March 2021 Seminar: Working during the Covid-19 pandemic: sharing insights and experiences

Summary

This meeting consisted of eight speakers talking for ten minutes each about different aspects of their experience of working during this time, followed by the usual syndicate sessions, where experiences were shared in more detail, so that we can manage better as we move forward into a still uncertain future.

Speakers

The eight speakers talked to the following programme, brief comments are noted below each title :

2.35 Paul Corney – President of CILIP

Thoughts around virtual watercoolers and orchestrated serendipity in a virtual environment.

Paul said that daily routines mattered. Start your day with the most difficult task which needs your focus. Develop ‘peripheral virtual vision’, insisting on an “all in it together” policy. Make time for meaningful connections. Make “watercooler time” with your favourite people at work – ‘learn about learning’. Ensure that every meeting has an agenda and stick to it.

2.45 Dion Lindsay – KM Consultant and Trainer.

Thoughts on recruiting during the pandemic.

Dion is an assessor for police recruitment in England and Wales. Covid-19 has transformed the police recruitment process because it had to be done quicker via online services and the web. He designs workshops and consults and trains organisations on KM digital products. The changes he has experienced have been unexpected but very challenging and enjoyable.

2.55 Perrine Guy Duche – Knowledge Manager at CRU International.

Perrine has been working on the ‘eHub Project’ – a collaborative attempt to integrate the intranet with the digital workplace. The central focus is on embedding knowledge sharing in the workflow of company employees.

3.05 Yasmin Dubash – Knowledge Manager at CBRE UK a Global Real Estate Corporation.

Yasmin started her new job at CBRE UK on March 2nd 2020 and on March 23rd 2020 the UK went into lockdown ! Employees started to take their pc’s home to continue working one week before the official government announcement of the lockdown. So through small conversations – 15 minutes to 30 minutes long – she built up relationships with her co-workers. Through being self-motivated and tenacious she has managed to roll out a knowledge sharing platform for the UK.

3.15 Sophie Sheinwald – Visual Storyteller and Photographer.

Thoughts on photographing key workers and the ‘vision project’.

Sophie began photographing NHS workers during the pandemic and it went viral on facebook.

So then 100 other photographers joined in from Northern Ireland, Wales, the North of England and Aberdeen. Each worker was photographed indoors and outdoors. Health workers were also photographed ‘behind the mask’ and in normal times. Also, their views were solicited.

3.30 Breakout groups and Tea break.

4.00 Conrad Taylor – Visual Communicator, publisher, knowledge and information manager, innovator.

Thoughts on a room with a working view.

Conrad told us about the breadth and depth of his involvement with knowledge and information management as well as illustration, graphic design and media production work going back to the 1980’s. For him 2020 was a good year to have a lockdown ! In essence the internet has transformed absolutely everything and he can handle all his digital requirements for his array of projects from ‘one room’.

4.10 Melanie Harris – Head Librarian at DWP

Personally it has been a tough time for Melanie as she has had to cope with the breavement of her partner as well as the pandemic but she has managed to change departments and to find that the DWP is investing in the library as an invaluable resource. She is currently doing a vital thing : finding out about other people’s work in her new department.

4.20 Ed Jewell – Head Librarian of Jersey Library.

The Library in Jersey is open. Social distancing – with masks – is still in force. Getting out of lockdown has been a real challenge. Now, they must manage public expectations. These are high. It is tiring for staff (chocolate is a welcome necessity)! Social and business trends have been accelerated by 10 years. Digital inclusion is right up the agenda. It is a sobering, but not a surprising thought, that during lockdown that sterling feature of public libraries – the home library service was the only point of face-to-face contact for some islanders.