It鈥檚 Wednesday morning and I鈥檓 looking out of my office window.
Nothing unusual in that. Our office in Peter House, Manchester, looks over the bustling St Peter鈥檚 Square but today the view is that of Dee Valley near Westhill, Aberdeenshire.
Welcome to the reality of home-working.
I鈥檓 one of the millions of Brits working remotely because of coronavirus. This is my story and I鈥檓 sharing it in the hope I can help the army of remote-workers across the UK in our hour of need.
Although I live in Aberdeen I commute to Manchester on a weekly basis. Door-to-door it only took three hours before the failure of Flybe聽and Covid-19.
By way of background, I鈥檝e been involved in business transformation projects enabled by technology for more than 20 years. I joined Slalom in London in 2017 before moving to Manchester in 2019.聽Over the past year the team has grown to 20.
Looking back, I suspect I was one of many people who the coronavirus crept up on. I watched with interest as news came out of China but I had no idea what sort of impact it would have. The big change has been in the last 10 days.
It鈥檚 hard to believe that it was only last week that Manchester鈥檚 Digital City Festival took place!
Fast forward to Monday March 16 and as a company we switched to 鈥渟trongly advising for people to work from home鈥�.聽Even on Monday the office was busy 鈥� the team were keen to be there to show their commitment and to play their part.聽Things are different now.
On Tuesday March 17 only one member of the team was in the office. At least they were self-isolating and social distancing by going to work!
Since Monday we鈥檝e all had to re-calibrate our thinking.聽At first glance, our choices have become more limited and our options restricted.聽As a team we鈥檙e exploring new ways to be productive, learning how to motivate ourselves, and, in some ways, redefining what we do.
Our primary communication medium for working from home is Microsoft Teams. It鈥檚 become absolutely critical to the way we work.聽We still use WhatsApp and make occasional telephone calls.
I鈥檓 fortunate that I work in a team of learners and teachers. We鈥檝e got lots of experience engaging with our clients, and delivering complex projects, remotely.聽We regularly work on global projects with highly dispersed teams.聽We know what it takes to do this.聽So, we鈥檒l teach and learn to redefine the way we collectively work.
On a more social level, we鈥檝e introduced virtual coffee breaks to stay connected as a team.聽We drop-in to a Teams meeting for a brew and a chat. No set agenda. Just for fun.聽 It鈥檚 still early days, but we鈥檙e connecting on a whole new level鈥� pets have featured prominently over the past couple of days, and I suspect 鈥榣ittle people鈥� will also start to feature as schools and nurseries close.
Like many businesses, we鈥檝e had to change many well-laid plans.聽Rather than conceding defeat and cancelling events we鈥檙e embracing technology:聽 An upcoming innovation event for 150+ people has become virtual. With the current restrictions, the new format may well result in a larger group of participants, and a virtual session will offer different ways to engage with our audience.聽This is new ground for us, but it鈥檚 an exciting step forward.
Despite small wins like this, we鈥檙e expecting the business landscape to change dramatically over the coming days, weeks and months. We鈥檝e already seen evidence of projects being delayed as our clients focus on more immediate issues.聽This means we鈥檝e got more capacity than we were expecting, and skills that we鈥檇 love to be able to put to good use.
I recognise that for some businesses, time is quickly running out. People all over the world are making huge, potentially life-changing decisions.聽It鈥檚 tough.聽Being in this position can make people feel vulnerable and isolated even at the best of times, let alone when their social interaction is restricted.聽We鈥檙e lucky that we鈥檝e got a little breathing space, time to think and adjust, but there are still some big concerns.
Today is Wednesday March 18 and I鈥檓 sitting at home looking out of my office window. I鈥檓 trying to look at this as an opportunity.聽Where can we invest in skills and in developing assets? How can we partner with our clients most effectively to help them survive and thrive?聽How can we work with the community to make life a little more bearable for the most vulnerable?
I think we鈥檝e got a unique opportunity to work smarter and build connections with each other, our clients and our families.聽How can we make the most of a terrible situation?
The health and welfare is, and always will be, our primary priority.聽This is non-negotiable.聽Above all else, we鈥檒l look after our people, and look out for each other.聽It鈥檚 just what we do, and really all that matters.
Personally, I鈥檓 already missing live sport, and I鈥檝e started watching The West Wing (again). It鈥檚 a welcome break from the much more serious drama we鈥檙e currently in the middle of!