MBA Student, USTATION Help People ‘Work From Anywhere’ More Effectively
SAINT JOHN – Covid-19 has caused many businesses to shift where and how they work. A University of New Brunswick Saint John international MBA student is trying to help a local company figure out how to do that more effectively.
Vertika Singh is leading a special project for USTATION, a membership-based company that’s creating a network of inspiring, tech-enabled spaces and technologies to help people boost their productivity while both working remote or from their location in uptown Saint John.
Singh is tasked with looking at the company’s membership process and communications and finding out how to make it seamless.
“At the moment I’m analyzing their member process, how they’re interacting with their members, what all different channels they are using for their members,” says Singh. “In that process, we’re analyzing the issues with the process and how we can integrate it to make it better for them.”
While Covid-19 forced many companies to shift and adjust to remote work, USTATION already embraced that culture. As a “work from anywhere” company, its team was already leveraging technology to work from both home and USTATION’s uptown location.
“Really, we’re living our culture which is a ‘work anywhere’ culture,” says Glen Hicks, one of USTATION’s co-founders.
As a co-working space, USTATION took all necessary precautions to keep members safe when Covid-19 happened. The measures included increasing cleaning and limiting the number of members allowed in at one time.
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But the situation has also made the company focus on the technology side of the business, making their solutions available to members and clients wherever they are. This is something Singh has also been helping with.
“USTATION has evolved because of the pandemic. They have a new target, such as ‘work anywhere.’ They’re trying to use their own technology to make work easy for people who still want to work from home but are part of USTATION,” says Singh. “They have given more technology and more information on the apps and the site to the members. So, in a way, [Covid-19] has changed the way they see their business”
Covid-19 has also changed the way people interact in general. Social distancing has meant not shaking hands or hugging people who aren’t in your “bubble”. These are things everyone has had to learn to do, but Singh says she was learning new social practices long before the pandemic hit.
“Coming from India, I had to practice a lot of social distance here, because people here are more private when they don’t know you. I think I was maintaining somewhat of a social distance for the past six to seven months before the pandemic came,” she says.
“I can’t shake hands with people, which is weird when I meet them for the first time, but other than that I think I was still implementing a lot of things because of the cultural difference.”
This is the second year USTATION has taken a student from the MBA program. Hicks says it enables businesses to connect with immigrants and the future workforce.
“It’s a great way to connect with young folks. It’s a great way to connect to potential permanent residents,” he says. “We’re a very strong believer in immigration and having as many people as possible come to New Brunswick and Saint John, so we want to be a part of stimulating that and helping with that.”
Working with MBA students gives businesses more support, and a fresh set of eyes. The graduate students are experienced, ready to work and bring new ideas to help solve problems.
“It certainly makes it easier from a pure effort perspective, but I see it as more than that,” says Hicks.” It’s fresh eyes, really bringing in a different perspective we may not think of … which is great. It’s exactly what we’re looking for.”
If a business has a project in mind that could help it grow but needs a person with the experience and education to help lead it, Hicks recommends working with a UNB MBA student. It will not only help your business but the students too.
“It’s a really good opportunity to start to connect with people who aren’t from here and connect them into the community,” he says.
This story was sponsored by the University of New Brunswick.