It’s been an exciting start to the year, with a complete refurb of our offices to take Team AD into 2020 with a bright new look and feel to our workspace at the start of an incredibly busy and stimulating year.
It’s meant four weeks of disruption to our normal work routines – a temporary office for the core agency team, more remote working and fewer opportunities for the whole team to be together in one place.
During this time it’s been business as usual in all respects – delivering client work, meeting clients and suppliers, kicking off 2020 campaign activity, building out programme plans, problem solving, developing proposals, pitching new business…no rest for the wicked, as they say.
- And it’s been great to see that, even at a time of practical upheaval, we can still remain absolutely focused on our professional goals and responsibilities.
- But the experience has also been a very valuable reminder of how central good communication and collaboration is for business. It’s vividly brought home many truths that I’ve always held dear but are definitely worth reinforcing in an age where the way we communicate is changing constantly.
- All the high tech remote working solutions we have at our fingertips are sometimes no substitute for sitting around a table and thrashing ideas around.
- We arrive at solutions faster if we just talk to one another than through endless email trails. Let’s pick up the phone more.
- And digital communications can soak up time, cause confusion and leave people out of the loop. Just because you ‘cc’ someone, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re engaged with what you’re trying to tell them.
- Good communication goes far beyond words. It’s about facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice. So much of this is missing when we rely on electronic platforms. Face time really matters.
- Working remotely can definitely make us more productive. We all need to manage our distractions and be more respectful of our colleagues’ time and priorities when we work in shared spaces….
- But creative teams function best when they’re able to be together. From day-to-day management, to mentoring, to exchanging ideas and asking questions. We humans are social animals and we thrive on interaction. Real connection is critical.
- Working from home does not necessarily improve work/life balance. Some of us need to go to a workplace to disconnect from our personal lives and shift into work mode. Too much blurring can equal loss of focus.
- Email and instant messaging may seem fast and efficient, but if we don’t read written communications properly, understanding can be compromised. Just because you’ve read an email, doesn’t always mean you’ve understood it, especially when you’re constantly on the move. Time to pause, slow down and really take in the message – all of it.
Being at work with colleagues is motivating and fun. Office banter, or even just passing the time of day with our workmates, is a massive part of what makes work enjoyable and allows a business to thrive. It’s not just about getting the job done.I’m more thankful than ever for a superb team of colleagues that are so much more than that. I’ve missed their smiling faces, their humour, their comments and questions. Our new home energises us all and it’s brilliant to be back together.Welcome home, Team AD, and here’s to a communicative, collaborative and creative AD2020!