West Kent has welcomed back staff to the newly refurbished Sevenoaks office after 18 months of home working.
Staff received welcome back-packs, tours of the building and reconnected with friends and colleagues. But it was more ‘back to the future’ than ‘back to normal’ as our ways of working have changed so much since staff left in March 2020. 
Adapting to home working changed the way teams work and collaborate and this new way of agile working is here to stay at West Kent. There has been investment in new technology to enable hybrid working and staff have new skills and new equipment to support this. The newly refurbished office provides flexible spaces for colleagues to work collaboratively alongside modernised desks and meeting spaces that will expand and improve the ways we can work individually and together.
Tours of the building included all the practical information staff need to work at the office as well the chance to socialise at the end with ‘get to know you’ activities to ensure new staff felt fully included.
Feedback from the welcome back sessions was overwhelmingly positive, with one staff member commenting: “The welcome back tour was very good and informative, I like the look of the booths, style, love everything.”
Staff will now work flexibly between office and home, allowing them to embrace the benefits of both.
Chief Executive Tracy Allison says: “Our staff, and the way we work, is what makes West Kent special. We’ve been totally committed to ensuring our staff can work well, feel well and stay connected, throughout the pandemic and welcoming them back to the office gives staff the chance to work in an agile, flexible way that works for them.”