Newcastle digital marketing agencies offer remote working advice amid pandemic

Neil Robbins, CEO of global affiliate marketing agency Silverbean and eCommerce digital marketing specialists AGY47 has spoken out to provide SMEs with staff wellbeing advice for remote working during the coronavirus pandemic.

His comment, posted on both the Silverbean and AGY47 websites, states that a key aspect of looking after the wellbeing of staff working from home is to invest in the right software. This allows teams, or entire companies, to come together remotely and seamlessly.

Companies should particularly encourage connection through video calls, says Neil. Seeing a friendly face can allow a social feel to the call, which is important to staff and allows the firm a better opportunity to replicate the energy and vibe that meetings in the office can have.

Neil’s comment also states that senior managers must be mindful of the emotional needs of their direct reports, which is a key element of any remote working strategy. For example, Silverbean and AGY47 already provided employees and their families with private medical provision and an employee assistance programme; giving them access to the personal support they may need. However, company leaders have taken further steps to ensure staff wellbeing.

Neil said: “It’s the ‘people’ piece that is so important right now, which business leaders must understand. At Silverbean and AGY47, we put a lot of effort into helping our people understand their personality preferences as part of our Agency Development Programmes. This means my senior team knows where their introverts and extroverts are and can build the support needed to suit everyone in the challenging environment we find ourselves in now.

“Our senior team lead by example; they care deeply about their teams and keep in touch with individuals and the wider team regularly, while still feeding information to me so I can make decisions as circumstance dictates in real-time. It’s this human touch that is so important.

“It’s also vital that leaders trust that their people will get on with their work – for any business where staff working from home is completely new, please trust them. Doing so will avoid turning a good culture into a toxic one.

“People need to feel connected, safe and looked after. My advice for leaders is to reassure their people, be transparent on developments that are affecting the business, be upfront about the challenges ahead and give people easier access to you by sharing your personal mobile number so they can call you at any time.”

The agencies are also proactively helping their clients prepare for the global trading environment once the pandemic has passed. Having been in touch with every client to ask how best the firms can help, both agency brands are preparing clients’ digital marketing channels to enable them to move quickly into recovery.