A virtual business management company is looking to double its current workforce after seeing an increase in demand for its services through lockdown.
Lichfield-based Effective Business Management (EBM) wants to increase its team from six to 12 over the next few months following a shift in the need for virtual expertise as a result of the pandemic.
EBM was founded 10 years ago by husband and wife team Steve and Alison Hancock.
The company, which is based on Lichfield Business Village, has seen a six-fold increase in business growth in the last four years alone, tripling its workforce in the same timeframe.
Prior to lockdown, EBM had already seen a steady nine-month increase in the number of businesses seeking virtual support from its team for managing live chats, emails, phonecalls and virtual events, to providing operational and executive support from PA to director and board level.
But co-director Steve said nothing could have predicted the change in the shift of the virtual support needed in, and since lockdown, as the pandemic.
He said: "With the new challenges that Covid has brought to businesses, we've seen a change in the type of work that firms have called us in to support, or completely manage from start to finish.
"As there's been a move away from physical to virtual events, one area we have seen a big upturn in demand for is staging virtual events, like conferences, as companies have been unsure of how to set up and manage effectively having not run them prior to lockdown.
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"And that's not all. With the added financial challenges of the pandemic, firms, as well as non-profit and charities, are also calling them in more often to help develop more flexible ways of managing budgets and working in different ways."
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With reduced capacity workforces, for a host of reasons, EBM is also seeing more last minute calls to step in and support in a range of areas – like implementing GDPR legislation, statements and policies – when it's proved too time-consuming or complex for firms to complete on top of daily demands.
Steve added: "I think part of the reason for our success is that we are very flexible and agile with how we work.
"We can either work for an hour, part-time, full-time, or for a one-off project, event or conference, or for regular support, and, no matter what support is needed, because we have a professional team of experts on our staff, and partners we work with, our clients know that we can be trusted to come in and cover anything requested, and do it seamlessly.
"In a climate, when so many things are uncertain and unpredictable, we're a flexible, experienced choice for businesses ranging from sole independents and SMEs to large corporates."