How Digital Agencies Can Combat This COVID-19 Crisis?

With office infrastructure hosting several people that work in close proximity, it’s liable to become a hotbed of the Covid19 spread. Consequently, many agencies have implemented work from home policy in light of the social distance advisories issued by governments in affected countries.

As many people are exposed to work from home challenges for the first time in their professional lives, steady and smooth communication is needed to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings. As a result, virtual engagement has become a part of operational strategy that is being promoted with the help of telecommunication devices. From kick-off meetings on Skype to round-up calls on Hangout, and Slack conversations for the water-cooler chitchat, regular communication also keeps employees from being lonely. The operational strategy also needs revamping at regular intervals, to track mails and accountability issues. For instance, digital agencies like Horizon Next had a prep-test for work from home to assess the success rate before going ahead with it.

Effective communication then makes things clear and is not about micromanaging but ensuring that productivity is not compromised.

Communication tips to follow –

• Set goals and tasks before you start working.
• Be concise and clear whenever communicating.
• Collaborate with the team on projects using tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom.

Digital consumption is not an unknown concept, but with the Covid19 outbreak, it has become a blessing and a curse, taking the form of an infodemic. While digital platforms are the chief medium to spread coronavirus news, misinformation is also rife on these platforms.

Economically, the media industry has been one of the few industries that are on the rise with the growth in digital consumption. To fulfill this growing demand, it’s not just the respective industries and related platforms that now shoulder the burden to ensure that only valid content gets published, but everyone who utilizes them. For instance, tech giants like Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit, have banded together to elevate authoritative content from valid sources.

Similarly, as responsible netizens, we need to create and circulate content that is fact-checked and backed by valid sources.

Content tips to follow –

• Verify every content you create or come across.
• Raise awareness on the platforms where you post your content.
• Report content that comes from unverified sources.

To survive and tell the tale of a near-global extinction, caution with consistency is necessary even when working from home to fight the coronavirus infection. While doctors and respective professionals are doing their jobs, the others need to do the same.

As work is worship, our workplace becomes an altar and should be treated with the same reverence. This calls for being as consistent at home as you are at work with the added perk of lounging in your pajamas.

To treat it like a real job, Kristen Shockley, the associate professor of psychology at Georgia University, advocates for psychological segues like 20-minute morning coffee and after-work exercise to put you in the right mindset.

Tips to be Consistent –

• Set daily work goals before you start working.
• Set up an efficient workplace.
• Isolate yourself from distractions posed by people or social media.

There are endless inspiring quotes that go along the lines of never giving up. With people, businesses, and the economy suffering from the consequences of this pandemic, it’s better to prepare ahead.

Instead of waiting for opportunities to fall into your lap, a smart and hardworking business believes in creating them. Controlling circumstances may not be in our hands but adapting to them surely is. We can also take lessons from Chinese businesses that used the resources at hand to deal with the economic meltdown due to Coronavirus and recovered their losses pretty quickly.

So, for all the creative agencies out there, be on the lookout during the lockdown for new opportunities and investments that will keep you going even after the Corona crisis.

Tips to be creative during adversity –

• Be on the lookout for new trends amongst your target audience.
• Adapt to changes.
• Be innovative with your resources.

Until the agency life like we used to know resumes, the battle against Corona continues. Doing our part as a digital agency involves staying safe and working hard at home to beat Coronavirus. It’s only by standing united we can ensure that things don’t go worse. Keeping our integrity and humanity intact, we can survive the scary scenario and brave the waters that now surround us.