a picture of people posing for the cameraThe questions surrounding how Britain returns to “normal” work are complex, but our Managing Consultant in Yeovil Josh has been mulling over how his job – client relations, business development, networking – will be affected by the ongoing restrictions to movement, person proximity and hand shaking!

“It is no secret that I love getting out and about and meeting people, I am sure many people reading this will at some point have had me pop my head into their workplace and some of you may even know how I like my coffee (white, 1 sugar for those of you that don’t)!

I cant even begin to imagine how many hands I have shaken in the 2 years I have been with One Step Recruitment. Throughout my career right the way back to when I was a 16 year old kid working in Woolworths at the weekend. I have maintained a very personal approach to sales and business development. I like to know my clients and believe that good business comes from good relationships.

This job is far more than winning new clients, and it is more than recruitment: it is about being a voice,a listener, an ambassador, sometimes a shoulder, and on occasions a conflict resolver and bridge-builder. I have built an internal network and love introducing one client to another. Our clients know I am always available to them and do sometimes get called upon for some “out of the box” requests. One that sticks in my mind Is a client asking if I can help his daughter with her application to business school…I’m pleased to say she was offered an unconditional offer!

Here’s the thing though, when I am finally allowed out of my house (for more than an hour a day) will my job ever be the same? Will people want to shake hands again? Will people want me just dropping in? I wonder how many of us will stick to social distancing long after our government give us permission to go out again.

It scares me – I thrive off meeting new people. I attend hundreds of networking events every year all over the South West. I am, these days, a bit of a rare breed as I am not afraid to stand up in front of a crowd and talk about our business. I love our business and the way in which we are taking the South West by storm. We do things differently, we care, we listen and I can talk about it for hours.

Here’s what I think. I am going to be me, always. I am going to continue to represent this fantastic business. I will however be respectful and if I put my hand out and you pull away I will not be offended, I will understand. I still want to meet you all. I want to show you how we can help take your business to the next level. No business can grow without the right team. We have mastered that, our own team are by far the best I have ever worked with and I am honoured to be a part of it. We source some of the best candidates for some truly amazing companies and I will always want to share that with as many businesses as I can.

As I sit at my dining room table writing this, I feel sad that I can’t be with you all right now, and I hope you are safe, well and are coping. It’s a difficult time and we are all feeling the effects. But we are strong, we are resilient and we will bounce back. I hope you are finding positives in every day and I hope that when this is all over you come back with the same drive and determination I have to grow our local economy once more.

Stay safe, and I will see you all soon!