It’s almost three years since the world of work as we knew it was flipped on its head overnight from a five days a week in the office to a fully remote setup. Due to the pandemic that hit our shores in March of 2020, we bid a sad and sudden farewell to our daily face-to-face interactions and opportunities to travel, explore and meet with clients.

Random desk chats, supportive hugs, office bants, lunch break outings and impromptu after-work drinks all ceased to exist.

We were thrown into a new and uncharted era as a 100% virtual agency.

Morning check-ins and random chats were held on Slack and WhatsApp Groups. Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, [insert your video call weapon of choice] replaced in-person team huddles and client meetings. We relied more heavily on tools we’ve used for a long time such as Basecamp, Trello and Google Drive to keep communications flowing between teams and clients on projects.

Socially, we did our best to make sure we all met up regularly – albeit virtually. The account management teams did cook-along lessons, cocktail making workshops and even film watch-alongs. Half the studio played Call of Duty together at least several times a week. We also did a fair few poker nights (until we realised Jake was taking our money each time!). The digital team did a virtual escape room, which was both exhilarating and frustrating at the same time… then there was the virtual Christmas party: a Die Hard watch-along with themed drinks and 80s fancy dress.

Then, in the summer of 2021, we surfaced slowly and with caution from our remote confinement and started to meet in person again, as safely as possible.

Since then, RKH HQ has been open for three days a week for those who want to come into the office, hold meetings and get out of the house. But it was important to us that this never felt like a requirement, because we’ve witnessed just how much remote working has improved and evolved how we all work together.

This seismic and permanent shift has brought about a lot of questions.

• If we’re no longer meeting virtually for social events (we’re over it, Google Meet fatigue was the worst) then what do we do to facilitate and encourage more in-person events again?
• How do we bring back the office ‘buzz’ of pre-2020?
• Do we make working from the office mandatory for a certain number of days, or continue to keep it flexible?
• At what point do we decide whether a client meeting needs to be in-person or virtual?

The truth is, we’ve found our teams really enjoy the flexibility of being able to choose to work remotely, and indeed many of our hires during the pandemic live outside the county. With the fundamental shifts to our work styles during 2020/2021, the idea of being in the office five days a week and attending all meetings in person isn’t something we’re looking to return to.

But we do see that somewhere along the way we need to fill the gap again on what we did before and during the pandemic.

What does the 'after' look like?

Well, we continue to champion and encourage hybrid working. We’re also happy for team members to opt for fully remote working if they wish. We run workshops and kick-off sessions in the office, f2f with our clients as well as playback sessions and retrospectives. The key is to ensure we retain the excellent output and creativity that RKH is known for. Our teams have begun to get together in person more regularly, and we’ve noticed that Wednesdays in the office have started to draw a bit of a crowd. That RKH office buzz is back!

We’re also noticing that our monthly staff meetings – re-introduced as a regular fixture at the office last summer – are also a great way for everyone to see each other in person.

Again, these aren’t compulsory, but we’re encouraging everyone to come in and take the day as an opportunity to mingle, catch up, and share a beer or two.

Fundamentally, there is a split. There are the people that want to be back in the office and to experience ‘how it used to be’. There are the people that like the work/life balance of hybrid working and the flexibility we can offer around remote working. But as a society, the way we work and live has undergone a seismic shift.

It’s unlikely that we’ll ever go back to a five-day working week in the office full-time, because we know that a lot of our teams function better given the flexibility to choose how and when they work. Which means, of course, that when we do get to host meetings, celebrate wins together and get tipsy on a Friday afternoon, we’ll appreciate and nurture those opportunities even more.

It’s up to us to encourage, facilitate and nurture as much in-person, collaborative interaction as we can, but we cannot dismiss how valuable and important it is to offer flexibility and choice.

Right then – pub anyone? The first round is on me!