The pandemic (Coronavirus outbreak) forced businesses to change the way they operate, with the large majority of companies enforcing staff to work from home, which eventually led to permanent office closures. Although the pandemic is now over, many businesses have chosen to continue with this approach – over 23% of businesses are using home working as a permanent business model.1
At Ballyhoo, we have the best of both worlds. Half of the team is in the office full time, the other half work from home. Below, we take a look at why, how we make it work, and how it’s benefited our team.
Why We Work From Home
Health
Of course, the reason we first started working from home was for the team’s safety during the pandemic. Like many businesses up and down the country, we shut the office and everyone worked from home. It was a strange time, but we made it work!
Commute
Do we want to be commuting for two hours a day, when we could otherwise be spending that time with loved ones, recharging our batteries, or simply enjoying our spare time? No, we don’t. James in particular lives in the opposite direction of the office, so it was a no-brainer for him to continue to work from home. By not needing to commute, it means that the team can log on at the right time each day, whilst also giving them that much needed work-life balance.
Do Your Job From Anywhere
One of the many benefits of doing the job we do, is that we can do it from practically anywhere (does the moon have wifi?). This means that 95% of the time, our daily tasks can be done from home rather than the office, and it simply makes zero difference.
Everyone is Different
Some people thrive in office environments, and others not so much. We want to make our team feel comfortable – we truly care about their wellbeing, plus people work best when they are in a happy environment – so we let our team work wherever they work best.
How We Make it Work
Home Working Kit
One of the first things we did when the team had to work from home, was kitting them out with the best tech so that they can comfortably do their job well. We also have regular check-ins with the team to ensure health and safety is still being followed, which also gives us the opportunity to ask our team if they need any new software, or equipment to make them more comfortable.
Weekly Meetings
Every Monday morning, we have a team meeting via video call. It gives us the space to chat about the weekend, go through our workflows for the week, and talk about anything on our mind. We are a very open team – there’s not much that’s out of bounds – and we’re often found going off on tangents talking about this, that and the other! However, this time is crucial for ensuring that the team feels listened to and can voice any concerns, whilst ensuring we are all on track with projects and know what work to prioritise.
Health and Mental Wellbeing
As mentioned above, we perform our health and safety requirements by doing risk assessments and ensuring everyone is safe, but health is not just a factor for working from home, it’s also a reason. Working from home gives people the opportunity to look after themselves, giving free time and being able to prioritse health.
We have an open door policy (digital in this instance!) where every team member feels safe and comfortable to talk to one another if something is on their mind.
Team Development Days
A day to catch up, celebrate our wins and go to Herbert’s Yard? Count us in. Our quarterly team development days are an event in the calendar that we look forward to, not least for that lunchtime burger that we’ve been dreaming about. Our team development days usually start with a look through the business performance, moving on to a catch up of the biggest ongoing projects, and finishing with a look at future goals and how we can get there as a team. These days are laid back, and allow the team to raise any issues, concerns or queries they may have about work. These days also give us the perfect opportunity to have a laugh and socialise – as the last thing we want is any work from home team members to feel isolated.
A Spare Desk
We appreciate that sometimes you need to talk in-person, or do a task together. We have a ‘hotseat’ permanent desk in the office that is setup and ready to go, for any of our work from home colleagues to come in and use should they want a change of scenery. Anyone can use the equipment, giving our team the opportunity to come into the office and work in-person with the team.
Flexible Working
Working from home doesn’t have to be all or nothing, we also have flexible work from home. For example, Alison works from home a few days during the 6 weeks Summer holidays, to be on hand to look after her children. This kind of flexibility is paramount for parents and carers, giving them the opportunity to tweak the place of work or hours to fit in with home life.
A Word from Sam
Although Sam previously worked a couple of days a week from home before the pandemic, post pandemic he has switched to 5 days a week at home. Here’s what he has to say about it…
“Working from home allows me to crack on without interruption. I am the sort of person who is very easily distracted, so chatter in the office (or people typing too loudly) really disrupts my focus. Working from home means I can have my choice of music as loud as I want while I get stuck into whatever task I am working on. Added benefits such as being able to pop the washing on in a quiet moment, keeping on top of a few chores while the kettle is boiling, not having to sit in rush hour traffic and being able to get up a little later all contribute to a better work life balance.”
Overview
All of this to say – we truly value our team and we want to look after them and their families, and have procedures in place for whatever makes them comfortable. Prefer to work in the office? Crank that radio up. Want peace and quiet in your own home? Go for it. Everyone has different ways of working, and we trust our team to know that they will work best where they feel best.
1 ONS Gov
