From the very start of the pandemic, it was clear that live events would be hard hit and, as a result, our scribing service would be, too. Not only were we concerned about the impact this would have on the business as a whole, but also, how it would affect the brilliant individual artists we work with.
During lockdown, we launched Scriberia’s Digi Jams: a regular virtual get-together for our artists where they could see some friendly faces and do something productive at a time of great uncertainty. We'd realised that if the rest of the world was adjusting to meeting and working via video calls - our scribes would have to do the same. Some of our team had plenty of digital experience, but many needed to upskill quickly - and learn how to deliver to the same high standard of scribing in the digital arena, from wherever they were in the world.
Part skill-sharing, part art therapy, in these Digi Jam sessions our artists would scribe a podcast or lecture on a hot topic. They'd share their learnings and encourage their peers, growing in skill and confidence as they did.
More and more meetings were happening online, and a secondary pandemic of "video call fatigue" was setting in. It was easy to demonstrate how digital scribing could be the shot-in-the-arm that virtual meetings and events needed.
We shared our Digi Jam outputs on social media to let the world know that we were still working hard to bring stories to life and make information more engaging, in this new remote-working reality.
Looking back, our timing was just right. More and more meetings were happening online, and a secondary pandemic of "video call fatigue" was setting in. It was easy to demonstrate how digital scribing could be the shot-in-the-arm that virtual meetings and events needed. Everyone, everywhere, had had enough of the ubiquitous grid of faces and was desperate for a new perspective.
At the same time, we noticed something else. Our clients began requesting our services in different languages and across different time zones. Meetings were no longer location-bound, new markets grew across boundaries and borders. The world may have shrunk to the size of our kitchen tables, but our clients were thinking globally as a result, and we had to do the same. So the Digi Jam evolved.
Proactively, we sought to grow our scribing community; We invited new talents and more established artists whose work we had admired from afar to join us from all over the world. And we had the pleasure of seeing what happens when such a talented and diverse bunch of people get together to learn from each other.
And we were learning, too. We learned so much about our network - we could see how confident they were with their tech set-up, where they excelled and what skills they needed to brush up on, how they approached their work and how we could best support and develop their talents.
It's shaped the way we work with, communicate and develop our talent and allowed us to respond to the rapidly-changing needs of our clients.
Now our ever-expanding Digi Jam network has (an incredible!) 74 members scattered across the globe. We've created an inclusive, safe space for bright new talents to learn, grow, and benefit from the experience of other scribes. And when we're confident they're ready, we invite them to join our Scribe Development Programme and join our international, multilingual team, working on projects with our clients. We are now able to offer scribing in 13 languages and across all time zones.
What began as something of a safety net has become the backbone of our scribing service. It's shaped the way we work with, communicate and develop our talent and allowed us to respond to the rapidly-changing needs of our clients. For some of our clients, remote digital scribing is the service they turned to when live events and live scribing weren't available. But for many, it's become an established part of the way they think, work and communicate in the virtual world. And it's been a real pleasure to grow the team that has made it possible.