We are well into the first quarter of 2021 and we are breaching the milestone of March 17, 2021. One year ago, on that day, we at ADKF began working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I don’t believe any of us really expected when we left the office that day that it would be the last time we would see each other or our offices in person for months. I left my numerous plants and a coffee mug on my desk, and perhaps leftovers in the fridge. Yet, here we are one year later, reflecting on how we’ve grown and where we are now.
Fortunately, ADKF was prepared for this unexpected pandemic in many ways. We had begun implementing a paperless office years before and had also been working from the cloud. The most important aspect we had recently embraced was Microsoft Teams. This software has single-handedly enabled us to work in a connected and seamless way from our home offices, or anywhere we found ourselves needing to work. We can have meetings one-on-one, in groups, and with clients. Tax Senior, Kelsie Tabbert, CPA echoed this sentiment, “I think in the beginning I was very worried about how everyone would do working remotely because we were so used to being able to run down the hall and ask each other questions but with the use of Microsoft Teams and VOIP, everything has been so easy! We can still communicate as if we are in the same room and can still bounce ideas off each other. Being away from everyone is hard but the employee engagement events help bring everyone together so we can still bond and create good workplace relationships with our coworkers. Even our Monday morning tax meetings didn’t skip a beat. We even have monthly virtual happy hours to keep us all connected and keep our spirits up. We have learned to stay connected while keeping our distance.”
What I have learned from this challenging time is that ADKF is a family. During the pandemic, no employees have been furloughed or laid off. In fact, our staff has grown by more than 10%! We continue to recruit for new staff and new interns because our business is growing. The partners have strived to take care of everyone and keep us all safe by taking safety precautions throughout our office spaces for those who need to return to the office. Had someone asked us three years ago if we could all successfully work remotely, I’m not sure anyone would have felt it fully possible because necessity did not make it so. However, the adage, “necessity is the mother of invention” rings quite true during this time. ADKF pivoted perfectly and had the confidence and trust in their staff to know we would work together and continue to put our clients first. I think we’ve learned this way of doing business can be just as successful and we can still maintain our level of service and excellence.
In the end, staying connected to family is most important. ADKF is a family, even when we’re apart.