I’m a relatively new Cube, having joined the team in October last year. Expecting small but perfectly formed, I found a team larger than I imagined, full of drive and ambition. Exciting stuff. I was getting to know the team, enjoying visiting Brighton and throwing myself into a new challenge.

And then – Covid-19.

As someone who has worked remotely/from home for a number of years now, you would think that this new work from home directive would make very little impact on my life. Yes, me too. I was wrong. Home schooling, making (what feels like) 17 meals a day and constantly worrying about family, friends, life in general does make it somewhat harder. I know I’m not alone in that. It’s a strange new world and one that everyone is adapting too.

Including Education Cubed. Following a swift decision to close the office and move everyone to home working, we were seamlessly up and running. Technology is a marvelous thing. Keeping communication with clients open and campaigns running smoothly was almost easy. So what’s really changed? What are Cubed doing that’s making a difference to the team and to our clients?

Daily meetings with the whole team are now the norm. We start every day with client and campaign updates. We share information on upcoming webinars that could be useful, what’s been in the news that may affect our clients and their marketing strategies, trends that we’ve noticed in campaign performance, feedback from successes in implementing new strategies. Importantly, each meeting starts with ‘How is everyone doing?’. There is genuine concern for people’s well-being. We share stories about home hair styling, about the unusual ways that we are keeping ourselves occupied and, occasionally, have a bit of a moan about it all.

We’ve had some fun too – Lockdown Taskmaster has given me insight into just how inventive my colleagues really are. And they clearly have much better video editing skills than me – the shot for shot remake of the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey that includes a clove of garlic is a sight to behold. Would I Lie to Cubes was a bit of an eye opener too….. And we have a natural quiz master in our midst.

If anything, client communication has increased. It’s been a challenging time all round with open days and UCAS fairs cancelled, so we’ve been working with clients to get them set up for virtual open days – advising on best practice, introducing them to new suppliers. Ensuring that they are offering the best opportunity for applicants to get the feel for the institution even from a distance.

We have also been flexing and shifting budgets, introducing new strategy, new channels and new creative messaging to meet the mindset and challenges faced by this cohort. Being flexible and adaptable has been our mantra, and through these last few months it’s been our bedrock.

It’s been hard work. But it hasn’t gone unnoticed. We’ve had lots messages from clients, grateful for our support, our advice, our honesty and our ability to work at pace to get things done. I’m in awe of the passion my colleagues have, of their ability to pull it out of the bag when it counts, and do it with a smile.

Things may not be ‘normal’ for a long time, but Cubed have made this situation – for colleagues and clients – that bit more bearable.