Are we nearly there yet?

As announcements begin to fill the press outlets that restrictions in England are due to be ended, and everything can "return to normal", I'd like to offer three thoughts on reaching such a milestone:

It's not Freedom Day. I'm sure some folks will feel like partying hard and celebrating, but we're tens of thousands of people short. Families will set their calendars in years to come by dates of departure that were just too soon. In the future, your Facebook memories for 2020 and 2021 are going to be tough reading. Businesses too have suffered. Some will never reopen their doors. As an explosion in vacancies coincides with a downturn in the numbers seeking work, it's also clear a large number of people have left full time work to go part time, casual, or even taking the plunge and working for themselves. OK, that's a kind of freedom, but it's not marching bands and temporary 24-hour pub licences. Honestly, I'm tempted to put a lid on it until June when HMQ gives us something to toast with gusto. (Image credit Jacob King/PA Wire/PA Images)

It's odd what you miss. As a dining-room dweller for the last two years I have missed the oddest things:

• a copier/printer that takes A3 paper
• the coffee shop on the second floor where people of all grades and roles could rub shoulders while buying and drinking exactly the same coffee
• being able to walk around the corner and make a nuisance of myself so people couldn't just ignore my begging e-mails
• leaving speeches
• inwardly smiling while someone giving an induction tour struggles not to confuse me with the other bloke and gets my name nearly right.

And I miss the team I work with, and some of the other stellar colleagues who made that office the place it was. Their departure (mostly to new roles, mercifully little mortality) will change what we eventually return to. It'll be odd when the perspex screens are consigned to the stock room for emergency use in the future...

There are opportunities to grasp. We have just seen the development of an opportunity minister created to milk the best results out of the EU Exit and similarly there will be benefits of leaving this time behind us. We will most likely be better at managing flu because we all now know the value of handwashing and mask wearing if there's an increased risk. God bless the QR code. There's a technology on its way out that's suddenly back in the ring. I mean, comebacks on that scale should be reserved for Rocky Balboa and Cliff Richard. Not to put too fine a point on it, where are the markets opening up for your company? Who's looking to sell up and move into an earlier retirement because they've realised the grandchildren are getting big and they want some family time? Are you able to change what you do now you have two years' experience keeping everybody two metres apart? What's the next big thing? How are you going to grow sustainably, recruit, train, improve, and remain competitive?

So although it's been rough and some of us have needed to run full tilt to stand still... we're nearly there and with a bit of luck, a bit of planning, a bit of graft and in good company, we'll get there.

My team supports businesses across Walsall borough. Drop us a line at [email protected] if you want help with any of the planning, growth, recruitment and so forth that I mentioned above. Or check out our presence here on LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/walsall-council-business-growth-team/

We've been at the grindstone all pandemic, and we're still going strong. These days, I do a lot of business meetings in coffee shops, so you can count on a brew too. Cheers.