Suffolk freight forwarder is stronger than ever as staff return to office

Suffolk freight forwarder is stronger than ever as staff return to office

The old adage is that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. But for a Suffolk-based freight forwarder, absence has made the team grow stronger.

Split shifts, virtual team meetings and working from home had become the new normal for the team at Morrison Freight – as it had for many other businesses in the UK. As key workers and a major cog in the logistical operations of businesses of all descriptions in the UK and further afield, the team were able to operate all the way through lockdown.

But even though it remained ‘business as usual’, it was still a very strange time. The safety of their staff remained at the top of their priority list, while maintaining the best service possible for clients and customers. To do this, team was split in half. Half worked from home while the rest worked in the office – the reduced capacity allowing them all to adhere to social distancing measures at all times.

This time was challenging on both the business and the staff’s mental health.

They had twice weekly zoom meetings while off and managed to cover all their customers needs and the team kept in constant contact with each other to make sure they were all in the loop and prevent anyone feeling too isolated. But it can be very lonely working from home when you are used to the buzz of the workplace and the support of your colleagues at all time – and eight weeks was a long time to be separated.

Back stronger

The team returned to the office in full on June 2. Now that they are back, morale is through the roof and the team is stronger than ever.  The office is big enough so that all the desks have been moved and everyone is at least two metres apart. They have provided face masks for anyone who wishes to wear one and have industrial sanitiser which people must use on the way in and out of the building.

On top of this, every member of staff has been given their own personal sanitiser and their temperature is taken and recorded daily. They’ve had several Zoom meetings with suppliers and customers since staff have been back as this is now the new normal.

A business milestone

This year is Morrison Freight’s 30th year in business – and the fifth year of directors Lee Steward and Darren Ryan running the ship. They expected it to be a year full of celebrations.

But while it hasn’t turned out quite as they expected, in many ways the celebration comes in the fact that their team is tighter knit than it ever was.

All articles on this news site are submitted by registered contributors of SuffolkWire. Find out how to subscribe and submit your stories here »