Bonus Episode: Suddenly Working from Home
A bonus episode for you today, to reflect on the impact of current events, and support the big global ‘work from home’ experiment none of us expected. Please also check out Episode 208, when Pilar and Maya talked about healthy home working last year… long before present events were anticipated.
And for now, here’s an insightful conversation with Jacqui Walpole from Peppercomm - who we’d scheduled to interview for a later episode, but couldn’t avoid talking to about the current crisis.
Like many, communications agency Peppercomm are reviewing policies for both office and home-based staff, including the need to support colleagues dealing with issues like school closures. As a hybrid organisation, they’re making the most of knowledge and experience within their team, to support those less accustomed to remote. They’re already set up on Microsoft Teams and used to videocalls and online collaboration, everyone has a laptop - which puts them ahead of many. But they’re acknowledging the challenges that colleagues are facing, when simply not set up or used to working from home, and having zero transition and planning time.
When working with clients, travel restrictions are a big issue - redesigning media tours and other event-based activities which would have been done face to face. The uncertainty is challenging, and there are mismatches between policies and decisions at the business level, vs public policy… As everybody struggles to make appropriate choices, in a rapidly-changing environment.
In both cases, empathy and understanding are key - being flexible in every sense, dealing with people’s anxieties and individual needs, to support them and pull together through the challenges the whole world is dealing with right now.
You can keep up with Jacqui (and Peppercomm) on Twitter, and LinkedIn - because online networking is the best option at the moment!
And our regular episode will follow on Thursday as usual, as Virtual Not Distant strives to support the business community exploring the benefits and potential for the best in remote work, whatever the circumstances. Stay safe, well and productive.
Please keep your feedback coming, we really enjoy it - contact us, or you can tweet Virtual Not Distant, or Pilar and Maya directly, with any of your thoughts and ideas.
How can we best support YOU, through the current global crisis?
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