What I learnt in a 'crazy' year...

My key takeaways from the year we’ll never forget!

What a year! I’m not entirely sure where to start to be honest with you. It’s been unexpected, frustrating, reflective, challenging, heart warming at times, sad, worrying, and dare I say it, unprecedented. A year of mixed emotions to say the least! 

Some of you might not know this but 2020 actually marks the 25th anniversary of ACS. I’ll be honest, this special anniversary year hasn’t quite mapped out as I was expecting. But, it’s not all bad. We can learn a lot from times like these.

And that is what I’d like to talk about today. To close out 2020, I wanted to share some of my key takeaways from this unforgettable year.

Over the last 9 months we have all had to adapt, pause for thought, and learn how to work with the unexpected and the unpredictable. In all of this, we’ve had more time to reflect and appreciate the small things, which let’s be honest, we sometimes take for granted.

So, without further ado, here are my key takeaways from the year that has been 2020. These are things that I think all businesses should have front of mind coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. CULTURE IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF YOUR BUSINESS

As a sales and service organization, ACS has always had a lively office environment. Family is at our core and as a team we work very hard but we’ve always made sure that we have fun along the way. During the course of the pandemic, it’s been hard to walk into at times, what has been a nearly empty ACS House. We are now operating with a skeleton team in the office and others from home on rotation, depending on everyone’s personal circumstances and preferences.

I would be lying if I said it hasn’t worried me how we are going to keep our culture alive throughout all of this, but, I have to say, I think we are doing it. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and how they have persevered through all of this. I’ve always been a big believer in culture being a key part of a company's success. I believe in this now more than ever.

Having the right culture in your business is invaluable. It helps build a team of loyal colleagues, clients connect with you faster and it brings your team together during tough times.

My advice to anybody running a business would be, do everything you can to cultivate a culture that is healthy, productive and enjoyable to be in. It’s definitely something that I will continue to focus on in 2021 and beyond.

1. AGILE & RELIABLE IT SYSTEMS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

When it comes to new technology, I’m an early adopter. My inner geek can’t help it! New tech always comes with an opportunity for efficiency, innovation and positive change in my opinion.

In the last 6 months myself and the team have seen so many businesses forced to integrate technologies that have previously made them nervous. Cloud solutions being a prime example.

At some point this year, most of us have found ourselves in a work situation that we weren’t expecting. Myself included! I am an office man through and through and found myself having to make some big changes to my routine when we all had to work from home back in March. Not all bad changes might I add. 

In all of this, the key facilitator of so much rapid change has been technology. What would we have done without Microsoft Teams, Zoom, OneDrive…? The list goes on! Without these innovations, many more businesses would have struggled to continue through the height of this pandemic.

The proof is in the growth that some of these solutions have seen this year. 

“Microsoft Teams now has 115 million daily active users. That’s a more than 50% increase from the 75 million that they reported to have almost 6 months ago.” - The Verge

“The use of Zoom jumped 30-fold in April at the height of the COVID pandemic. At its peak, Zoom confirmed more than 300 million daily participants in virtual meetings and paying customers have more than tripled.” - BBC

As providers of managed IT services, ACS have been able to help organizations adapt during the pandemic. When the first lockdown hit in March, we helped entire organizations get their staff online from home in a matter of days and today we continue to support them as they find their new normal. As the workplace continues to shift off the back of this year, the importance of having efficient, secure and flexible IT systems really is higher than ever.

But with modern tech, it’s not just about the operations of business. Over the course of 2020, technology has been essential in keeping all of us connected with family, friends, colleagues, and clients. Technology has been vital in keeping our communities and cultures thriving both professionally and personally.

1. FLEXIBLE WORKING IS HERE TO STAY 

I’ve been passionate about this subject for some time now and the forced adoption of it due to COVID has reinforced my belief in it. The combination of business culture, the right technology, and balance CAN create successful flexible working environments. The last 9 months prove this. 

Now, I accept that working out of the office doesn’t suit everyone. I personally enjoy being in the office but I have also come to appreciate periods of high focus at home. It really depends what I am working on. That’s why the key word here is FLEXIBLE. It’s about creating a working environment that works for employees and the business. Some may want to work predominantly from home, others from the office, and some people might want a mixture. The key is to provide an environment where choices can be made that benefit everyone.

To make true flexible working successful long term I believe that there are 5 key ingredients. Trust, A strong Culture, Effective Communication, a well designed Workspace, and of course, the right Technology. If you can get all 5 of those working together I have no doubt that flexible working can succeed in your business.

Toggle Track has a great article with tips on how you can increase workplace flexibility in your business. It’s worth reading if this has resonated with you.

 https://toggl.com/blog/flexibility-in-the-workplace

So, there you have it. My 3 key business takeaways from 2020.

-       Culture is the lifeblood of your business - if yours is good, work hard to maintain it and if you think it needs work, make that a focus for 2021

-       Reliable & Agile IT systems are more important than ever - your business will need flexible tech moving into 2021 if you don’t have it already

-       Flexible working is part of our new normal, whether we like it or not - it’s worth taking a step back to look at what flexible working could look like for your business 

There are so many other things that I have learned during this turbulent year but I’ve kept you here long enough. So, the last few things I would like to share with you are some of the more personal things that I have taken away from this crazy year.

●     I’ve come to appreciate the benefits of a good old fashioned walk in the fresh air again. You can’t beat it to clear your mind and get clarity on things. I will definitely be doing more of this in 2021

●     Amazing things can be achieved in less time than we think

●     Taking time to slow down among the chaos is vital. We only live once. It’s important to ‘smell the flowers’ as a great friend once told me! 

●     We are all a lot stronger than we think!

I would also like to say a huge thank you to all of the NHS and key workers who have shown nothing but grit, compassion and fight throughout this pandemic. You are an inspiration to me and many others and we can’t thank you enough for everything that you do.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year, whatever you will be doing. Let’s hope that 2021 is going to steer us all towards our new normal.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite mantra’s, ‘Just Do IT’. A mantra I hope we can all take forward into 2021! #JDI

If anything I have shared in this piece has resonated with you but you don’t know where to start when taking action in your business, feel free to reach out to myself or one of the ACS team.

It all starts with a conversation, possibly coffee, and we’d be more than happy to help.

T: 01604 704 000

E: jont@acs365.co.uk