Covid-19 outbreak. Keeping calm and carrying on has had a 21st century makeover and focused on diversity to stay in business and help the world stay afloat.

1.    In just 72 hours, luxury brand Louis Vuitton began manufacturing hand sanitiser with alcohol normally used in its perfume distillery, which it then distributed to hospitals across France.

2.    General Motors, the US auto-manufacturer that mass-produced tanks in World War Two, has pivoted once again by producing thousands of ventilators. Likewise, clothing retailers in the UK have turned from fashion to manufacturing in-demand surgical masks.

3.    Airlines across the globe are chartering flights to take medical supplies to deeply impacted regions.

4.    Hospital ships such as the USNS Comfort, designed to treat casualties of war, now offer a relief valve for hospitals overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients.

This redeployment not only applies to goods and services but to human capital as well. Neurosurgeons, cardiologists, and medical students have all have been pulled into emergency rooms and intensive care wards. Receptionists who normally deal with billing are suddenly tasked with screening Coronavirus patient and restaurant workers are preparing and delivering meals in bulk to emergency care workers. Parents have become full time teachers; care home assistants are now nurses and supermarkets have completely re-structured the way we do our weekly shops.

During World War Two, the measures used to ramp up production took months to implement. During the Covid-19 crisis they had weeks, mirroring the altogether faster pace of living that society demands of us today.

Our own current efforts at Hamilton Woods Associates seem patchwork at best compared to the mobilisation and output of businesses during the Covid pandemic.  Our team are all still in operation, working from the safe environments of their homes and accommodating the use of technology wherever possible. Maintaining a routine, we begin each morning we have a team meeting to plan our strategy and how we plan on how to attack the day and how to engage with our key stakeholders. Our operations may have slowed down but we are still continuing to service great candidates and plan our exit strategy and future success.      

But the events of recent weeks champions us to remember that in order to overcome the tide, the world needs to come together, change, and adapt in more ways than one. At present, victory still seems a distant achievement, but VE Day serves as the perfect blueprint for what we can overcome.