Reflections as we emerge – blinking – out of lockdown

We went into lockdown with a team of 12. Now, as we take our first, tentative steps out of lockdown, there are 18 of us.

That’s a 50% growth in posts, including three more web developers, a finance manager, an account manager, and another graphic designer.

Recruiting staff remotely has been an interesting experience. Last week, all of us got together for the first time. We had a meal outdoors and reassured ourselves that we’re all fit and functioning.

Looking back it seems crazy that our pre-Covid policy was to allow staff just one day per week working from home. Our new hybrid model of homeworking and some time in the studio is definitely here to stay. Going forward we plan to be very flexible, while still making sure the whole team get together on a reasonably regular basis.

Quiz nights on Zoom have partly filled the social gap, but we’ve all really missed lunches at the pub and our walks and talks around the scenic Hartest countryside. And while remote scrum sessions have worked well using Zoho Sprints, they’ve definitely been sit downs rather than stand ups.

Thankfully, we’ve been busier than ever – more on that to follow.