Page 17 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 1 - Winter 2022
P. 17
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FORESTRY SOLUTIONS
THAT MEET
YOUR OBJECTIVES.
Sixty Years and Growing
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want to attend. We have all been on Zoom meetings with a speaker talking and very disengaged attendees.”
The 2021 GFA Annual Conference in July was held in person, but livestreamed to allow remote attendance for those who wanted it.
“In order to keep people engaged in our work, we will have to innovate continually,” says Hestad. “We are constantly thinking about new ways to make the virtual space matter.”
Everything Can’t
Be Done Remotely
Adapting to remote work and virtual meetings taught forestry professionals some valuable lessons about technolo- gy’s benefits and challenges.
“Just getting to know people per- sonally is harder in a virtual meeting. You can’t have those small group chats around the coffee pot,” says Cook. The SFI committee plans to hold its first in-person meeting in November 2021. Remote access will continue to be offered, but “the desire to get together in person again is growing.”
Day-to-day business at FRC has returned to normal, says Mullis. The company meets with clients and stake- holders in person once more. Because FRC has greatly expanded its holdings in recent years, about 50% of FRC’s employees have been with the company for less than five years. To build cama- raderie and company culture, both new and longtime employees need to inter- act in person, not just over phones or screens, he says.
“During the pandemic, we had to ask ourselves, ‘How do we keep our culture, keep our people safe, and get our work done?’ We certainly learned to collaborate better, and that has been a positive outcome. We have increased our efficiency,” says Mullis. “We can work from home and get things done if needed. But company culture is all about engagement with leadership. Leadership is all about influence through personal engagement. That is how we work and how our business works.”
SUSAN BERNSTEIN IS A WRITER AND EDITOR WITH MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN INTERVIEWING, CUSTOM CONTENT CREATION AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS. AS
A NATIVE OF ATLANTA, SUSAN CARES DEEPLY ABOUT GEORGIA’S INDUSTRIES AND ENVIRONMENT.
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