Record breaking temperatures in early spring brought the promise of a fine year ahead and there was plenty to celebrate amongst the team at Evolution.Congratulations to manager Callum and his wife Becky, who welcomed their first child in February. Callum only took a short paternity leave break when his daughter was born, so has been lucky to be able to use lockdown as an opportunity to spend lots more quality time with his new family.

In March we welcomed Georgia Thompson to Evolution ABS. Georgia has joined the admin team on a full-time basis and is a great addition to the team, having gained valuable experience during her time working for a local estate agent.

Since lockdown was announced on 23^rd March, like many businesses across the UK, staff have been working remotely at home. We pride ourselves in our team spirit at Evolution; being a small practice we all know each other well and our success over the last 10 years is in no small part down to the family feel engendered amongst staff. Isolation has therefore thrown up a whole raft of new challenges and we have had to come up with new ways to keep in touch and boost moral during this challenging time. The inaugural Evolution Quiz Night was held via Zoom back in April and is now an almost weekly event, its success possible largely down to the winner receiving cake!! Our ‘pedal for pints’ Friday cycle ride has been replaced with the Evo Strava Club, where staff can record their latest cycling achievements and compete safely from home. We also keep in touch daily with staff and have managed remote office meetings via video conferencing. All these activities have helped keep staff feeling united and motivated and we would thoroughly recommend them. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like help setting up similar activities with your employees, family, or friends.

The office remains closed for the foreseeable future, with staff continuing to work remotely in shifts. The telephone is however manned, so if you your query is urgent and cannot wait for an email response from your manager, please call us on 01823 462908.

Team member insight

Spring was also a particularly busy time for another member of the team. In February Rosie Bennett who is currently Junior Vice Chair of Devon Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, was awarded Senior Member of the Year, for East Devon Group of Young Farmers. Rosie has played a very active role in Young Farmers through her involvement with Honiton YFC over more than a decade. In March she went on to represent Devon at the South West Area finals and was delighted to come away with the trophy. Congratulations Rosie! We all wish her the very best of luck in the National finals coming up in August; watch this space……….