Back to work at last

Big changes to the social distancing rules from the 4th of July means thousands of people are going back to work for the first time for months. Many of us are trying to adapt to a very different way of working.

2 weeks ago we did our first “face-to-face” training session in over 3 months. It was fantastic to be back and really “meeting” people. It involved 2 days of planning for the second half of the year with a team from a very exciting business. The team were so youthful and enthusiastic, it was a great way of getting back into the swing of things.

Safety and wellbeing are always our top priority so all of the precautions were put in place. This meant that everyone was at a safe distance. The setup was very different from what we’re used to, being such a “hands-on” and “get stuck in” training company. However, it was a great change from the months of Zoom training sessions we’ve been doing.

Zoom is a fantastic tool and has allowed us and many other companies to maintain contact despite the lockdown measures. However, nothing compares to the reciprocal nature of a “face-to-face” training session. Being able to ask open questions and see peoples faces and reactions to judge whether someone is understanding. Reading the crowd and allowing us to change our tack if necessary is something we don’t appreciate until its been taken away.

The advantages of face-to-face training

The best part of my job is seeing people grow and 2 weeks ago getting to see, in-person, the fantastic presentations (and results) from a team who were very nervous talking to groups, only a couple of years ago, shows what a huge difference training and practice can make.

With our working diary rapidly beginning to fill back up with more in-person training sessions. Getting to work with some of the brightest and best companies in the UK. Like many other people, we’re going to enjoy adapting to this new way of working. Hopefully moving another step closer to the normality, which I think we all took for granted before.

2 weeks after our meeting the results have been incredible! The team are more focused, motivated and engaged. They’d caught up with old friends and swapped lockdown stories, making them feel so much better. The chance for the them to get back to a semi-normality was a huge boost for them.

It’s your call as to when you feel safe meeting up but we forget how powerful a team get-together is.