Why is Now the Best Time to Volunteer & Join Reach4Work?

Written by David Bennett

Disclaimer: this is a personal blog by a BuDS member. The views expressed are personal, and don’t necessarily represent those of BuDS or our Trustees.

The Covid pandemic triggered a truly remarkable effect upon the workplace. Before Covid, everybody was expected to attend an office and sit at a desk where they could be seen to be “working”. In some enlightened workplaces, the advent of remote communication technology allowed employees to work from home. This managerial concession had led to some workers being allowed to occasionally work from home when circumstances demanded it. Indeed, there were some that were allowed to work 100% from home but these were the exception rather than the rule. With the onset of the pandemic, it became imperative if work was to continue, then employees had to be enabled to work from home. Due to technological advances, this proved far easier than managers thought.

Working from home was immediately recognised as beneficial for the worker, as commuting time was reduced to zero and people gained valuable time back into their lives.

From the employer’s viewpoint, they were glad that some work was being enabled by technology. A large proportion thought that productivity would drop and there would be a loss of control.

Although we don't have final figures, the general feeling is that productivity actually rose! Employers found they were able to maintain control and achieve their targets. An unexpected bonus for many corporations is that they are now able to review their office requirements. In many cases, companies are finding that they can reduce their office space. This is an immediate cost saving that goes straight to the bottom line. 

One of the unexpected outcomes of this move to recognise virtual working is that it has opened up the workplace to a whole new set of workers.  This is a cohort who were unable to attend an office but have valuable and highly desirable workplace skills. Remote working has released this skill pool. Before Covid, business was reluctant to tap this pool due to their need to have workers in the office “where they could be seen”. 

New technology such as MS Teams and Zoom allow remote workers to work in virtual teams without ever having to leave their home. To some this opens up the whole workplace for them to deliver their expert skills. However, the difficulty for this group of workers is to demonstrate that they have experience in collaborative working in a virtual professional team using modern project management systems and techniques. 

BuDS Reach4Work project, (R4W), is a project designed and run to enable those with no experience of collaborative working in a virtual project team. The R4W project gives the opportunity to gain experience within a team working on live deliverables in a real-world environment, using Microsoft Office suite, WordPress and BeaverBuilder. Whilst working collaboratively in a virtual team delivering websites and apps to customers. Training will be provided to gain these skills alongside developing their CV and learning interview techniques to enable them to join the workforce on a level playing field.