What Did We Learn From The Last Lockdown?

It’s been quite the week.  In fact – it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride – only we are not sure if it has finished or we are partway through!  (Hopefully, it is the last roller coaster ride of the year!).  

However,  it’s also been another week of learnings and reflection and here are some of our musings:

• Lockdowns at short notice are part of a “new normal”.  While ‘pivot’ was the word for 2020, ‘new normal’ is a frontrunner for the phrase of 2021.  This week has taught us that things can change quickly and we must always be prepared for a lockdown at short notice.

• We can (and for the most part have) adapted well.  While lockdown might not be everyone’s preference, we’ve done it before and if needed, we can do it again.  Most of our clients were happy to jump on zoom interviews and hardly any hiring processes were affected by the lockdown.

• Lockdown isn’t changing strong hiring intentions.  Employers continued to call this week needing help with filling vacancies.  Pipeline is incredibly strong and it is becoming extremely difficult to find talent.  Unless its hospitality or tourism, most sectors are strong and bullish in their hiring intentions.

• Effective and transparent communication is paramount.  Whether it’s the government or your organisation – a clear understanding of what’s happening and reasons why is vital.  Businesses struggle to plan when they don’t know timeframes – this is why the past two lockdowns in Auckland have been more workable from a business perspective – there’s been a clear understanding of timeframes which allows businesses to plan.

• This 3-day lockdown felt like a long long time.  It was nothing compared to the first lockdown, but the fact that it seemed to drag indicates that we are all fatigued (despite coming out of the holiday season).  So be aware that everyone is kind of wading through mud right now, lower expectations of yourself and spend a bit more time focused on your wellness regime.

Well done on getting through another lockdown.  We will have so much to tell the grandchildren!!