The Pandemic – some goodbyes and some hellos

The Pandemic. As regular readers of our blog you will no doubt be aware that they are written in advance and as Sarah writes this one a Sunday afternoon while trying to figure out whether she has read the Poirot being dramatised on ITV3, our minds begin to drift to tomorrow morning.

For tomorrow is the day that all the staff return to the office and we return to normal. Sadly, like the rest of the country, it is actually the new normal that MIH returns to and not the MIH we have previously known.

After such a dramatic opening we need to make it very clear that at the time of writing, none of MIH have had COVID-19 or have been directly affected it other than our way of life-changing. As you will be aware from some of our previous blogs, life went on pretty much as normal that word again- during the height of the pandemic.

Reassessing things as life gets back to normal

We were able, with the help of our great clients to continue undertaking management to the high standard we always aspire to. We even took on new business during this time and those managements are now beginning to settle. However, what we least expected was how life was going to change for everyone with people reassessing their priorities and the way in which they wanted to live.

In August prior to our official return to the office, Levi who had come to MIH as an apprentice and had progressed in leaps and bounds advised that she was going to pastures new. Although we didn’t want Levi to leave MIH, we knew that for her own development that this was the right career move for her and although we let her go, we can’t deny that lots of tears were shed on her final day!

More sad news was to come when prior to our official return date, Sarah’s ‘Yang’, Laurence Davies, our Head of Department who had previously enjoyed the best of both worlds, weekends in Norfolk and the hustle and bustle of London during the week advised of his intention to leave. Although MIH was still a company he believed in, the pandemic had bought the realisation that he wanted more of a life balance, and to do so he needed to cut down his commuting and work from home more permanently. Although this was not something that we wanted to accept, after a lot of discussions we couldn’t find a mutual compromise that worked and with a heavy heart we were forced to accept his resignation.

Laurence has been a great addition to MIH and he will be sorely missed by all staff and clients alike. For me I will particularly miss his sartorial elegance and watching him eat some of the worst junk food and not put a pound on – actually on second thoughts, I won’t miss the red trainers circa 1995 or the fizzy fangs in the office. In all seriousness, his work ethic, measured calm and friendly approach will be missed as will his ability to find a meme to fit every occasion. I fear that more tears will be shed on his final day.

So where does this leave MIH?

As it sounds, we are and will be woefully understaffed. Of course, as a Company who is called Make It Happen, this is not the case and I am pleased to say that before Levi left, we were lucky enough to take on Finley. Another lady with an androgynous name and whom no doubt will need to add the Miss to her email signature so that she is not addressed as Mr Chapman. Finley, has already made a big impression on the staff at MIH and our clients who are already warming to her, especially those whom she speaks to in their mother tongue.

New promotions and new people

In addition, to our delight, Joe Starkey who was introduced by Laurence and was our Senior Property Manager has agreed to take over the role of Head of Department from Laurence. Although he will have large shoes to fill (or slightly smaller ones in the case of Laurence) we know that he will be more than a worthy replacement. We have also been joined by Mehreen, who at the time of writing will have been with us approximately 2 weeks and will hopefully be enjoying the fresh approach we have to manage at MIH. Finally, we have Candice Fisher joining us shortly, and if you are wondering yes she is Sarah’s sister and will we hope to bring a whole new dimension to MIH and our organisation with her previous background in property and administration.

We know that usually, companies do not advertise when staff leaves but in MIH’s usual fashion we wanted to take this opportunity to thank those staff who have helped make MIH what it is and who has been instrumental in putting the building blocks in place for MIH to continue to grow.

We want to congratulate Joe on the new role, we already know he will be a huge success and welcome both Mehreen and Candice to the MIH fold. We also wish both Levi and Laurence the best of luck in the future and know that they will make a big splash wherever they go and would remind Laurence that if any of the unfortunate pictures of Sarah surface, she will hunt him down.

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