GME trainees come to New York to learn new marketing skills that will help them grow careers, gain international work experience, expand their professional networks, and enjoy the innumerable opportunities and experiences the Big Apple has to offer. Working through a pandemic and being quarantined in a foreign country, away from family and friends, upended everything they expected of the their GME experience, overnight – but they’re a resilient group of young professionals who’ve rolled with the punches of this unprecedented time as they continued to learn and thrive.
The transition to remote working went smoothly …
Since most GME sponsor organizations are global and digital, many remote work protocols were in place before Covid hit, which made the transition to a virtual office environment relatively seamless. Trainees’ companies put blood, sweat and tears into staying hyper connected: One organization held a seminar on work-from-home best practices. Communication with colleagues and teams has remained consistent. Conference calls transitioned to Microsoft Teams in order to maintain face-to-face interaction. Superiors scheduled more frequent check-ins with trainees to make sure there was no interruption to the open flow of communication they had in the office, and to inquire how they were getting on in general. Phone calls – a relic of the past – became more frequent, as colleagues were more likely to jump on a five-minute call than go back and forth over email in order to maintain that personal connection. Company-wide communication from senior leaders increased, not only to keep employees abreast of happenings across their organizations, but also to acknowledge the fear and uncertainty of working through the pandemic, they shared links to articles on managing stress and anxiety. By and large, GME trainees have successfully stayed connected, delivered quality work, learned new skills and have been reassured that resources are available to support them while living and working through Covid.
Before my GME placement I had only worked for small, London-based agencies, so it's been great to experience how well my team has worked together even though we’re spread across the globe. – Chloe Walford-Smith, Global PR Team Trainee, E&Y
… But, working away from the office presented new challenges
Working from a small, shared New York apartment, without any sort of dedicated office space – a challenge during the best of times – was infinitely more difficult for GMEs as they tried to remain focused on work and juggle conference calls between roommates while acclimatizing to being quarantined. Beyond these logistical challenges, trainees have missed the ease of connecting with colleagues that’s only possible when you can walk across the office and speak face-to-face. There’s simply no way to replicate the spontaneity of those ‘water cooler moments’ when you bump into a colleague, begin chatting, and all of sudden you’ve come up with a new idea. Trainees have missed the comradery and social aspect of being in the office, and the excitement, hustle and bustle of working in Midtown Manhattan. And, not being able to change their environment can sometimes make it difficult to separate ‘work life’ from ‘home life’.
Remote work offers a few silver linings
Working remotely, some trainees had Teams meetings with colleagues they would have previously only communicated with via email, and getting to know these people and understand more about their roles sparked new ideas about what they want from their careers and helped to expand their professional networks. Occasionally a colleague’s child – or dog –would make noise in the background of a meeting, which humanized them in a way that wouldn’t be experienced in a professional office environment. Traditional ways of working have been disrupted, providing trainees with the opportunity to gain new skills and master marketing technology platforms that they wouldn’t have access to before. Many trainees have reassessed the skills they believe are most vital, and the direction of their careers, as a result of working through Covid. And, while all trainees expressed the desire to spend at least some of their working hours in the office, everyone was happy to ditch the five-days-a-week subway commute!
The Covid outbreak was so bad in New York in the beginning, when we three trainees were new to the city and far from our family and friends. The company made note of this and stayed in touch. Within the first few weeks we were contacted by the CMO and the COO to check on us. – Tom Buckley, Marketing Specialist, Broadridge
How do you maintain productivity when there’s no defined work day?
Each GME trainee has their own unique approach to staying productive. Some created a set schedule that they’ve adhered to every day, with a clear delineation between ‘work time’ and ‘home time’. Others have relished the ability to slip out during the day for a run, since, without the commute, they can work a bit later into the evening. Sponsor companies from the top down have expressed their respect for employees’ ‘regular’ working hours; trainees on global teams, with colleagues in New York, Dublin and Singapore (to name a few) are not expected to join a meeting at midnight! Most GMEs experienced a ‘settling in’ period, as they got used to fully remote work, but quickly found their groove in order to maintain (and in some cases increase) the productivity they experienced working from the office. Most sponsor companies have acknowledged that remote working hasn’t greatly impacted employees productivity, setting the stage for a future where work is more location-flexible.
Transitioning from developing in-person events to figuring out how to execute them in a digital form was quite a big change. As a result, my digital capabilities grew leaps and bounds as we tried to figure out how to replicate events online. And, working remotely has taught me a lot about discipline and managing my workload away from an office environment when you can’t have those face-to-face conversations. – Helena, Digital Marketer at Refinitiv
Getting creative with remote socializing
In addition to making sure their employees were well prepared to work remotely, GME sponsor organizations have implemented a wide variety of virtual social activities to help employees stay in touch and stave off isolationism. One company held Zoom exercise classes. Every organization held virtual happy hours (which were occasionally awkward since there were so many people online trying to talk at once!). On a more intimate scale, a few trainees created or joined WhatsApp groups with a small group of colleagues with whom they’re personally close, to spontaneously stay in touch.
Looking ahead
The world of work has been flipped on its head since the most recent GME trainees arrived in New York, and these young marketers are now looking at their careers differently. Every trainee has expressed a commitment to maintaining and increasing their digital marketing skills, understanding that this knowledge, and continued learning, is essential to advancing their careers. A year ago, the idea of working full time outside of an office environment was unfathomable to many, but trainees have learned that they can remain productive and thrive in difficult circumstances, no matter where they are. The overwhelming preference now – and, hopefully, the direction of forward-thinking organizations – is a ‘hybrid model’ of work, where employees go to the office on days they need to collaborate, and are trusted to work remotely when tackling more solitary responsibilities. After working through Covid in NYC, GME trainees are ready for – and excited about – the changes ahead.
GME alum Sachi Bid works from Florida during the pandemic.
