Isn’t it interesting how life forces you to adapt?

Over the last several months, the  COVD-19 situation has spun off many examples of how we’ve been obliged to adapt. However, the one example that I’m specifically thinking of is adapting to ‘virtual meetings’ with clients using ZOOM.

Now, I’ve been aware of ZOOM for some time. I’ve occasionally participated in a ZOOM meeting (organised by someone else), and I have thought to myself, every now and again, ‘I really must find out more about this ZOOM thing…some day.’

Well, that day arrived with a thud in mid-March when, following Government direction, we went from having zero staff working remotely to having 90% of staff working remotely. That presented us with a challenge. A significant aspect of our value proposition to clients involves meeting with them on a regular basis to review their circumstances and preferences and to make any adjustments to their strategy as may be required. These sorts of meetings are best held in person. In the first week or so I tried to replicate these meetings via telephone calls. But of course, now you can’t see your client and you can’t share written reports or data with them.

Then I started watching YouTube videos about ZOOM, and they helped, a little. I only really started to make progress in my understanding of, and comfort with, ZOOM by just trying different things and asking work colleagues lots of ‘dumb’ questions.

So now only a few weeks later I’m feeling pretty proficient at using it. I can now readily organise meetings, adjust the security settings, share a screen, as well as recording the meeting. I particularly enjoy personalising my virtual background (my favourite is the standard beach back-drop.)

And clients love ZOOM! In fact, I look after some clients whom I think we might never see in our offices again. They can get all they need out of our meetings without ever leaving the comfort and safety of their home. Of course, as I mentioned above, sometimes you just need to sit across the table from someone, but going forward I really do think that ZOOM meetings are going to represent a significant part of our interaction with clients.

Please note this article provides general advice only and has not taken your personal, business or financial circumstances into consideration. If you would like more tailored advice, please contact us today.