April 2020

Following the move to home working in early March, we realised that we needed to adapt to ensure not only our business operations continued efficiently, but that our team’s mental and physical health was well looked after.

Over the last six weeks, I have been so impressed at how our team has taken each day in their stride, constantly looking for new ways to innovate and adapting quickly to the sudden changes brought on by Covid-19.

#TeamPelican are a very close-knit team so it didn’t take long to find alternative ways to communicate and have a bit of fun at the same time. From team huddles to planning meetings, we entered the world of Microsoft Teams which provided us with an opportunity to see the faces of our friends and colleagues on a daily basis.

When lockdown began in early March, we realised that we needed to innovate and look at new ways to communicate with our team – introducing out weekly vlogs. These vlogs are an opportunity for our various team member networks to update our people and provide some top hints and tips on looking after yourself while at home. Throughout April, we enjoyed updates from our Working Parent’s Network, Health and Wellbeing Committee, Sustainability Working Group and Mental Health First Aiders. We also shared with a special guest vlog from Mark Gutteridge, Managing Director of auto energy switching service Flipper, who shared his top advice for keeping our energy bills down whilst working from home.

 

Apart from looking after our team, we also knew that our customers may be needing more support than usual and we worked closely with our parent companies, Wessex Water and Bristol Water, to ensure our team were available as usual during operating hours and that our customers were aware of the support available to them. Throughout April, we were incredibly proud to support both Wessex Water and Bristol Water with a brand-new rebate offered to frontline NHS staff.

Due to the infectious nature of Covid-19, our #NHSHeroes are having to use more water to wash their uniforms on a very regular basis, which is why Wessex Water and Bristol Water offered a £50 rebate to all NHS frontline staff to cover the additional water use. Our amazing team across Pelican have been working hard to process thousands of these applications which we hope will make life just slightly easier for the amazing people on the frontline of this virus.

Although the next few weeks and months are still uncertain, one thing I am not uncertain of is the dedication that our team have to care for our customers and each other. I’ll leave you this month with one of our favourite quotes of the moment – “We may be apart, but we have never been so together”.