Being ready to innovate during a crisis

Crises often generate a lot of energy, that if used constructively, can be a great source of innovation.

From a business perspective, innovations during this period will not only help get us out of the current situation but also help shape long-term sustainability for your business and partners.

For example, during the last recession some of the world’s biggest companies were founded, including Whatsapp and Uber.

How Connectr have innovated

The response from our team has produced some inspiring innovations such as:

• Virtual assessment centres
• Digital insight events
• Virtual work experience
• Connectr for furlough – Certainly, businesses who provide support with working remotely, mental health support, and help with mentoring and development challenges of remote employees will profit & come out stronger.

Running a virtual insight event

A large part of what we offer at Connectr involves face to face events with students, parents and career leaders. Recently, we were set to run apprentice insight evenings in partnership with BDO. Due to the unprecedented situation, we quickly pivoted this to a webinar. Therefore, BDO employees were still able to connect directly with young people.

As a result, participants were able to learn more about BDO as a company & its various specialisms. Along with this, they learnt about routes into apprentice roles, top tips, and they had the opportunity for a Q&A with BDO employees. By utilising technology and not being afraid to innovate & suggest a new solution, we facilitated a meaningful encounter between BDO and prospective apprentices.

Delivering virtual work experience

For TCS, we’ve been able to create virtual work experience, so no-one misses out. The digital solution is comprised of a variety of learning styles and formats. Students have access to webinars, videos, live Q&As, e-learning modules, and teamwork tasks, which are all hosted on Connectr’s platform!

The success of this programme was that by delivering it digitally, they could reach more students than a face to face experience. Consequently, student numbers increased from 600 to 800+, and it was more accessible to students all across the UK.

Benefits of virtual work experience

• Young people will emerge from education into a workplace which looks and feels different from the current context. It’s important to allow young people to have prior experience of these digital and remote working experiences before entering the workplace.
• A huge plus is that it isn’t constrained by geography and physical space. The lack of geographical privilege means we level the playing field in terms of social mobility.
• A digital opportunity allows employees to engage with the experience in a more efficient and easy way. They can engage as a digital mentor or record a webinar, which is less time-consuming than most physical volunteering opportunities for employees.

The pandemic has forever changed the way firms will compete over the next decade.  Those companies that choose to capitalise on these underlying changes will succeed and those that don’t will suffer. It’s important to be one of those companies that comes out stronger.