Staying safe and keeping positive – how the coronavirus has affected our clients and staff

The last 14 days have seen seismic changes in the healthcare sector that will have profound ramifications in the weeks and months to come. With the spread of the coronavirus set to dominate the news cycle for the foreseeable future, our Content Writer Andrew Hair sat down with Associate Director Trevor Pill to get his expert insight.    

How has the coronavirus affected you and your team personally?  

Working at home has been different, that’s for sure. Getting work done with two little boys pretending to be pirates in the background isn’t always easy.   

Several members of team Onyx Health have added childcare responsibilities since the schools closed at the end of last week. Juggling their work life balance often involves having to entertain a small child in between doing their day job.  

Staff wellbeing has always been paramount to Onyx Health, so we’ve offered flexible working to those who need it, so they can manage being mums and dads as well as communication professionals.  

We also have people with family and friends in different parts of Europe ,it’s never easy being apart from your loved ones, but the coronavirus has made things particularly difficult. I’ve made sure to take time out for anyone who wants to talk and get things off their chest. In these uncertain times, family comes first.   

How have you kept the wheels of business turning since the crisis broke? 

It’s very much business as usual here at Onyx Health. Our team have adjusted remarkably well to the change in their working pattern. We’ve all been working from home since last week and the joys of video conference calls have taken over our lives. We’ve made sure we have digital solutions in place for business continuity. 

Our team meetings and client calls are now held using the magic of Microsoft Teams, and we have a digital project board set up so that client work stays on track and we continue to hit deadlines.  

How have you been using digital technology to keep things going?  

We’ve got digital led solutions in place to limit the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The reality of the digital age is that our clients can continue to reach their target customers using social media content, email campaigns as well as online conferences and webinars.  

We’ll be giving all our clients a digital health check to make sure they continue to reach the right audiences. In particular we are focusing on using digital platforms as an alternative to event attendance to make the most of audience engagement and interactivity.  

What’s kept you and your team going through the transition?  

It’s been big things and little things. Office banter on WhatsApp has really boosted morale during the transition; sharing jokes and funny gifs always puts a smile on people’s faces. We’ve always had a fun office culture at Onyx Health, and we’ve made sure to keep that going using all our social channels.  

Having more regular team meetings using video conference has also been important; fostering a sense of team spirit and making sure we continue to have shared goals for clients and the business has been crucial to maintaining our focus during the lockdown.  

I think the key message for us as a business and for everyone in general is that we will get through this together. Working in healthcare perhaps gives us a little more understanding of the situation and the huge challenges that the NHS is facing. If we all do our bit, then the situation can improve quickly.  

So, let’s stay positive, enjoy the extra time you have with loved ones and take advantage of all the brilliant apps and online tools that will help you to maintain physical and mental wellbeing.