Tag: office

THE RETURN TO THE OFFICE: AN OPEN COMMS SAGA

Posted on September 3, 2020 by

As the first week of September gets underway, it marks the return to the office for the Open Comms team. Situated in the heart of Wakefield city centre, our head office is surrounded by numerous businesses that are, like us, taking the first steps into an environment they have missed for the best part of five months.

After working from home for so long, I can honestly say that the hustle and bustle of the morning commute is very welcome. This change in routine has been needed and interacting with my colleagues in person has never been so valued. Yes, we have put strict Covid guidelines in place, but we are certainly back to business for the most part.

With that said, the Open Comms team did implement and execute a successful working from home strategy. Despite this year’s widespread disruption, our work remained uncompromised and our client list grew.

Although transitioning into remote working did have challenges, we were able to adapt and evolved our business processes. We realise that we have been fortunate. And although virtual client meetings may be here to stay for the foreseeable future, I can honestly say that returning to the office has given me a sense of normality I have longed for.

Despite only just returning, the benefits of working at Open Comms HQ are already obvious.

Routine

When I look back at my own lockdown experience, the one aspect that I felt I significantly lacked and missed was a routine. Whilst I initially intended on maintaining some sort of constructive regime, this was quickly abandoned.

The allure of extra sleep and the ease of staying in become all too hard to fight. This was in addition to the separation between my home and life becoming somewhat blurred.

I quickly realised that I was someone who didn’t just like a structured day, but also thrived off it. So, it comes as no surprise that I can already recognise improvements in my daily routine, especially when I sit at my desk to begin the day.

Don’t get me wrong, during the lockdown period I evolved my skillset, adopted more efficient working practices and became a more well-rounded PR professional. But, as I transfer these traits into a constructive and purposeful office space, they are amplified and enhanced.

This is because I arrive at the office to work and leave the office to go home. The distinction is clear. As a result, I personally feel that my productivity has already improved, and my focus is much sharper.

The true value of the evening commute has also been fully realised. This time, which I obviously didn’t have in lockdown, is now one of the most important parts of my day. It gives me the chance to reflect on the day just gone, plan for tomorrow and ultimately switch off before arriving home.

Creative space

One of the most enjoyable aspects of working in PR is the opportunity to have a creative outlet. Whether this applies to securing coverage in the media, increasing brand awareness, promoting a new product or growing a company’s profile, we need to create engaging content for our clients.

I must admit that there were times I often stared at the four walls of my bedroom office, which I say loosely, in search of some creative inspiration. But my home décor isn’t the most ideal surroundings for when I needed to create some striking social media posts or compelling copy for marketing material.

I firmly believe that your environment has a significant impact on your productivity. This is unquestionably the case when I work in the Open Comms office.

With spacious and comfortable workstations, ability to work from multiple rooms and access to critical resources, I tend to deliver improved results, perform more efficiently, and increase my levels of productivity.

Collaboration and communication

As an expert communicator, it may be obvious that communication plays a pivotal role within my daily duties. However, this aspect of my profession was arguably the most impacted by the pandemic.

Not only was it apparent that robust communications played a crucial role in the lockdown period, it also became clear that this was also the most challenging to achieve.

Shifting to remote working put daily correspondence at risk. The Open Comms team had to adapt new technology to not only maintain communications with our clients, but also each other as well.

Whether it was transferring team-wide meetings to video conferences, scheduling private Teams chats to discuss key projects or just wanting to have a catch up over the phone, communicating with one another was not as simple as it may sound!

The benefits of discussing ongoing PR Campaigns and client projects in person not only quickens the entire process, but it also helps establish a much more cohesive working environment. We at Open Comms pride ourselves on being strong collaborators and this is much more effective when we can communicate clearly and much more frequently with on another.

Now we have returned, there is a sense of enthusiasm and buzz among the team that reassures me we will pick up like we never left!

If you would like to know more about Open Comms and the services we offer, why not give us a call on 01924 862477 or contact us here.

PETS IN THE OFFICE: A DOGGY DO (OH DEAR) OR A DOGGY DON’T?

Posted on August 31, 2018 by

dogs-at-work

This is a subject that has been debated in the office at Open Comms for many years. Should we allow pets into the office or is it that one step too far, especially when you take into account that we host client meetings at Nostell and not everyone is a lover of our four-legged friends.

There have been many arguments both for and against but I’m somewhat ashamed to say that I’ve always been the one that put my foot down and said no! Absolutely not.

In all fairness, I couldn’t get past the thought of dog slobber on a client’s designer suit or the smell of wet fur and Febreeze. There was just something that always made it a black and white decision for me – and it wasn’t in favour of the canine kind.

A new arrival

Then something happened. It was life changing. I hadn’t expected it and I wasn’t prepared for it. We got a dog. A puppy. A cocker spaniel to be precise, full of life and a bundle of bouncing energy.

I won’t lie, this new development took some getting used to. It was in my house, it was chewing things and padding through the kitchen with mucky feet! It even tried to eat my shoes and made a valiant attempt at destroying the garden – eating the heads off my favourite flowers one by one with a smirk across his cheeky chops.

But, oh, those eyes!

I never thought it would happen, but Duke Davies, the loveable pooch that happily howls his heart out at 5.30am each morning to remind us that it’s time for walkies has made his mark. There’s no going back and that is when I realised that I would have to face my first real personal battle about this bundle of (exhausting) joy.

Decision time

As holiday season approached there would be one week where there was no one to look after Duke during the day. There was only one real option. I would have to bring him to work. The horror as I realised that I had been the one for years – six years to be precise – that had always put a stop to office pets and now I was going to have to go, tail between my legs, and hope that my colleagues wouldn’t be as defensive about the doggy as I had been.

Thankfully they all welcomed him with open arms. In all honesty, he didn’t do much beyond sitting in the corner and sleeping, he is a pup after all. The occasional passing stroke and the trundles we had around Nostell Priory Estate Yard, meeting with other walkers that were enjoying the sunshine, kept him suitably amused.

The benefits of doing things differently

Beyond the practical though, having Duke in the office taught me a real lesson. Not least to stop being such a miserable cow but also to consider the benefits to doing things differently. I’d never given the office pet thing any real thought, but now I could see how five minutes with a distraction can be such a positive.

Going out for twenty minutes and leaving my desk to walk Duke twice a day gave me the shocking clarity I needed that it’s not a weakness to stand up and move away from my desk during the day and no one will criticise my work ethic for taking some time to clear my head.

Far from being the distraction I expected, Duke was a calming presence. I’d look down and he’d look up, big brown eyes and fluffy ears. What was there not to love, and as for the smell, I don’t think anyone really noticed – unless I’ve gone nose blind?  

A change of position

I can now see the benefits to having a pet in the office and that includes the giggles when they have a mad minute. I never thought that watching a dog run around as fast as his little legs could carry him or the cheeky bark he gave the postman (he nearly jumped out of his skin!) would have me chuckling behind my computer screen, but it did.

For those of you that are contemplating getting a pet for the office then there are a few things that you need to think about; who’s going to do the cleaning up, who takes ultimate responsibility and what are you going to do when clients visit. There’s also allergies to consider, you don’t want someone coming out in a rash! But…

It is worth considering the benefits too. There’s lots of research that suggests that having a pet in the office is therapeutic and can encourage a calmer working atmosphere and environment, while also improving productivity. Who knew?

Duke hasn’t become a permanent fixture in our office and he never will, I still have some reservations about a full-time position for him, but I would bring him again for a day or two, we just need to work on his telephone manner.

Have we all gone a tribunal too far?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by

 

It was one of those really worrying situations where you’re not sure if you’re watching a comedy, a spoof or a real life documentary. Yes people, on Tuesday evening we sat down to ‘The Call Centre’ and I am SO pleased that we did.

Firstly this is car crash TV at its very best but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be watched and enjoyed – just be warned, if you or your other half work in HR you may need a stiff drink to get you through.

For those of you who have not had the absolute pleasure, The Call Centre is real life business based in Swansea. As the name would suggest, it is a call centre employing hundreds of staff from the local area.

As you would imagine from an office of this size, there are more than your average number of characters – as if this alone wasn’t a recipe for TV documentary success, enter stage left, the owner, ‘uncle’ Nev.

We watched this programme for half an hour still debating if it was in fact real or if it was one of those strange programmes we now get where half of it is made up and half of it is ‘kind of’ realish’. As I never watch programmes that can’t make up their mind what they want to be, I was considering turning over when we ‘Googled’ (because Google is the fountain of all knowledge) and realised, despite our absolute horror and amazement, it is in fact real – every last comedy gold part of it.

So, anyway, here’s the thing. Nev clearly doesn’t go by the book. He tells his staff to shut up, throws things at them and screams ‘GET OUT’ at the top of his voice to those he has just interviewed – better still, they are the poor individuals that got the job! He also engages in conversations that in any normal office environment would be an absolute NO GO!

As an example, one of his staff was feeling particularly down after being dumped (it happens to us all), so Nev says ‘You’ve been a right miserable b*stard for the last month and we all know why’. As if this wasn’t bad enough he then parades this poor girl around the office asking anyone if they want to take her out on a date.

It doesn’t even stop there… he then sets up a speed dating event, yes an arranged function with hundreds of people, just to get this girl a date. He then sends her home with ‘said match’ and makes them bake cakes!

Then we move on to the recently appointed tea lady. Having tried to work in the call centre this young girl realises it’s just not for her but rather than get rid, Nev decides there is a role for her to make tea and coffee for everyone. What was astounding and heart-warming was that this girl takes this job really seriously. It’s apparent if she’s going to be a tea lady she is clearly going to be the best tea lady.

When her delightful co-workers decide to hide her tea bags and teaspoons all hell breaks loose and there are tears, tantrums and warnings – I kid you not, you couldn’t make it up!

What was amazing about this programme was that although there must have been at least 20 scenarios where we turned to each other and said ‘He can’t do that’, ‘You can’t say that’, ‘He is going to end up in a tribunal’, surprisingly I think there’s a lot that we can all learn from Nev.

He has a happy workforce for a start and people who are committed to his business. Ok, they know he’s nuts and openly admit that he is one-of-a-kind but that’s no bad thing. As a result of Nev and his attitude (his team meetings are called a s*it sandwich because you have a sandwich and he gives you s*it) people respect and to some degree appreciate him and his straight forward and no nonsense style.

Move over Sir Alan Sugar, Nev is in town and as far as the Davies’ household goes, he’s leaps and bounds in front of any car crash TV that you can produce and after the most recent series of The Unemployable – sorry I mean Apprentice – I didn’t think I would be saying that.

At the very least you can have some sympathy, empathy and dare I add respect for these people. They are real and perhaps we all need a Nev in our lives to remind us of what ‘being yourself’ can achieve. There are definite lessons I’m taking from Nev and perhaps we need to stop looking for reasons to criticise employers and employees. May be what we need to do instead is get some personality back to the workplace and god forbid have some fun!  

I don’t think we will be throwing things at people in Open any time soon or screaming at the top of our lungs but we just may think more about how we can inject some of Nevs better ideas into the agency.

Anyone for a s*it sandwich?