Zoom In: 'Where there are challenges there are positives' - Softcat CEO on keeping the reseller's culture alive

Graeme Watt says the reseller has seen an increase in productivity and engagement with some customers during lockdown

"I'm always a big believer that where there are negatives or challenges there are positives as well."

In the latest of instalment of CRN's Zoom In series Softcat CEO Graeme Watt talks through some of the benefits that he and the team at Softcat have been able to draw upon during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Watt said that he personally has benefited from an increase in productivity with daily commuting no longer a factor, while the reseller has encouraged its employees to use this freed-up time to focus on their own wellbeing.

From a business perspective, Watt said that cold calling customers has proven to be a challenge, but added that relationships with existing customers have grown stronger.

He explained that Softcat has a degree of resilience to difficult trading conditions, with around 10-15 per cent of its customers in areas that the chief exec would consider to be "high risk".

Watt also talks through the steps the reseller has taken to keep its culture alive in a virtual capacity, while employees are not allowed to gather.

Colin Brown, Watt's colleague and Softcat managing director, will discuss how the firm has adapted its culture in the upcoming episode of CRN's DeskFlix. You can register to attend the virtual event here.