Lockdown is easing and it looks like we’re finally reconnecting with 2020. Is it a reboot or an upgrade though? Will we return to some sort of normality?

Will it be a similar version of where we left off back in March? Or will we come out better, stronger, wiser? Let’s hope it’s the latter for many industry businesses.

To increase the chances of coming out the other side stronger the industry has been finding new ways of connecting and supporting each other through all the uncertainty – sharing knowledge and experiences along the way. Webinars have been a great success. Industry businesses have turned to YouTube, Teams and Zoom to gather large groups together to discuss ideas, concerns and share insights.

Electrolux Professional used it from early on to deliver remote training to their partners. Our regular ‘Ask the Expert’ contributor Andy Marsh reached audiences of 60 plus attendees when he delivered his first live webinar titled ‘Creating a Better Laundry.’ Just recently Ecolab’s webinar, with a focus on safely restarting laundry operations, reached 370 participants from across 41 countries. Based on this success they plan more in various European countries in the coming weeks.

This is surely a format that’s here to stay, particularly with the future of global travel a bit, shall we say, ‘up in the air’ at the moment. Webinars are an economic way for interested parties to collaborate on and deliberate over a topic. They’re interactive and the addition of a live Q&A promotes discussion and debate. And they’re a practical channel too. They’re usually recorded so you can watch them in your own time if the live session doesn’t work for your diary.

One of the other effective ways we’ve found to connect through this pandemic has been through association – namely our trade associations. The importance of being part of an industry network has been invaluable to many over the last few months. The TSA has regularly held webinars throughout.

Initially aimed at members but then quickly opening them up to non-members to be able to hear the concerns and thoughts from the wider industry voice. This was crucial for gathering knowledge and evidence when putting forward a strong case for the government to take seriously the need for commercial laundries to be granted hospitality status to achieve funding. A cause that the TSA continues to fight daily on the industry’s behalf. The TSA, and all our associations, have worked tirelessly to keep the industry informed through COVID-19.

If coming back stronger means strength in numbers then this could be the time to look at joining our trade associations.