Since the pandemic, the staff that were able to have been remote working. This was to ensure we could keep everyone as safe as possible from Covid. We found our remote staff worked incredibly well like this, and everyone was just as motivated and disciplined as when in the office. Therefore, we kept this new routine and used the office space as additional warehouse space for stock and hot desking etc.
Over the past year, however, we spoke about introducing some office days again for some of the team members to maintain the old routine which did have many benefits. In the last 6 months, our Sales Team have mixed remote working with 1/2 days office based, but now at our Maidstone branch. This has been a real success for the business, and we were pleased to see that the team slotted back into office life before lockdown. We think part of this smooth transition is because communication between the teams has always been paramount at Sinclair & Rush. During the pandemic, we relied on Zoom and Teams Video calls as opposed to normal calls and emails so the team have never stopped "seeing" one another. Then, when it was safe to do so, we also met as a team every few months. We never stopped that interaction.
The benefits to our teams working together the "old" way are as follows: it breaks up the week slightly. Being remote all week every week can be isolating, and a change in the working environment is good to keep motivation and morale up with staff. Some staff wouldn't interact with one another at all if not. Their jobs do not align so they have no reason to speak. But having a dedicated workday means everyone has the chance to interact.
Next, instead of emailing someone about an issue, we have the chance to go and see them which tends to ensure no miscommunications take place. Similarly, there can be fewer distractions in the office so staff can be more efficient with their time. And lastly, we find having set office days keeps the teams motivated and engaged.
Conversely, still having the remote working option has huge benefits too. We have not lost excellent staff members due to house moves, for example. As we are set up to work remotely, they can remain an employee at Sinclair & Rush. We have several workers old and new that live further afield and we can recruit based on talent and who is best for the job not based on location/practicality.
Likewise, when there is illness, our staff can still work safely but remotely. As a business, we know they won't pass the germs to the other team members, leaving us short-staffed with everyone off sick and reducing the company's productivity. We now offer that flexibility due to having the option of remote working.
For us at S&R, having this mixture of remote and office days benefits the staff and the business. Ensuring effective and efficient working is maintained. We need to stay modern and current with this new way of working to ensure we have happy staff and the business can run smoothly.
We hope you enjoyed reading this news article and keep an eye out for more updates later on in the year about our remote/office working situation.
