Starting work with four new clients during the lockdown has seen us facing some interesting challenges and has me missing the ability to go on client visits, writes Kat Mitchell.
Joining Brandon Consulting Services in March 2020 may have seemed like an epic case of bad timing, but whilst budgets have been slashed for many I have still started work with several new clients during the lockdown.
In normal working conditions, starting work with a retainer/long-term client would see me spending a considerable amount of time in their office over the first few months as I get to know the business and the people I will be working with.
However, with a national lockdown in place, any new clients I have started work with over the past few weeks have seen me coming on board remotely.
It has been interesting to see how well different clients have managed with the switch to home working as it is a strong indicator as to corporate culture and team structure, but it has brought some very real practical challenges.
Getting to know you
Whilst easy access to good quality video calling makes getting to know the client easier than it would have been a decade before, nothing quite compares to getting to know someone face to face.
Video calls, no matter how frequent and long they are, do not compare with seeing someone within their office setting and spending time with a team as they continue with their work as normal.
With people not all based in the same building it has also been harder to get to know spokespeople and wider teams as formal meetings need to be set up rather than more casual drop ins.
Technical training
Many clients I work with like me to be able to post content directly to their website or social media, or to upload documents into their file sharing system rather than sending email versions back and forth.
There are many content management systems, and many variations in packages for each. Therefore, training is required.
When able to visit clients in their offices this is a quick and easy process. However, I have found remotely this training takes a lot longer and there are lot more likely to be hiccups along the way.
Overwhelmed comms professionals and journalists
The situation in which we find ourselves has left many communications professionals somewhat overwhelmed, especially those who also have responsibility for internal communications.
Many journalists have also found their work loads have increased, especially where freelance budgets have been cut.
This means that for many businesses overwhelmed comms managers are having to try harder to reach journalists and help them with their workload by providing them with news and content that is easy for them to repurpose for their readers. Those who are providing the journalists with exactly what they need when they need it are reaping the benefits more than ever and are likely to continue to see the benefits that the natural strengthening on the relationships will bring.
This provides an excellent opportunity for those businesses who do have the time to be pulling together such content, or to pay agencies such as us to do so for them.
It does however leave less time for getting those agencies on board and trained before setting them loose. Comms managers are in many cases having to choose between a less intensive agency on-boarding process, therefore setting the agency lose in similar timeframes to before, or sticking with a thorough on-boarding process and accepting that the process will take longer remotely as some potential opportunities may be missed.
In this situation it is more important than ever to make sure you get your agency selection process finely tuned so you know exactly what you are getting and what training will be necessary before you even appoint.
I have found that my new clients have gone with a mixture of the two – some have been keen to keep the introductions and training to a minimum and launch me straight out there, others are still going through the on-boarding process almost two months down the line.
Brandon Consulting Services Ltd 