An update from our team
Today marks one month since our team, along with most others across the UK, began working entirely from home; something that just one month earlier had seemed almost unimaginable. Here we mark the occasion by providing an update into life at Lees Associates.
Like so many others, our business felt the effects of Covid-19 almost immediately; a number of our projects were put on hold, including new projects that had not yet quite started. We swiftly established a new working from home procedure to safeguard our amazing team, and settled into our temporary new lives. With whole-team catch-up meetings twice a week and a message board that stays live 24/7 we have surprised ourselves with how smoothly and effectively we have transitioned into this new normal.
Our focus remains on delivering the highest quality of design and service to our clients, which we continue to do on projects at all stages of design and construction. In particular, this is the ideal time for us to start work on new design projects; with fewer distractions and clearer minds we are loving this opportunity for creativity. And design workshops and reviews seem to be almost more productive and efficient with the benefits of technology like screen-sharing!
And, while some projects have been put on hold, we have continued to be contacted about new opportunities and have stayed busy preparing proposals for projects that are looking to make early progress when the situation allows.
But of course we still miss that face-to-face human interaction: the chats while making a coffee, the fun and laughter, and the smiles. We miss not being able to enjoy our lovely garden terrace as we enter the summer months that usually see it so busy, and we will miss not being able to host our annual party on it this year.
And, while we are staying in touch with each other, what we really miss most all is meeting all of you: our friends and colleagues. So it is vital that we stay in touch, by whatever means we can. We want to take this opportunity to reach out and offer our time to anyone who would like a friendly chat. In these crazy times it is more important than ever to embrace our communities and networks and be there for one another. We are always here if you need us.
So this is a time now for reflection, to recalibrate and prepare for better times ahead. More than anything it is a time to be grateful.
We will continue to use this time to reflect on our values and look forward to happier times; to support and nurture our team, who are the essence of who Lees Associates are and are at the heart of everything we do; and to build further strength and resilience into our operations. Things will never be quite the same again – they will be even better.
Wishing you and your family good health and happiness from us all at Lees Associates.