EQ at home – Scott Kennedy

At EQ, our people are at the heart of what we do.

Although working from home means we are physically spread across our regions, our team are working hard to maintain regular communication with their clients whilst continuing to support colleagues by connecting with them daily.

We caught up with Scott Kennedy, EQ Accounting Manager based in our Forfar office, to find out more about his experience working from home.

How are you finding working remotely?

It’s been a bit of a change. We introduced new systems to enable us to receive information from clients electronically, who have been understanding and has been implemented with very few problems.

I’ve converted our dining room table into my new work space, which is great because I get a great view out of the window and it’s nice to be able to wave to folk as they pass.

What are you doing to keep in touch with the rest of the EQ team?

We have several ways of keeping in touch with the team, making use of various platforms like Microsoft Teams for the internal formal communications, and Whatsapp to keep the usual level of office chat and banter going.

We have scheduled weekly team meetings and I’m usually in touch with individual team members on a daily basis.

How are you looking after your emotional well being?

I keep to your usual working hours as much as possible and make sure to close the door of the dining room at the end of the day to have family time.

In addition to this, myself and a couple of team members are growing “lockdown beards” much to the annoyance of my wife and children.

I’m fortunate enough to have a garden, that i can spend time in to get some fresh air and disconnect from the day to day work. Also having a bit of fun cultivating a “lockdown peanut”.

What advice would you give to others working from home?

Keep to a schedule, write a to do list and try to keep to it. Although this can be hard when things get busy, it will ensure that nothing is missed.

Switch off the computer at the end of the day, take some down time and remembering to do the important things like acknowledge the work of others.

I make sure we stop and go to the door each Thursday at 8 as understanding that we are doing this to help keep others safe is a big motivation for me.

Tell us, what are your new co-workers like?

My wife and I have settled into a new routine which takes into account her shifts at hospital, starting with the children doing a morning workout with Joe Wickes then helping the children with their school work, so am currently trying to relearn how to do algebra…

Our doors may be temporarily closed, but EQ are still here to support you. You can contact us on any of our usual telephone numbers and email addresses, which you can find on the Our People page on this website.