Navigating our way through the uncertainties of a UK lockdown, we were very fortunate that we were able to keep our staff safe and Wildflower Turf Ltd continued operating with many of our team working from their homes. Unlike many other businesses of a similar size, we were also able to keep everyone fully employed and so did not need to furlough anyone during the lockdown period.
We were also blessed with favourable weather during the crucial spring period and our fantastic team rose to the many challenges, both logistical and other, that they were faced with. Any uncertainty we had with regard to orders coming to a standstill soon proved unfounded and our production team were kept busy throughout. Fortunately, the nature of our business has meant that our team “on the ground” were able to continue to work fulfilling order requirements while adhering to social distancing requirements. We appreciate that many businesses have not had this same advantage.
Since the first lockdown ended we have worked hard to ensure that our working environment is safe and compliant with regulations and our office-based team are now combining home-working with a degree of office-working also. And we are very grateful for the support of our customers who have continued to trust us with the fulfilment of their requirements. While our business has not been unaffected, we consider ourselves to be very fortunate.
If you are a regular reader of our blog, you will have already caught up with some of our updates and musings during this strange time. We’ve compiled a brief snapshot for you below of the personal perspectives of some of our team during the upheaval of the spring and summer months. If you’d like to read the full blog articles, Part 1 can be found here, and click here to view the second instalment.
Mike Leflay, Farm Manager
“With many companies being forced to close or reduce their operations, all the things we take for granted started to become difficult, spare parts for machinery, raw materials, getting technicians onto site to perform maintenance and repairs all took a lot more planning and thought than we had expected.”
Becs Newman, Office & Marketing Manager
“I set up in the lounge on my swiss ball in front of the coffee table and there I stayed for 8 weeks. The first 6 weeks I didn’t leave the confines of the village I live in except for a daily walk or bike ride or roller skate (a new hobby I took up with my daughter) with my husband doing all the trips out to do the essential food shopping.”
Nigel Smith, Turf Lifting Supervisor
“It has been very strange times, not being able to see any family, struggling to get shopping, all things you take for granted. The upside; coming to work with only about two more cars on the road reminds me of my youth.”
Claire Hewetson-Brown, Financial Director
“Covid-19 has made me appreciate even more than I did, where we live in the countryside. After a long day, I can take the dogs out for a walk around the fields, admire the wildflowers, wildlife and de-stress.”
Helen Gillespie-Brown, Business Development Manager
“We did have a full calendar of face-to-face events and a roadshow planned this year as well as trade shows and other training sessions, which are not all happening now which is disappointing, but we quickly switched our training strategy and have been delivering a series of online webinars free-of-charge to both existing and new customers, which has been incredibly well-received.”
Paula Carpenter, Accounts Assistant
I hold onto two of my favourite quotes:
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” – Martin Luther King
