I was flying home to empty shelves and the unknown having been in a rather sunny bubble for a few weeks. Two of my biggest clients, being hotels, closing their doors, we had to prepare for working from home and my team started casually liberating everything from the office including macs, screens, toilet paper and the really nice caramel biscuits that you get in posh coffee shops. (I swear we had hundreds of them.) 

There was an uncertain landscape ahead of us, but like any self-respecting businessman and leader – I downloaded Microsoft Teams and then sorted a Click + Collect from Tesco.

What have I learnt since?

ON A TEAM LEVEL?

I knew this anyway, but I am surrounded by a brilliant team. Each of them handled themselves magnificently and has been supportive and understanding of all the changes, decisions and new ways of working. I have done my best to detect when mood is low with people and we have all tried to support each other and I have been honest if I have been struggling a bit with either energy or motivation on certain days. I have tried to keep everyone as informed as possible with how business is, what decisions are coming up and what the next month looks like. We have treated each month as a mini-project and then adapted our plans accordingly. 

ON A CLIENT LEVEL?

It’s been challenging but good. We have picked up a few new clients despite having never met them or visited their premises which has been a refreshing way of working, but I am looking forward to getting back to when you can make great connections with people over a coffee and the ‘getting to know you’ chat. We have been working with all our other clients and starting to understand how they will need to act differently and how that affects what they need from us. Some have had the time to take a step back and start projects that have been hovering, others, have been transforming their business at an impressive rate.

ON A BUSINESS LEVEL?

At the beginning, trying to think beyond the first three months of how this was going to affect us was difficult. The first month was digging in, conversations with all clients, trying to work out what would happen to the sales pipeline and understand all the fast moving advice and legislation. May seemed to see us more in the swing of our new found ways of working and when we turned the corner into June it really felt like there was a mood change and positivity replaced uncertainty. Like everyone, I now use Zoom for meetings rather than jumping in the car and zooming TO meetings. 

Remind me why we wave at the end of Zoom meetings again? 

ON A PERSONAL LEVEL?

After a few false starts, I got myself into a routine of fitness and finding time for myself as well as starting to deal with the overwhelming list of household chores that I had ran out of excuses to avoid (I finished painting the garden wall after four years). I signed up for the very excellent FiiT app and I’ve attended 25 virtual gym classes and been discovering lots of new running routes around the Southside of Glasgow covering over 150k. My cooking has improved and my wife scored one particular meal as 4.5 on Trip Advisor.

ON A WELLBEING LEVEL?

Good days, bad days and a lot of learning about what makes you tick when your routine is taken away. I started to realise that I missed my commute and the time where you don’t need to think about much apart from mindless nonsense on your phone while listening to 5Live. So I now make sure I get a bit of time to myself before jumping into the day, this is sometimes exercise or just a cup of tea and the news. Time seems to just disappear as days are not punctuated by old style meetings, general banter and ‘normal’ office stuff. You don’t realise how important all those little bits of interaction are.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE LAST 100 DAYS? 

The mantra I shared with the team at the start of April and throughout this time it has still been our guiding light…. 

“I want our team to all return fit and healthy to a business that is fit and healthy when the time is right.” 

But what are we returning too? I need to answer some big questions around the office, working from home policy as well as our equipment and procedures but now it feels like the next natural step as opposed to overwhelming changes.

The good news just now is that we are all still here, we are all fit and healthy, all busy, all working hard, all adapting well and focussed on keeping each other happy and our clients happy.

WHAT DO THE NEXT 100 DAYS HOLD? 

Well perhaps you can expect another blog on the 9th of October but the next focus for me is, as always, the long term stability of the business, work, clients and finances and I must get out of the habit of watching Homes Under the Hammer. 

But on a serious note… 

• Thanks to my team for all your understanding, flexibility and hard work.
• Thanks to my clients for working with us, sticking with us and treating us as a partner rather than a hired hand.
• Oh, and thanks to you for reading this. 

What has the last 100 days taught you?  

We will still be contactable by phone, e-mail, Outlook teams video call or Zoom video call and our social channels as we transition into our less formal offices. We are tackling this uncertain period with our usual shiney attitude and will continue to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations whether it is delivering beautiful design, advanced digital or effective social.

As our commute no longer involves having to navigate Glasgow’s public transport in the morning but instead involves a much calmer and relaxed drift to our desks in our favourite slippers and similarly, taking conference calls in whatever attire we desire (within reason) our Managing Director, Craig, has reminded us that although the working day may be more relaxed, it can often feel lonely.

Here are 5 Top Tips he has given us that make sure the team are well looked after which in turn will keep the team motivated and best placed to look after our clients.

Take breaks and walk around regularly –

Although your new commute might now only consist of slipping into some slippers and gliding towards your desk, it is easy to get caught up in your work when you are sat by yourself, getting up and walking around is good for blood flow and gives your eyes a break regularly as well as taking time to get some fresh air during the day.

Keep Talking –

With the Shine team, there is no deficit of banter but it is always important to pick up the phone or do a quick video call with one of the team even if it is for 5 minutes. It can break up your day and take your mind off the task at hand for a minute and it is some important human contact and seeing a friendly face.  Basically, if you want to take the piss out of one of your colleagues don’t let your location stop you.

Communication –

When working remotely it is sometimes possible that tasks and requests can get lost in amongst the numerous conference calls, emails, texts, slacks and all other communication apps, that sometimes the original job has lost its way due to the barrage of cross-communication. Keep a simple notes app, that you can place on your desktop to keep track of your ever-changing to-do list. 

Eat Healthily –

At home, it is easy to snack on things throughout the day, try and stick to 3-meals a day to keep your body topped up and fulfilled to produce your best work.

Stay Safe –

Look after yourself when out and about, wash your hands, keep distanced and follow the government advice to ensure the safety of you and your family.

From all of us here at SHINE, we hope you are staying safe during this hectic and scary period and look forward to begin back at SHINE towers doing what we do best!

Stay safe.

We have a Business Continuity Plan in place as well as the right systems to enable us to successfully work remotely for a sustained period for the safety of the team at this ever changing and unprecedented time. Our main contact number of 0141 332 9941 will still be the best number to contact us on, as our calls are then diverted to the relevant persons’ mobile phone, so the whole team are still fully accessible through that number as well our respective e-mail addresses.

Our generic contact e-mail is – hello@theshineagency.com

We will be ensuring regular contact with all of our clients over the course of the next week to reassure them that our high standards as well as existing deadlines will still be met regardless of our working location. Our team and our resolve are strong and it is business as usual at SHINE. Please stay safe everyone.