Covid�19 Industry Survey
Have Your Say
www.EngageCXMarketing.com MAY 2020
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Introduction Coronavirus is a word that you have undoubtedly heard hundreds of times a day for the last two months at least - each time you turn on the radio, engage in conversation with anyone, or switch to any television channel, you will find facts, opinions and hypotheses flying around about the unprecedented pandemic that has turned 2020 on its head and swept its way around the globe, affecting anything and everything that gets in its way. As a leading source of news and media content to a global industry of CX marketing professionals, in April 2020 we decided to ask our community of 36,000 leaders how this pandemic was affecting them from both a business and individual perspective, as Covid-19 has changed the way that both organisations and humans will behave for the foreseeable future at the very least. In a ten-question survey that covers every angle associated with the changes brought about by Covid-19, key leaders in the CX marketing world gave up their valuable time to tell us how they feel, what they’re currently doing, what they wish they’d done differently and what they think the future holds. You’ll find the full list of answers comprehensively listed throughout the pages that follow, which hopefully make for an insightful and interesting read that will help you on your own Covid-19 journey. Key findings • Our leaders are finding it impossible to switch off mentally, with over 85% of respondents telling us that they constantly worry about work. • Teams are responding extremely well – over 80% of respondents say their team have responded positively to remote working. • We’re a proactive bunch – 75% of respondents told us that they have been proactive in their response to the challenges that Covid-19 has caused. • Working in marketing, having budgets frozen and being forced to act quickly to alter marketing strategies has proven most difficult. • Perhaps not surprisingly, 70% of respondents told us that their organisation has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. • This could change the way we work forever – over half of respondents told us that, post-pandemic, they will allow more flexibility in terms of remote working. As you can see, these results highlight that significant changes have been seen within the Engage CX Marketing community, and these changes will continue to disrupt the way that organisations and individuals operate going forward. So, if you’re ready to delve into the world of employee experience and how your peers are coping with the impact of Covid-19, then let’s get started…
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Q1
For you personally, what have you found most challenging about remote working all of the time? Respondents rated that working from home has caused issues in terms of finding a peaceful place to work, with internet problems also featuring heavily in the responses we received. We also allowed delegates to answer using an
“Too much solitude!”
‘other’ option, and 48% of respondents opted to tell us more in their own words. Common themes included missing the office environment and the
“Technology I have at home, and the company being
motivational benefits of being face-to-face with team members, having to
unable to provide equipment.”
balance work with home schooling, the technology benefits of being in the “The volume of meetings to replace corridor
office, too much solitude and the volume of meetings whilst working
discussion.”
remotely.
“The office colour photocopier with scanner!”
These answers demonstrate the issues caused by Covid-19 in disrupting the ‘norm’ of the office environment and how this has affected employees
“Home schooling as well as working!”
working in a structured environment, as we are forced to work in setups that we wouldn’t typically choose to be productive in if we had the choice. It’s clear that nothing beats the office environment of meeting face to face with colleagues, and having to home school children whilst balancing work will naturally have a detrimental effect on productivity. These answers also demonstrates the ‘noise’ surrounding working from home in terms of
14 %
unnecessary virtual meetings and emails, as well as issues caused by not having the technology and connection from home.
Int et
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19 %
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Keeping in touch with key team members
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y nc te n sis tio on ica gc n in mu os s l om ct f c je o ro ck y p o la Ke e t du
48 %
No my t bei spo ng a use ble /pa to a rtn vo er id
5 %
5 %
9 %
0 %
5
“I’m finding it hard not seeing colleagues and being able to share the energy and enthusiasm a motivated team brings.” “It’s hard having the kids at home and balancing that with work!”
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Q2
When leading a team that doesn’t typically work remotely every day, how have the team responded? Here we saw an overwhelmingly positive response with over 80% of respondents saying that their team have responded extremely well to the change. These results demonstrate the commitment of those in the industry to making remote working productive, and are also a testament to the leaders within our community who have engaged their teams to want to be productive regardless of their working environment.
Really well - they're working hard and are adapting 81% They never log on/they stop working early 0% They aren't as responsive 5%
They ask too many questions and don’t use their initiative as much from home 0%
They're being more proactive from home and using their initiative more
Other 0%
14%
4%
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Q3
Have you found it hard to switch off mentally when working from home? The results here concerningly show that over 85% of respondents are ďŹ nding it hard to switch off mentally when working from home. This highlights that an extremely high number of our Engage CX Marketing community are unable to switch off, demonstrating the impact of this pandemic on mental health, with both job security and business concerns causing individuals a high level of stress and an inability to stop thinking about work and their future.
86 %
14 %
Yes - I work way beyond my
No – I barely do my contracted hours,
contracted hours and spend a lot
Netix is way too good!
of time worrying about work
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Q4
How has your organisation responded to the current Covid-19 pandemic? Demonstrating the agile, innovative mindsets of those within our Engage CX Marketing community, the results here show that over 75% of organisations have been proactively responding to the impact of Covid-19 in trying to showcase new products and services to suit the needs of customers. These
“We have reduced staff costs and saved where we
figures demonstrate that when it really comes down to it, any organisation
can but it’s not been easy as our business relies on
can be agile in their response to a situation and adapt at the most crucial of
other businesses doing well from the marketing we
times.
provide.” Further to these findings, respondents noted that they have tried to save “Although trying to adapt, we’ve had to cut costs.”
costs where they can, but ultimately their success is dependent on the success of the businesses that they conduct marketing for.
5 % Other
9 % We are very popular during this time and can’t keep up with demand
10 % We’re sitting tight and are hoping things get ‘back to normal’ soon as we don’t want to invest precious budget into new ideas that may not work
76 % We’ve been proactive and tried to implement new products and initiatives to help us through these times
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“We’ve been proactive in our response but we have had to cut costs and freeze the marketing budget to compensate for a drop in demand.”
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Q5
What do you do currently to help separate work and spare time? Respondents claim that their usual methods to separate work and spare time include working in a different room, exercising, or going for their daily outing to separate work from relaxation. Each of these methods are helpful when disengaging from work and enjoying home surroundings with a sentiment of relaxation, and are critical in maintaining good mental health when both working and relaxing within the same environment. For those who are able to distinguish their working environment from their home life, this is important in maintaining a work-life balance and undoubtedly has a positive effect on mental health.
33 %
29 %
19 % 14 %
5 %
I go on my daily outing after work
I exercise
I work in a different room to the one that I relax in
I save my new-found favourite boxset for the evening
Other
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Q6
Working in marketing, what are you ďŹ nding most challenging at present? With an equal number of respondents telling us that they have had their budgets frozen and have had to act quickly to change their marketing approach, this highlights the impact of Covid-19 on marketing departments/agencies in particular, who have had to act quickly to change strategies whilst also having to deal with a smaller budget to make that new marketing strategy a success. In addition to this, 1/5th of respondents told us that there is actually no demand at all for their product during this time, demonstrating the impact of Covid-19 on the economy as a whole.
29%
We have had our budgets frozen
19%
Our product is not in demand during this pandemic Having to quickly act to change our marketing approach
29% 5%
We don’t need to market, our product is ying off the shelves! The big boss has had a new product/service initiative and so we need to quickly develop a new marketing strategy with no research behind it
14% 4%
Other
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Q7
Has your organisation been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 crisis? The results here speak for themselves, especially given the responses to the other questions that we have asked our community to this point. It was therefore no surprise to hear that over 70% of respondents claim that their organisation has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. This demonstrates that a huge chunk of our community has experienced a negative effect on their organisation, despite a solid effort to remain proactive and deliver on any products/services that are still possible.
71 % Yes
29 %
No, we're thriving
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Q8
If you could change one thing about your organisation during Covid-19, what would it be? 24% of respondents wish they’d invested more in remote working technology prior to Covid-19, demonstrating that organisations have been hesitant to invest in any of the ever-growing remote working solutions on the market. By
“Executive team engagement needs to be better,
investing in these earlier and allowing employee collaboration by being
I would change this”
connected from anywhere on the globe, organisations would have seen a smoother transition to remote working.
“I’m not sure anything will help right now!” Another popular answer here saw respondents wishing that their “Reduce meetings. Meetings have exploded!”
organisation wasn’t so siloed, so that the quick turnaround on strategic priorities had a smoother and less fragmented approach. This goes hand in hand with a lot of case studies at our flagship CX Marketing Summit, as organisations typically perform best when departments come together as one. The second most popular answer here was our marketing community wishing their organisation was a food retailer, which is something we probably all wish for right now!
24 %
I wish we had invested in remote working technology earlier
5 %
I wish we had more flexible working structures in place before this
0 %
I wish we’d hired employees who log in on time
29 %
9 %
Other
I wish we’d created more of a digital offering
19 % I wish we were a food retailer!
14 % I wish we were less siloed so that we could have acted more quickly when altering our approach to our product/service
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Q9
Post-Covid-19, do you think your organisation will continue with certain aspects that employees have found beneficial about remote working? Answers to this question tell the future of organisations post-pandemic, with just over half of respondents saying that, as leaders within their fields, they will allow more flexibility in terms of remote working when we go back to ‘work as normal’. To go hand in hand with these figures, one third of respondents reported that they already have sturdy remote working strategies/technology in place, demonstrating marketing as an industry being ahead of the curve when it comes to remote working
33 % Yes, we already had a lot of remote working as part of our culture
52 % Yes, we’ll certainly implement more flexibility as staff have adapted exceptionally well
15 % No, we need staff back in the office!
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Q10
Please use the text box below to highlight any particular issues/annoyances you’re experiencing whilst remote working/keeping your organisation afloat during Covid-19. Feel free to rant! The most popular free text answers here related to Zoom etiquette, and the ‘big boss’ seeing marketing as a magic answer right now to increasing sales,
“Funding for technology please!”
when actually this takes a lot of work and a long term strategy rather than the idea of a ‘quick fix’. Other answers focused on the overuse of emails, having to
“Communication of what we are doing across the
balance work with childcare, and technical issues when working from home.
organisation.” This array of responses highlights the fact that Covid-19 has impacted every “People's misunderstanding of Zoom etiquette.”
individual differently, so it’s of utmost importance that we unite as a community to support one another where we can.
“Lack of revenue!” . “Not knowing when it’s going to end - but not my organisation's fault.” “Test people at the pointy bit & get facts correct on who has it and total & correct deaths so we know if we are winning.” “Hangouts are not the same as face to face.” “I miss my team who are mostly furloughed - there is lots to do but the work is different to normal.” “Keeping momentum going/motivated!” “Boss wanted to shift things around too often without thinking clearly. After all, everybody knows marketing right ;-)!!!” “The company’s server connection hasn’t coped so accessing files has been difficult. But overall it has worked well.” “It’s fine, it’s just trying to balance work with kids!” “The big boss now sees marketing as the magic bullet to increase sales, not realising that digital is a long-term strategy that needs know-how and budget to make it work.”
“Employers need to be more understanding of employees who have kids or other family members they are having to take care of during this time. This is not business as usual. We are not working from home. We are stuck at home and trying to work during a pandemic.”
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Conclusion How did you find that? We understand that it was probably a tough read, discovering first-hand how organisations and individuals are coping with a global pandemic that has changed the way the world operates. However, despite the negative impact of Covid-19, we have also seen several positive signs from our community of CX Marketing leaders, such as: • A newfound trust in employees when remote working that most leaders will take forward post-pandemic. • An appreciation for the technology available to us and how the digital world can help transform organisations and keep them afloat at even the toughest of times. • The proactive nature of organisations in not just burying their heads in the sand, but looking at ways to survive by quickly turning around new initiatives and ideas. • New opportunities in terms of our ability as marketers to turn around new strategies quicker than we ever thought possible, even with a frozen budget! That’s it from us – we hope you found this research helpful in determining your own approach to life both during and postpandemic, and we are always open to hear your own stories and opinions by email at marketing@ebm.media Stay safe!
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About Us Engage Business Media (EBM) is a global media company designed to help its community of 120,000-plus leaders in the customer and employee engagement space to devise and implement sustainable, winning business strategies. Our mantra is that organisations need to cut across their own internal silos, take a more holistic view of their customers, both internal and external, and deliver a consistent and appropriate customer and employee experience. In support of this EBM runs a series of highly respected, CPD-accredited, world-class thought leadership events for its community throughout the year — including our annual agship Customer Engagement, CX Marketing and Employee Engagement Summits and our Engage Awards. All of these face-to-face activities are underpinned by our websites, as well as weekly newsletter alerts, webinars, and ground-breaking research reports. Visit www.ebm.media for more information.
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