Leadership Focus
Dale Parmenter, CEO at DRPG
On 5th March as a fleet of our lorries were on the way to the NEC to set up a 5000-delegate conference, we got a phone call from the client. Due to COVID-19 the event was cancelled, from that moment on, everything changed.
The last 18 months have certainly tested the most experienced leader in any organisation. While I’m at an age to have experienced several recessions, the pandemic has been very different.
As one of the largest creative communication agencies in the UK, a significant part of our business revolves around corporate events and exhibitions. Overnight we lost 60% of our sales. What I have learnt over the years, in times of crisis the Leadership team need to act fast and not worry too much about getting everything right, because you won’t.
By 7th March we had a three-phase plan in place, phase one – ‘Stop the Ship Sinking’, phase two – ‘Refit the Ship’, phase three – ‘Relaunch the Ship’. Someone said to me ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’ and it’s absolutely true. In times of crisis, we become more agile and just get on and do it.
The main focus of my Leadership team was visibility to the wider team, even though the majority of the team were now working from home. So, virtual communication was essential. We had to reassure and be very open and transparent about what was happening. Leaders sometimes shy away from the negatives and can also be afraid of saying it like it is or admitting they got it wrong. Being open, being humble and showing vulnerability is one of the most powerful leadership tools we have.
Phase one of our plan was really about ‘protection’ and ‘opportunity’. We needed to protect the business and the 300+ team members and their families. We took the decision not to lay off any of the team, instead we chose to protect our people resource. Government schemes such as furlough and CBILS were a lifeline. We also saw a huge opportunity to relook at the business from every angle and prepare for the future, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to accelerate the growth.
We also needed to protect our clients and offer those who ran events and exhibitions an alternative. We had produced virtual events for over 25 years, however, only around four to five a year. We needed to massively expand our production capacity overnight and educate our clients to a new way of working.
Our team were amazing. Within days, we had expanded our broadcast facilities with digital solutions being created ‘on the hoof’. In just three weeks, we had transformed the way we did business and the team had scaled up and reskilled. In 18 months, we have produced over 700 virtual events, from 11 studios to over 2M delegates.
As a Leadership team we then turned our attention to the future and the opportunities. It was also about empowering the team, we couldn’t do it all alone. So, we shared the opportunities across the entire team from apprentices to senior managers.
The team looked at new systems, processes and ways of working. Innovations we had planned over a three-year period were accelerated and achieved in months. While our buildings and offices were empty, we managed to completely refurbish many areas, without disturbing the working studios. Including the construction of a brand-new warehouse and completion of a new £1.8m creative, training and team welfare centre.
We had always led our sector with sustainability, this was time to really push forward. We launched our CSR Charter which is linked to the UN’s 17 sustainable goals and committed to zero carbon and zero landfill waste by 2021. We installed 750 solar panels generating 195kw, we planted 40 trees on our site and the team achieved 40 community projects. Sustainability has become a real driving force in our organisation.
2020 was also the year of our three-year Investors in People. Following a week-long audit, we were upgraded to Platinum, one of only a small number of companies across the UK. We also worked hard to remain high in the 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and we succeeded.
By mid-2021, we had employed an additional 85 new team members. We needed more digital, creative and video skills, so we onboarded the 85 new team members virtually and many of them have never been into any of our offices or met other team members face-to-face, which is quite a challenge. Those team members involved in real events were still not working as we waited for live events to return.
The team have been amazing, we stopped the ship sinking, we completed the refit and have now relaunched. The team are closer, we have seen greater collaboration and a real ‘one team’ spirit throughout the last 18 months. We have learnt a lot about each other and the community we are part of. We are all ready to return to normality and face the future with optimism.
Sales are returning, we have added 30 new clients, we have opened up new markets and invested massively for the future. The last 18 months has accelerated things which would have taken years and it has forced us to focus on what is so important – the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ of People, Planet and Profit.
