Monthly Archives: November 2021

Work from Home

And here we go again. 600 odd days into the pandemic and the government has directed that if you can, you should work from home. It’s difficult to articulate the impact. We recognise how these measures have opened up a whole new culture of working from home and it’s been a revelation for many. 

Employers and employees have realised the many benefit of this working arrangement. For employers it may mean reduced overheads leading to higher profits. For employees it can reduce the time spent commuting and a better work life balance.

That being said, there is a difference between having the option to work remotely and being told you must. The one thing that you are not allowed to do is the one thing you long for. Our working days were busy, filled with cups of tea and hallway chats. Working schedules meant that your interactions were varied and interesting. Stories about pets and children were laughed about over lunch and in between all that we actually achieved our daily working goals.

We have been here before

The only good thing is we have been here before. We have our communication processes refined. Our informal chats will move to Slack and our Notion boards will keep us aligned now that you can’t simply ask a question from across the room. Daily morning video calls means that at the very least once a day we all get to see each other to maintain that human connection that we all need.

Our clients are all dealing with the same issues that we are and there is an empathy, an understanding that we are all trying our best under extraordinary circumstances. Ideally the contracts and the handshake would happen in person but for now we will have to settle for a friendly wave in Zoom. We have become very used to creating Plan B’s to make sure that the programmes don’t grind to a halt. The key is and always will be communication. That is the true beauty of the digital landscape and technology. It keeps the connection alive and allows us to meet the expectations of our clients.

For now we will keep trying to improve our offering and deliver quality results  for our clients. There is an uncertainty in the air and that can be unsettling but there is one thing you can rely on and that’s at least once a day you’ll have to say these four profound words.

‘You are on mute!!!‘

 

Facebook the Software of Dreams

In terms of branding you can’t get any more recognisable than Facebook. The company which has been renamed as Meta also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. The software that Mark Zuckerberg wrote in his second year of college now has over 2.5 billion monthly users worldwide. It’s power and impact is unquestionable and every software developer dreams of creating the next Facebook. 

At first glance our software and Facebook don’t have much in common but at the core we are the same. Facebook began as a tool to digitise a paper process. 

Digitisation of a Paper Process

It’s not a concept that we are overly familiar with in Ireland but a ‘facebook’ is a student directory for colleges in the United States. It would include a picture of the student and some basic information. In 2003 there were no online facebooks and the information was distributed on paper. Zuckerberg thought this was silly and couldn’t understand why the college hadn’t put this in place. He claimed he could do it better than them and do it in a week. He did just that. He created a website that connected the students in Harvard, based on the paper version of a ‘facebook’ and the rest as they say is history.

It’s understandable to have reservations about any change but neglecting to explore digital solutions can prove costly for your business. The pandemic proved that. Those who had digital processes already in place were able to seamlessly continue to operate and those who didn’t had to pivot furiously to catch up.

Join the Progress

We want to provide our clients with the ability to connect with their tutors and learners effortlessly. The automation of repetitive tasks will free up time to focus on other aspect of the business. Having data at your fingertips when your accreditation or audit deadlines come around will transform how you deliver your programs. 

We may not be at 2.5 billion monthly users just yet but we are growing. Data driven training management is the future and we are here ready to get started when you are.