Working Through Covid-19

At the beginning and throughout the global pandemic which arrived here in the UK this year, we have had many concerns about how to proceed with the business. 

When the government introduced self-isolation and the stay at home rule, of only leaving the house for food, health reasons and work (only if you cannot work from home) we immediately had to comply and adapt the business so we were adhering to these new rules.

Working from home has never been an issue for us as we had recently made the decision to work from home permanently due to the many benefits.

Since the lock down, we have expanded our ways of communication by using Zoom, FaceTime, Facebook Video and Skype. We have been able to have meetings with clients and contractors by using these video calls which we are finding extremely successful and a great way to understand a client’s needs. We are able to discuss plans, ideas and projects face to face and use visuals so that there is no confusion and everyone is on the same page.

On the planning and building control side of things, we are still able to submit planning/building regulation applications for approval and there is only a slight delay, if any. This has allowed us to keep working and keep projects moving during these uncertain times. We have put a hold on completing surveys at present, as it is classed as unnecessary travel and, in some cases, we are still able to prepare and begin a scheme without this information which we can collect at a later date.

Putting these new practices in to use have been an eye opener for us, as we have discovered that there is a lot we can do from the office and that we have spent a lot of unnecessary time on the roads over the past years. We have realised that we do not always need to travel to meet a client or contractor, when we can still gain the same information from a video chat. This does not mean that we will stop having meetings in person, however we will use this new tool more regularly which will also help to improve on our carbon footprint.