- How has the public health pandemic
affected HWA?
As
these are unprecedented times for businesses across all sectors, it was
important that we initially took a step back to evaluate the sectors we work
in, and examine which ones were slowing down and which were maintaining
momentum. From the outset we wanted to be on the front foot and adjust our
business strategy accordingly. As business-owners we are all used to managing
and adapting to change.
We
then acted quickly to equip our team with what they needed to work from home,
so when government guidelines came into force, we were ready.
Since
then we are lucky that we remain mostly busy and our services continue to be needed.
Like many businesses, we have had to place some of our team on Furlough Leave
due to some sector work being placed on hold, but we are as confident as we can
be in the current situation that this is a short-term measure.
The key is to keep looking forward and those businesses who plan
and prepare for post lockdown will reap the rewards. As a team we remain
positive and think that that business will catch up as movement increases when
government restrictions are lifted, which we believe will be gradual. We will
continue to be agile in our approach as we navigate the current crisis.
- Are your construction sites
largely still active?
Like many businesses, we did experience a quiet period whilst
sites adapted to the new social distancing and hygiene measure, however for the
majority of our active sites, work is progressing.
Construction material supplies have been the most challenging
aspect to contend with during this time, but contractors do seem to be working
through solutions well and supply is increasing with time, which will benefit the
whole supply chain.
We are fortunate to have a number of substantial projects in
pre-construction phases that are continuing through this, and are largely
unaffected as various distance meeting and collaboration tools have been used
to keep momentum going, and this has really helped us as a business.
- How have you and the team
adapted – home working/virtual calls/interaction with clients etc.?
We are a close team so from the outset we wanted to ensure that we
remained in regular contact, not just for project work but also morale. We use
Microsoft Teams for communication with the team and our clients so maintaining regular
internal and external communications has been fairly seamless. I do wonder post
lockdown how many shorter meetings will become virtual now we are all so
comfortable with it.
Some of our virtual video meetings with the team have given us
some light entertainment – with many of us juggling work, parenting and home schooling!
It’s a welcome distraction, not to mention the impact lockdown has had on hair
styles!
We have been proactively seeking and attending online networking
events to maintain and build new professional relationships and look forward to
when we can do these again face to face.
- How are you preparing for when
the lockdown restrictions are lifted?
In terms of HWA, the senior team are always looking ahead and planning
our strategies for the future. While business plans have had to adjust or be
paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, we know who we are as a business and where
we want to be in the next 2-5 year. This extra time has enabled us to further fine-tune
those strategies.
In terms of projects, our preparation for post-lockdown involves
keeping a close eye on our sectors, and keeping open and regular communication
with our team members, clients and supply chain partners, so we are ready to
move swiftly when restrictions are lifted.
It is
difficult to predict exactly what the landscape will look like for our industry
in the coming months, but we believe that we will move past it, with a flexible
and adaptable attitude. We look forward to returning to the office, seeing
familiar faces, networking and of course the office banter, which has been
terribly missed!
- How do you think this will
affect the construction industry over the next 6 to 12 months and beyond?
The construction industry is especially good at adapting to
challenges. After a month or so of things slowing down, the industry seems to
be gaining pace again.
We think the biggest impact will potentially be the length of time
that attitudes to investment are affected in the private development sector.
Public sector procurement doesn’t seem to be significantly affected at present
in comparison.
We hope that the sourcing of materials and products in the UK will
see a positive boost, as a result of any challenges this situation presents for
importing goods from overseas.
- What are you missing most
both professionally and personally during the lockdown?
Professionally,
I am missing the networking side of the business – getting out there and making
valuable connections in the industry. I am of course missing the team, the
office energy and working life.
Personally,
I really miss caramel donuts and holidays!
- Any positives for you and HWA
that have come during these challenging times?
As a team
we’ve experienced first-hand some of the benefits of remote working, and this
is something we will likely integrate into our working routines moving forward
for the benefit of the business and staff. It’s also shown us that we can
certainly adapt and be flexible and that we are resilient in times of
uncertainty, which will only make use stronger as a business and a team.
This new pattern of working has given me and my
follow directors more opportunity to reflect on the business and to make plans
for the future.
For me individually, more time spent together as a
family has been really nice and my back garden looks a lot better
than it normally does! I’m also liking how we are seeing more of our neighbours than we would
usually do.
