Get me outta here!!

Most days I hear about another organisation that whilst pre pandemic were office based they’re now looking to shrink or close offices following a successful period working remotely. Flexible working isn’t new, we’ve been doing it years but I question if it’s the answer for all and I question if lockdown provides an accurate scenario to base such a major decision on. So - is work a thing we do or a place we go?

My view? I think it’s a bit of both. Let me explain. This past year has certainly been one to remember, literally overnight we were sent home as a short-term consequence of the pandemic, that soon became the medium term and here I am a year later working from my kitchen table. I’m constantly interrupted by my beautiful kids, my Wifi signal (which is now heavily contested with a houseful of connected devices) is as unreliable as ever and Amazon deliveries seem to be on a constant conveyor belt to my front door – I may just give them a door key! As the lines between home and work are blurred doing my job is slightly tougher, I’m spinning the same number of plates as I always have but they feel slightly further apart when remote. I’m fortunate that sales is a results based business because with a well-constructed incentive plan and a bit of management we ensure we are continuing to drive the right behaviors to get us the desired outcome.

Aside from the challenge and distractions of home working you can’t ignore the cultural impact of isolation. Neither the team or I have met up in person for over a year, we’ve tried to socialise and whilst it’s a bit of fun nothing quite hits the mark, we miss the ‘water cooler’ chats and the excitement of a great call, pitch or close for us all to cheer – god I miss ringing the bell and a high five! There are people who have joined the wider team who I have never met let alone built a relationship with over a coffee or G&T and don’t even get me started on not spending time with customers and prospects, that’s a blog in itself and I already feel sorry for the expense account come summer ??. Yet despite all of this the dichotomy is that March was a record month and Q1 was a record quarter for us, we continue to win new customers and deliver a great service to existing customers so that begs the question many management teams are asking – Do we need the office, or any office? Or a should we reduce the size of the office?

With all this in mind we’ve decided to keep our office and maintain our pre-pandemic flexible working model that gives people the freedom and flexibility they need but also requires some weekly office attendance and I more than anyone can’t wait to get back. I believe that to keep our trajectory of success our company culture and company values are more important than ever, the teamwork, camaraderie and collective will to be world class can’t be replicated to the same standard on lots of remote laptop screens. It surprises me that any organisation would make a decision based on an enforced operating model during a national lockdown. Just consider, does a lockdown provide little else to do other than work? Isn’t it obvious that the distractions of ‘normal life’ aren’t allowed currently (actually illegal)? What about when they are? And what about when they are following a national lockdown? There is a lot of catching up to do so will Self-discipline need to be taken to a whole new level or will management styles need to adapt?

I wouldn’t be making any quick decisions; We may look to see what the impact on performance is and adjust accordingly once the planet starts to spin again and restrictions are lifted. What are your plans? Have you made plans based on performance in lockdown? How many times does your doorbell ring a day for deliveries? Not as much as mine.

I miss you.