Are you going to work differently?

It is likely that, in the next few days, we will see an easing of the current full-scale lockdown with the Government trying to balance re-starting the economy with protecting us all.

Like most business owners, we have been revisiting our operational strategy and considering what this might look like during the staggered return to work and, indeed, for the longer term. Here are just some of the changes we are considering: -

• Working from home has been relatively successful for us but it has highlighted that we need to invest in our IT, data and cloud storage
• It is likely that we will only have some of our team in the office at any one time for a long time to come. Accordingly, we’re struggling to justify the amount we pay for rent and rates and are looking at whether we can permanently reduce the size of our office.
• Online meetings have worked well for us, so does this mean we can continue to be effective, maintain excellent relationships with our clients and reduce our operating costs for travel and face to face meetings?
• Our team is a vital part of what we do and have responded very well to these circumstances. However, as time progresses, we will need to consider how we maintain staff morale in this socially distanced environment.

What is clear is that an end to lockdown, albeit in a staged way, doesn’t mean that all our problems are over. In fact, for many of us, the end of lockdown could mean a whole new set of problems to address but by asking yourself some critical questions now you could be ready to take the lessons and come out of this with a business model that is more efficient and effective.