How Intersoft adapted to the first lockdown

When the government encouraged people to work from home at the start of lockdown in March 2020 – we knew the need for a better collaborative and agile working space at Intersoft was a high priority and 7 months later, little did we know that these spaces would prove vital as we adapted to the so-called ‘new normal’.

Our aim was to create an agile meeting space, offering increased flexibility and the ability to bring people together. Alongside this, we wanted a large multifunctioning break-out room to comfortably fit our internal Look What We’ve Done Lunches (LWWD) and of course our Managing Director’s favourite, a pool table.

So what did we do?

We completely gutted our old kitchen and transformed it into a new ‘Huddlebox’ collaborative meeting room with video and audio setup which has enabled employees to run virtual meeting rooms with their teams from either the office or when working remotely. This has provided greater flexibility for our employees and broader well-being, allowing them to choose where and how they work most effectively.

“This is a direct benefit to the Company’s journey to becoming a DevOps workplace, developing an agile relationship between software development and IT operations.” – Ellie Chapman, Head of HR

All the offices don’t just have the leafy woodland of Virginia Water as their views, but they now also have soft finishes of a 2-seater sofa in the bold Intersoft yellow which completes the rooms nicely. Next to each of the workspaces, we now have interactive whiteboards which are also on-brand and cheering the Intersoft colours on and will prove vital in collaborative team workshops and customer meetings.

And finally, we also had the opportunity to extend our offices to create a wonderfully open-space kitchen and breakout area which includes a 70” smart TV, two booth sofas, a dining table with bar stools and of course, our popular pool table which has already proven to be a hit by some of our competitive teams.

Has it been a success?

In an internal employee survey in 2020, 97% of our employees say they have the necessary resources to complete their job effectively whilst working from home, which is testament to how we have been able to adapt quickly and it hasn’t stopped us from doing a good job. Intersoft shipment volumes report a 186% rise from April to August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

“New ways of working will bring about new challenges, and important changes.” – Ellie Chapman, Head of HR

Intersoft has grown and adapted to accommodate the ‘new normal’ since the pandemic started. We have been able to react quickly, offering a socially distanced workspace, and simultaneously updating our own policies and procedures to create a flexible and dynamic workplace for the long term.

We’d like to thank CBS Office Interiors for making our visions come to life, working together was a pleasure and we look forward to hopefully working with you again in the future.