As I read the news of the Sex and the City reboot, I couldn’t help but wonder, are we entering a new era of nostalgia?
The pandemic has forced us all into a reset period. An opportunity, whether we wanted it or not, to reflect on where we are personally, professionally and globally. It has highlighted the importance of many new innovations (where would we be without Zoom and Netflix?!) but also of the basics we have taken for granted. We are nostalgic not just for our 2019 lives but for the simpler times of decades gone by.
What does that mean for businesses? For Elevate, it has been a balance of getting back to basics whilst planning for an uncertain future. As we look forward with a sense of cautious optimism to 2021, here are a three of the old-fashioned values we will build our business on.
- There is no substitute for face to face
We cannot WAIT to get back to physical events! Yes, so many meetings can be run effectively over Teams and we love a good webinar, but no one can replicate those spontaneous conversations or the energy of being surrounded by like-minded people.
We will be doing socially distanced roundtables as soon as restrictions allow and are planning our first big physical event for May. I’ll see you in the coffee queue!
- Health is wealth
The pandemic has been a health crisis in itself but has also highlighted an underlying physical and mental health crisis. For businesses to succeed, we need employees to be happy, healthy and supported. This is even more crucial as we move to remote or hybrid working and the signs of stress may be easier to hide. It’s not enough to jut ask if people are ok; we need to implement processes that put health first. We love, for example, Channel 4’s move to Meeting Free Fridays.
Our Community group and events will be looking at how we can manage people and places to support our health and wellbeing. As ever, Bruntwood Works are a great example of creating beautiful, inspiring spaces to work and collaborate.
- Hire good people and get out of their way
Following on from the above, the last few years have seen an explosion in the #hustlehard mentality and wearing overworking as a badge of honour. Presenteeism and micro-management was rife, despite the fact we should have been able to be more flexible than ever before. As we make plans to grow the Elevate team this year, we will do it on an output based model, giving our employees the respect and autonomy they need to thrive.
We are always keen to speak to other businesses about their values and plans. Let us know your thoughts on getting back to basics and hopefully we can meet in person soon.
Words by Ilona Alcock, Co-Founder & Director of Elevate GM.
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