Learning to appreciate simple tasks:
The picture attached was taken at the weekend. I am actually sitting in the 1Let office in Manor Place as I write this. My list of tasks today included reading the electricity and gas meters at an empty property, scanning the post and sending it on to colleagues working from home, checking a property that has recently been vacated, organising keys that have been dropped off or collected, empyting the shredder and bagging the recycling. OK, not the most glamorous day ever, but I am nevertheless feeling very grateful.
Others may have had to learn new IT skills, but I have had to re-learn old shop floor skills since the start of lock-down. I confessed to the team today that as the business has grown I have been more than pleased to let go of some of the less glamorous day to day property management tasks that have to be done. I have come to appreciate the need for these tasks more than ever.
Is it just me, or are others finding that Covid19 has increased human kindness? The truth is that we may look back and miss some aspects of our changed world. What has happened that I now find myself grateful for basic tasks that I had become tired of? A readjustment of priorities seems to have emerged.
Focus on the positives:
As lock-down kicked in we had a couple of members of staff recovering from illness. The option to work from home meant that they were immediately included, involved and busy just like the rest of us - important things.
Whilst working from home does not suit some, it definitely does suit others. What shall I wear today? Not an issue. Will I feel safe and comfortable and be able to agree my own schedule today? Absolutely. Will I be able to put up with my colleagues today? Well, if any of your colleagues at home have fur, they will almost certainly be better at keeping their opinions to themselves!
The value of nonsense:
As we have switched very much more to Microsoft Teams, the need for our WhatsApp group has become very much less. We do however greatly value our latest WhatsApp group "1Let fun chat". I actively encourage as much nonsense as possible. Every good team needs some top rate comedians, and laughing our way through Covid19 as much as possible is definitely good for our mental health.
Gosh - what has happened? Our communication has actually improved:
Our team meetings have definitely improved, and in many areas our communication generally has also improved. Perhaps we will all need isolation pods when we return to the office - it would certainly resolve the social distancing issue! As online communication becomes increasingly saturated we may have to work a bit harder at staying on track, but we have definitely had some incredibly constructive, helpful and productive meetings of late.
IT payback:
As a small business with just 11 members of staff we have always pushed pretty hard on the IT front. Every member of staff now has two PC's - one at work and one at home. Our finance department is the most print-heavy area of the business, but even our finance department has been relatively straight forward to convert to working from home. Our external IT support company (Icelantic, Edinburgh) have been outstanding. The quality of their remote support has made a huge difference.
Crisis = Opportunity:
The biggest challenge for the business so far has been the increased number of empty properties and not being able to help prospective tenants as much as we would like. This has forced us to think outside the box and develop a number of work smarter systems - many of which will remain post lock-down.
Looking back on Covid19 with the 1Let team:
It is definitely true that when a team is working well the sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Every member of the team wants to be able to look back on Covid19 and say that our focus throughout was always on two things:
- Supporting each other
- Doing a really good job for our customers
At the end of the day that is all we can do. These goals will remain our priority - however long it takes.