Our industry is all about change. At TRAINOR, we pride ourselves on our ability to adapt to quickly changing trends and remain at the forefront of our competition. We’re nearly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and adaptation for us, also means implementing new policies within our workplace. TRAINOR is a family, and our highest priority is to maintain a stress-free work environment for both us and our clients.

How TRAINOR Work Life Has Changed

WFH

Over the past year, ‘Work From Home’ policies have become popular across all verticals. When the pandemic hit, TRAINOR had the tools and experience to act fast and adapt to this new normal. We implemented an immediate WFH policy, which had never been in place before in the company’s history. Our TRAINOR family adjusted quickly to the new policy. We knew our day-to-day routines would look a bit different, but the pace at which we work wasn’t affected – if anything, it is faster than ever.

Our internal communication platform, Slack, has been an invaluable tool to indicate our “status” throughout the day. With the click of a button and choice of an emoji, we’re able to alert our entire team where we’re working, if we’re in a meeting, on a call, or on lunch break. If you log on and see the little “house” emoji, we quickly know our coworker will be WFH that day. Thankfully, with internal safety protocols in place, it’s no longer mandatory that everyone works from home. We’re now able to safely work in our charming TRAINOR offices.

Meetings

TRAINOR is collaborative. We thrive on working and crafting artful strategies together. Since COVID-19, we’ve had to shift how we collaborate with one another. We once used our conference room multiple times a day. Now, we rarely utilize our conference table – unless we’re bonding over food. However, not being able to be physically face-to-face with each other or our clients has not slowed us down when it comes to collaboration.

Like many, Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet have become our virtual conference rooms. This technology has helped us accomplish more at an even faster rate. Unforeseen benefits? If we’re hit with a snow storm and can’t commute to the office, there will be no delay in our work, since we can effortlessly login from home.

Travel

At TRAINOR, we love to travel! Pre-pandemic, we were traveling each month to visit our clients. We’ve touched down in Vermont, California, Las Vegas, Texas, and more! It’s always a privilege to visit our clients on their home turf, however, it can be rather time consuming – for both us and our clients. With the new normal, we’re able to easily connect with our clients via virtual platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. Less traveling time means more time to spend on strategic planning with clients, and they’ve adjusted to the video chat lifestyle too! Previously, clients were accustomed to face-to-face meetings (like us), but now in many industries where technology did not always come easily, it has become second nature. It’s also been a help when something urgent pops up – we can handle it right away with a Zoom meeting.

Home Life

TRAINOR does have a flexible ‘Work From Home’ policy now, which means that our homes often double as our offices. Some employees prefer WFH, while others like to travel to the office. The flexibility of WFH is convenient for our team, since some live near or in the Adirondack Mountains, which can mean inclement weather and a long commute! Having the option to WFH, allows our TRAINOR team to spend more time with their loved ones. Many of us have partners, children, and pets very dear to us – so, commuting and long days can sometimes limit our time spent with them. Though sometimes working from home can be distracting; especially, when you have an attention seeking 90-pound Black Lab trying to sit on your lap while you are in the middle of a client meeting! We’ve had to adjust our homes to be work ready, which means creating mini-office areas, making sure our Internet connection is performing at top capacity, lessening distractions from pets, and making sure we have a professional “top-half” outfit ready to go for virtual meetings (where business pants are now optional and pajama bottoms are preferred!).

Drink Time

Believe it or not, even though our team spends 40+ hours a week together, we still enjoy socializing with each other outside of work! With the new normal things are a bit different. Prior to COVID-19 the TRAINOR team would frequent trivia nights, grab dinner at local restaurants, and hit up happy hour on Friday nights.

Now, when we want to hang out with our work friends, we grab a beer out of our own refrigerators and launch a Zoom meeting (after work hours of course). Everyone at TRAINOR works hard, and we love to play hard too! Before COVID-19, we planned big holiday parties and social gatherings after work and until we can again, we’re finding small ways to bond with one another. The pandemic can’t stop us from finding a way to incorporate some fun into our schedules.

TRAINOR is Forever Evolving

The digital environment is constantly evolving. Before the pandemic, TRAINOR was prepared to make changes constantly because Digital Marketing is our business. When others zig, we zag. An ever-changing environment is our nature. Since COVID-19, our work pace has increased to be faster than ever. This new normal has pushed us and allowed our team to evolve beyond our previous capabilities. TRAINOR can help navigate your brand through this explosive environment with ease and confidence.