Togetherness will help us build stronger relationships; and stronger relationships will help us succeed

  • 20 May 2020
BCAW_Togetherness_WEBSITE.png

In early April, I wrote a LinkedIn post about coping in a time of crisis. We were into our second week of lockdown in the UK and we were facing an uncertain future. In the five weeks since I wrote this, we are still in an unknown situation with many organisations and individuals facing major challenges.

I've worked in the IT industry for over 25 years and over 20 of this in a role focusing on Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. I help customers prepare for incidents that will significantly impact their business. I help them undertake activities that test such incidents. COVID19 has been something completely different. Pandemic planning is part of many organisations Business Continuity planning but the impact has been huge. I don’t believe many, if any organisations expected to have most of their staff work from home for such a sustained period.

The focus since lockdown has been on remote working. Many organisations have people who can and do work from home on a regular basis. However, COVID changed that to everyone needing to work from home. There was a fear that many of the systems that underpin business operations would not cope with such a large external access being required. Within my own organisation, a stress test was undertaken just over a week before lockdown. This went well and was a good indication of what the next few months would bring. All of our major systems have held up very well during this period, as has the systems and services we provide to our customers.

What I have found during this time, is that there has been an increased sense of togetherness and collaboration. My own organisation has really stood out at this time with communication both internally but also, more importantly, externally. We have received numerous thank you’s from some of our key customers for supporting them during this difficult period. We have also been mentioned by the UK government for providing support to domestic abuse charities. Whilst I am proud of my own company, I do know many organisations are going above and beyond at this time. There is a real resilient spirit being shown in a period of difficulty.

We’re likely to be in this situation for a while longer and there is a need to accept a new normal. I personally believe remote working will become the primary working ethos for many organisations and it is one that has been talked about for many years – COVID will hasten this change. If this is to be the case, there has to be a balance and support of employees. Managers will need to manage differently; staff will need to operate differently. But if we work together to get through this, we should look to build on what we’ve achieved in this time.

What I have realised is I genuinely have a greater sense of team belonging than I did prior to the lockdown. I have communicated more regularly with my peers and colleagues. We hold formal update meetings but also have a weekly ‘get to know you’ call, which is a lot more informal, which has helped the team develop and grow relationships. This is one good trait I see that has come from this, and is one I hope I and many others will continue to follow once we’re out of this situation. Skype, Teams and Zoom have become our primary collaboration tools. Their importance cannot be underestimated. Nor can the emotional resilience of our people.

Togetherness will help us build stronger relationships; and stronger relationships will help us succeed.

Author:

Paul Senior

AFBCI

More on

Events

More