Going viral: embracing our new virtual reality
COVID-19 has had a transformational effect on the way we work.
Turn the clocks back a year, and we may find ourselves taking for granted the ability to meet face to face or to dream up tactics with colleagues at the coffee machine. It used to be that we shared what we are working on with one another almost organically.
Since the pandemic hit we have all had to make tremendous leaps to embrace our new virtual reality. Though the negative impacts cannot be ignored we continue to rise to this significant challenge with positivity and see some of the emerging changes as opportunities.
Big thinking remotely
A recent report produced in the UK by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and KPMG points out that as the pandemic hit, significant sections of the economy became homeworkers overnight. To put this change into perspective, before the pandemic, only 1.7million people in the UK worked from home whereas in lockdown this increased to an estimated 20million. This was a radical and abrupt change that was hugely disruptive for many households. Fast forward six months and people are now seeing some of the benefits and flexibility that working from home allows. In an internal survey 95% of Blake Morgan colleagues said that they would like to continue to work from home in some capacity in the longer term and 67% said working from home made it easier for them to do their role more effectively. Naturally, flexible and increased remote working is here to stay.
Many of us have found that working remotely is helpful in getting the creative juices flowing. An office environment doesn't work for everybody but now we can fit in the 'big thinking' work dynamically when and where it suits us best as individuals. Some of the fresh, strategic thinking going on across the team is undoubtedly helping to move us forward into the future.
A wave of digital transformation
For a long time now, digital tools have been instrumental in our roles but it is also true that there has traditionally been some resistance to adopting digital working practices. Real progressive change in this area has been lagging at times but COVID-19 has forced a wave of transformation.
Suddenly digital projects are bumped up to the top of the priority list. Colleagues who had resisted previously, were upskilled quickly and are now working collaboratively and improving productivity using tools like Microsoft Teams. Working more within an online space is not a big scary thing anymore – it's just life. There is now an open-mindedness toward adopting new digital tools and learning to use them effectively like never before. And, just think of all the trees we're saving!
Content marketing and COVID-19
The wave of digital change brought with it an explosion of COVID-19 related content.
To support our clients and potential clients with a base-line of immediate information we developed a COVID-19 hub, producing blog articles, fact sheets and downloadable content that provided clarification on issues as and when advice was available from the government. This initiative led to a 28% rise in visits to our website during April.
Across the firm there has been a desire to participate and move further toward digital collateral. This shift is going to allow us to be innovative and responsive in providing content with a focus on developing more engaging pieces and constantly improving our online offering.
Internal Communication
In a crisis it becomes most important for senior leaders to connect with their team on a human level, and internal communication became even more of a priority.
The desire to support and engage with each other during the crisis led to implementation of a new format for regular presentation to our colleagues via online webinars, with burning questions asked in real time. Regular internal mailings were rapidly scaled up to inform and reassure our team and keep us all connected. This positive move toward greater connectivity across the entire team kept us all going and will continue in the long term.
90% of Blake Morgan staff now agree or strongly agree that communications from senior management are frequent enough and that they're kept up to date on important issues. In our most recent internal webinar 92% found the webinar interesting and engaging and 98% said they'd like to attend another Q&A session in the future.
Getting the gang together
Getting together within business groups and building strong remote relationships with core team members has been of a high importance for overall productivity, day to day connectivity and collaboration. At Blake Morgan we implemented Microsoft Teams across the business improving the way we work together. Our regular Marketing and BD team meetings in particular are far more focused than they were.
Firstly, everyone turns up to meetings on time, no one is stuck in traffic or affected by public transport woes. Our diaries are far simpler to coordinate as our team, who are split across multiple locations can now all meet in one virtual place. Meeting times are spent working through our '3D battle plan' that makes it clear who is responsible for what, and we quickly and effectively whip through our updates. .
On a less formal level, we have all made an effort to stay connected to each other, keeping it light hearted using tools like WhatsApp, we have even created our own collaborative Spotify playlist with our favourite work from home tunes. Keeping a little fun in our day keeps us connected and engaged with each other as people part of the same team. Overall we all feel more in the loop as to what is going on across the business.
Pitching for business
Without geographical challenges and long travel times to consider, it is now far easier to get the right expertise on to a panel to present a pitch in the best light. The reduction in commuting time and flexibility of schedules means more time to prepare as a team, leaving us feeling far more relaxed and ready.
During any pitch, the ability to build a connection quickly is invaluable to the process. Now, all of us are bonded by something major in our lives. With clients often speaking often from their kitchens and bedrooms the ice feels pre-broken and building rapport and developing mutual trust feels far more natural. With the playing field levelled, a genuine connection and the ability for the client to see themselves working with the team in front of them, will make or break a pitch.
Since the pandemic, we've had some success with some good new business wins and we are noticing improved conversions from website enquiries.
Hosting online events and networking
As much as we all miss the canapes, there is no denying the huge opportunity that hosting virtual events can provide. We have seen a significant reduction in hard costs, an impressive increase in event registrations, alongside an increase in the number of events we have been able to host. Remarkably, Blake Morgan's event attendance rate has not suffered from the increase in event registrations and our webinars have an average 68% attendance rate across more than 17 external virtual events held since April, and that doesn't include those that registered but chose to watch the recording later.
Traditional networking has been harder to replicate virtually, but many of our team have found their conversations online to be more focused and meaningful, getting in front of more decision makers. Breakout and networking rooms are more productive online, stuck in a room with each other without distractions it does naturally enable more direct chat. Several members of our team have pointed out that they're far more likely to connect directly one-on-one after an online breakout experience than we are in a traditional space.
Many of the positives mentioned here come down to real human connections, our ability to work with each other and to adapt to changing situations. At an uncertain time it helps to recognise this and to hold on to the good stuff. As sales and marketing professionals we are more qualified than most to put a positive spin on things, after all. The radical changes we have all experienced together can, in time, be a catalyst for an exciting new future… if we embrace it.
