C4DI is the people in our community.
It’s not the brick walls, or even the gold-cladding; it’s our members - the people who continuously collaborate, share ideas and drive innovation.
We all knew this before the pandemic, but it has become even more apparent over the past few weeks as we’ve seen our members grapple with new challenges, offer support to each other and continue to remain positive in spite of it all.
We caught up with a few of our members to share their stories.
Before it was made compulsory by the government, the owners of C4DI-based App and IoT Development Agency Sauce made the decision to close their offices with immediate effect.
Sauce owners, seated, from left, Jim Wardlaw, John Polling, Matt Weldon and Matt Gibson with team members in Hull’s Fruit Market urban village where the fast-growing smart tech business has its home. Photography: Neil Holmes Photography
“All 27 members of our staff, who work across different teams and job roles have been able to quickly switch to remote working with no impact to our business,” Matt Weldon, Director of Sauce, tells us.
“We are in a privileged position of being able to do this, so in the interests of keeping our team and everyone we come into contact with safe, we felt this was the best course of action.”
The Sauce team has been using Google Hangouts, Slack and good old fashioned telephone calls to keep in contact about work and also to check in with each other.
Resident Sauce Mum and Mental Health First Aider Mel Brooker has been sending regular updates to the team via Slack, challenging them to provide a ‘This week has been’ paragraph as a light-hearted way to share their thoughts on the current situation.
“We are all human and we are all here to support each other,” Mel says.
“This challenge has really opened up some great conversations with the team, and we learnt a lot more than we thought possible.”
Meanwhile, Lead Developer Matt Henley has been keeping himself and the rest of the team amused with his thought-provoking poetry:
Shopify Plus Agency Strawberry, who usually reside on C4DI’s third floor, has also taken a similar approach to home working.
“Before the government announcement, we briefed our team and prepared them for the possibility of working remotely” Peter Gamble, Client Services Director of Strawberry, explains.
“We’re a digital agency, so already used to using video conferencing software, but we’ve decided to choose Zoom as our main solution to communicate with each other, as well as our clients. It’s a one-touch link on your mobile phone, so really easy to set up.”
Peter tells us that keeping clients in the loop with how Strawberry is working through the crisis is a huge priority. They have also asked clients to give feedback where possible so that they can continuously improve.
Meanwhile, they are also making efforts to ensure their team stays connected and sociable:
“We have scheduled video meetings that include the whole business, and we are also organising virtual drinks at 4pm on Fridays. On Slack, people are talking, playing games and catching up as they would usually during lunch breaks. We’ve also been sharing some online fitness tips and tricks,” Peter adds.
The co-workers have also been using C4DI’s Slack channels to keep in contact, sharing photos of their work-from-home setups and tips on working remotely.
Co-worker Graham Jackson’s work from home setup.
Mark Bucknell, Built With Code.
Vicky Parkinson, C4DI’s resident accountant, has been working tirelessly getting updates out on her social media channels, and putting together guides on the UK Government’s packages for businesses.
In the meantime, Courtney Farrow, Director of Bloom Creative, has set up an online space for the #freelancehull community to connect. Originally established in autumn 2019, the community has grown and now has its own Discord server with a daily voice call between members at 11am.
Mel Brooker adds one final comment, which we think is something that the whole C4DI community can agree on:
“We would like to give our thanks to Tina and Louise, who have kept C4DI going last week with regular and fun updates on Slack and via emails. Thank you for everything you two do and we cannot wait to be back!”
Events Manager Tina Swann and Community Manager Louise Cooke, alongside David Summerbell and Edwin Turay, our Barclays Eagle Labs Managers, have been sharing updates with members, trying to support them as best as possible during these difficult times. There is also now a page on the C4DI website where members can access key information and support during the Covid-19 Crisis which includes online events, member->member support and other relevant news.
If you do need to access help and support, please get in touch with our Community Manager Louise Cooke lc@c4di.net.