Virus could make permanent changes to business - claim

Coronavirus could make permanent changes to the way companies carry out their business, according to a leading Midlands businessman.

Tony Harvey (pictured), managing director of Henley-in-Arden based commercial decoration company Harvey UK, says new ways of working are leading to big savings in cost and time and are likely to stay for good.

Coming a year after the first lockdown began, he said that while the operational side of the business had to be done on site, everything that surrounded it, from responding to enquiries, tendering and negotiating, to costing, administration, planning and client liaison could all be done without the need for any travel, and much of it could be done from home.

"Typically, a two-hour client meeting in London or the Home Counties could have taken two or more senior people out of the office for most of the day, which a small to medium company can ill afford. And that's before you factor in travel costs and environmental impact," he said.

He added, "We have installed software to make client communications easier, and Covid has meant that this has really delivered benefits. I can't see the need to return to the old way of doing things. We have communications and business processes and systems which are saving us valuable time and a lot of money. A valuable lesson from Covid is just how much time and expenditure was being wasted on unnecessary travel and meetings which can be carried out remotely."

Established in 1966, Harvey UK is a family-owned finishing and maintenance specialist, working on major projects in the industrial, education, health, local authority and residential sectors.

With offices in Henley-in-Arden and London, the group has a wide portfolio of blue-chip client projects including JLR, the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, Kier, Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Lendlease and the Ministry of Justice.