What has the COVID-19 lockdown experience taught you?
COVID-19 has taught us a lot.
A lot about our businesses and how they operate.
A lot about us as humans.
A lot about how important the simple things are to us – things that we were probably guilty of taking for granted.
That was the inspiration for the #LockdownLessons video series
We spoke to several businesses since August 2020 to find out about their experience of the COVID-19 lockdown.
What has it meant for their businesses?
What have been the personal learnings from the lockdown experience?
This is what they told us.
The Future of Work?
The COVID-19 lockdowns had an effect on how most of us work – but when your business is built on the design and fit-out of corporate offices the effect was even greater.
For this episode of the #LockdownLessons series we spoke to Paul Black, CEO of The Alpha Group about the impact of COVID-19 on their business – the immediate effect as well as some lasting changes as a result of the experience.
We also talk about the future of work – how what we’ve learned from the COVID-19 experience will inform how work spaces are designed and used in the future?
Does home working make you more productive?
We spoke to Dorcas Crawford, Senior Partner at Edwards & Co Solicitors in Belfast about how we can understand whether working at home makes us more productive.
Is it just about how much we get done or are there other things to consider?
How do you maintain a great company culture when everyone has to work from home?
Dorcas Crawford is Senior Partner at Edwards & Co Solicitors and she spoke to us about the challenges of maintaining a great company culture when everyone has to work from home.
We talk about what we’ve learned about how human interactions in the office have a huge impact on the quality of work being done.
We talk about the additional focus and effort required from those charged with building an engaged workforce when dealing with remote employees.
Keeping sustainability at the top of the agenda
Sustainability was top of the agenda for a lot of businesses pre COVID-19.
It stayed there for Foyle Foods who kicked off a major Sustainability project with Gillian McKee of Giraffe Associates in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The new world of work & how it has changed the way we think about our businesses & how they operate
Paul Hargreaves is CEO of Cotswold Fayre, a food distribution business in the south of England.
For this episode which was recorded over Zoom due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Paul spoke to us about how the global pandemic had changed their thinking in relation to home working.
Paul also talks about their commitment to Sustainable Business and his belief that this will be an even more important focus for businesses as a result of the COVID-19 experience.
Rethinking business models with NOW Group - a social enterprise providing training and employment to those in need
NOW Group were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of a large part of their business being focused on providing training and employment opportunities in the food and hospitality sectors.
They also run a number of cafes which were forced to close.
Maeve Monaghan is CEO of NOW Group and speaks to us about their focus on the safety and wellbeing of their community as well as a broader vision for the business post COVID-19.
Opening a new business during a global pandemic - with The Ortus Group and Morelli's
The Ortus Group is a social enterprise based in West Belfast.
They took the decision to open a new retail outlet in partnership with Morelli’s Ice Cream in the middle of the first COVID-19 lockdown.
We spoke to Terry McCrudden, Marketing Manager at The Ortus Group about why the decided to do that and what their vision for the business is in the future.