How do you return to work during the coronavirus pandemic?

Ever since the world got turned upside down, HDY Agency has been quick to react by operating remotely a month ahead of the mandated lockdown to keep the team safe.

Over the past months, the agency has fully optimised itself by using tools such as Slack for day-to-day communications between the teams. Trello has been our online pinboard which has helped us schedule workflow and Zoom has been the backbone for communication for us and according to this Verge article, 200 million others “a jump from the 10 million back in December.’’

Working from home has proven a challenge yet, we here at HDY have kept pushing on. Angel and Ed James, our Founding Partners even did a mega, road trip to each team member’s house to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary by dropping off some goodies (socially distanced of course). 

The good news has not slowed down for us during quarantine, the team has worked hard to win new clients and even bolstered our team by hiring two new team members to help us during this busy time. Even without being in the office.

With Lockdown easing, we knew that going back to work was on the horizon. Speaking with our Founding Partner Angel, she commented on the importance of being ready for the next steps.

“We’ve been very led by the team wellbeing during lockdown and at no point wanted to rush back to our office in Birmingham, in fact, the team has been brilliant at working remotely and our operations are easily transferable to home working. The team have really missed each other, so we all agreed to start working in the office 2 days a week during August – all further decisions are very much a team decision, making sure we are all comfortable and safe is so important to Ed and I.”

Mapping out a return to work during the coronavirus pandemic 

The next step for the Operations Team was to devise a plan to create a fun yet safe way to get back to work.

Mark Norwood, our amazing Head of Operations has worked alongside the help of Peninsula Health & Safety team who have created a useful guide for those looking to go back to work after the Covid-19 Pandemic but not sure where to start. It covers key areas such as self-isolation and control measures you should take. 

Mark commented on how important it was to make the work environment as safe as possible for the team. ”With such a diverse group of people working at HDY, it was of the utmost importance to ensure those who work here feel safe and comfortable. From the team living with vulnerable relatives and young children, we have considered the needs of every team member.” Not only did Mark make the office as safe as possible but he, alongside our wonderful Design Team, also created amazing HDY Agency branded signage for the office adding a splash of creativity and fun.

Taking our bold branding and adapting it to:

Not only did we welcome everyone back on Monday, but Mark also created a Welcome Back gift box which included essentials such as face masks, hand sanitiser, a bag of Haribo sweets and a personalised mug and pen of course.

Now that our offices are accommodating to social distancing rules, our Founding Partner Ed James spoke on the importance of face-to-face meetings. 

”Using online tools such as Zoom have allowed us to continue but nothing beats having a face-to-face meeting. I feel that people are able to collaborate far better in person and we look forward to inviting clients old and new back to our HQ. As a marketing agency in Birmingham, we have wanted to get back into this vibrant city as quickly and as safely as possible and now we are back, we’re appreciating more so than ever!’’

If you or anyone you know require quality content marketing, contact us on 0121 77 222 44 or email the team at hello@hdyagency.com, we look forward to hearing from you.