The word unprecedented has become something of a cliché this year, but it sure is accurate. In the last week of February, the SG team spent a brilliant day together, the day making plans for the company’s 40th birthday celebrations and business development. Less than a month later, the team had dispersed from SG HQ to work from home as the pandemic rolled over the UK and all our plans changed.
As for businesses up and down the country – and around the world – the second quarter of the year was a scary and uncertain time for us. Even though the construction sector held its own and managed to continue operations more smoothly than other industries, disruptions to supply chains, the need for social distancing and additional safety measures on site, plus the sudden uncertainty of demand for new office blocks, student accommodation and retail parks threw a huge question mark over the sector’s future. And ours.
But despite the uncertainty we rallied, threw our usual optimism, dedication, creativity and spirit behind the problem and found a way through. We hosted 40th birthday celebrations online, launched a range of free PR & Marketing resources to support other businesses and ran a blog series to promote wellbeing and productivity in this new age of remote working. We started producing monthly Industry Insights pieces on the blog, providing an overview of trends and challenges in the construction sector and we’ve been thrilled with the positive response it’s received!
We also raised money for charity and launched our 40 Good Deeds campaign, which will continue into the new year. Taking our people-first ethos out into our local community and doing what we could to support others, so far, the team has collectively carried out 28 of our planned 40 Good Deeds – doing everything from mentoring young people to donating blood.
We’ve also proven our agility with clients, helping them find their own new ways of working and maintain their brand presence as they weather this storm. We’ve built websites and run social media campaigns, developed online CPDs and produced COVID-safe guidance documents, as well as continuing to provide comprehensive consultancy services and delivering our usual array of PR & marketing work. And despite the challenges, we’ve continued to grow as a business, bringing on new clients and retaining old ones.
It has been a year of ups and downs, but we’ve made it through and we’re looking forward to continuing, stronger than ever, in 2021.
We’d like to take the opportunity to say thank you to our incredible team for pulling together once again to make a difficult year a success, and to our clients for their continued loyalty. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best for the new year. May we all continue to survive and thrive.