BUSINESS CHANGE,
POST LOCKDOWN?

An estimated 6m small businesses in the UK supporting 16.6m jobs are in a financially precarious position as a result of the pandemic (The Guardian). Those in this position and even those businesses with more to fall back on are thinking of innovative ways to reshape their business and better equip themselves for similar risks in the future. A few days ago, UK PM Boris Johnson announced the easing of Lockdown measures, highlighting his optimism for all businesses in England to open their doors to the public on June 21st. Scotland’s plan was announced yesterday with Nicola Sturgeon taking a less lenient route and ‘considering’ a similar easing strategy to Boris. It seems the past year has taught us one thing; things can change. While UK businesses patiently wait to open their doors to the public and employees are hesitantly preparing to once again step foot in the office, C-level executives are preparing for ALL scenarios. Let’s take a quick look at what has worked for businesses over Lockdown, what new business trends have emerged and what trends might have to be left behind.

The hashtags #remotework #homeoffice #zoomcalls and #wfh have been flooding the internet. As of December 13, 2020, approximately 9.9 million jobs, from 1.2 million different employers were furloughed in the United Kingdom as part of the government's job retention scheme. While many employees have been furloughed to protect businesses financial situations, many are still setting up offices at home. Tech company ‘Salesforce’ have voiced their opinion on working from home and days of work stating “9-5 workday is dead”. Is reducing working hours and giving employees more time to spend away from the office and with their families the new trend? Let’s take a closer look at whether this actually improves employee motivation and business success.

Two different surveys both found that around two-thirds of employees say they’re more productive when working from home. (Source: https://www.finder.com/uk/working-from-home-statistics). Research has also shown that the number of people working from home varies by region. Residents of London are more likely to do some work from home than other regions of the UK. This highlights the likelihood that those with a longer, more difficult commute will choose to stay at home to work rather than trekking into the office. Although, findings show there to be little difference in productivity between the office and our homes, many people have expressed their frustration…. Comment below how you feel about #wfh!

With Lockdown feeling more and more like a distant friend, businesses are considering adopting the #wfh style, allowing their employees to decide for themselves. John Lewis has already announced that from May they will adopt a ‘blended’ working model which gives their head office partners the choice to work when and where they want. Vice President for Gartner said “Leaders who respond effectively to these HR trends can ensure their organizations stand out from competitors.” (https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/9-future-of-work-trends-post-covid-19/). It seems more and more businesses from large corporations to SME’s will be adopting a slightly different working style, post Lockdown. While some industries can’t work from home, it seems most businesses will consider shorter work weeks, a ‘blended’ approach and an overall greater consideration for employees personal lives.

It is inevitable that the tech giants will have a much smoother transition from moving their office spaces into their homes. However, Covid-19 has encouraged people to ‘think outside the box’ to make their homes into a motivating and inviting workspace. We covered some of these tips in our previous article including the introduction of Zoom, a powerful video calling platform used by entrepreneurs, celebrities, educational bodies, friends and families! More so, people have invested in comfortable desk spaces. If you don’t have a standing desk, well, you are soooo last year. According to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management, standing desks are the fastest-growing employee benefit in the country’s workplaces (https://www.officedepot.com).

One of the biggest changes that we will witness will be businesses transition from in-store sales to online sales. Food delivery giant ‘Deliveroo’ are expanding their operations due to a jump in demand for home takeaway’s over lockdown. Additionally, more and more consumers have been forced to purchase everything online. Amazon’s sales have surged over the last year with Jeff Bezos sitting on a whopping £200 billion. Quite a success story considering Jeff started his business from his parents garage back in 1994. Maybe I’ll head out to the garage now and see what ideas spring up!

​Many are concerned about this move online but it seems it has been a transition that started long before Covid-19; In 2018 alone, online retail sales jumped close to 20% (https://www.ons.gov.uk). Selling online is a whole new ball game for those that are used to selling on the UK high streets. With Google changing their formulas every other week, business owners will need to learn about content creation, SEO, online engagement, e-commerce and more! Even for a experienced marketing professional, it sounds like quite a challenge. One downside of moving everything online will be the impact on UK streets. How will Glasgow’s Buchanan Street look without House of Fraser’s sparkly Christmas decorations? How will London look without Harrods? This could be the future and is it really what we want?

If you are working from home today and reading this article, let us know how you feel about the changes to your business. If you are a business owner, what trends would you like to see stick around AND have you bought a standing desk yet?!?!