among our clients , with some smaller regional meetings in the autumn and even some bigger events in discussion for later in the year and early in 2022 . There is certainly more positive momentum but still much uncertainty . We have also got a keen eye on the three-day G7 summit , which was given the go ahead in Cornwall , this June .
Has the pandemic shifted the skillset you require from your events personnel ; are you placing a greater emphasis on the need for digital skills ? We seriously miss that office buzz , so the biggest learning curve for all of us has been honing the skills that we ’ ve needed to work 100 % remotely . We have been very conscious of that shift , offering flexible hours , regular relaxed socials , upskilling masterclasses and wellbeing workshops during the last year .
In terms of new talent , we purposefully recruit our people from a diverse range of backgrounds and influences to form what we call ' our motley crew of creative challengers '. We haven ’ t changed our stance this year , in that we still recruit based on the individuals , their curiosity , values and versatility . With our newest recruits we ’ ve not held it against them if they ’ ve not delivered virtual [ online ] events in the last nine months , as we believe they can quickly learn and adapt . We ’ re more interested in their innate abilities and attitude and the rest can follow when they get stuck in .
Tell us about your recruitment plans for 2021 , including full / part time staff and the use of freelancers . One thing we are particularly proud of is that despite the pandemic , we have continued with our growth plans in anticipation of the industry ’ s recovery , including further establishing our USA presence and investing heavily in talent in the UK .
We honoured all recruitment contract offers we had made last March , including a newly appointed senior producer and project coordinator . As of the new year , our recruitment freeze has more than thawed and we are delighted to announce a number of new team members , growing our team by about 50 %. We have made six new permanent hires across our creative , production and account teams .
In 2021 , we ’ re committed to recruiting the very best ‘ challengers ’ we can find . To us , being a challenger is about mindset , behaviour and spirit – our people embody all three – and so will our future recruits .
Aron Bentley , operations director ,
Sleek
Describe how Sleek has changed since the pandemic took hold , and how will you broadly approach the return to live business ? In the blink of an eye , we went from event planning and delivery to event cancellation and postponement .
The Sleek office was busy with our operations team calling multiple venues across the UK and EU to work out how to manage a very uncertain ever-developing situation .
Fast forward 10 long months and Sleek is more or less unrecognisable . A lot has changed out of necessity and much of that change is positive . We have rebranded , upskilled , and refocused the business .
Part of that upskill has been to take the ‘ Safe Events Organiser ’ course by Hire Space , to ensure that when we return , we can do so in a way that is safe for all
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Has the recruitment pandemic shifted the skillset you require from your events personnel ; are you placing a greater emphasis on the need for digital skills ? The short and obvious answer is yes , although the full answer is more subtle . Digital has been part of the Sleek DNA for a long time now , working with clients in the tech sector , we have always been comfortable delivering events with digital aspects . With the necessary focus on fully online events and in the coming months hybrid , we believe digital skills are now more important than ever . The important and less obvious point here is that any digital skills need to be built on a foundation of core event management and practical project delivery knowledge . Online and hybrid event delivery is not something that can be delivered by digital skills alone ; there needs to be a balance .
Tell us about your recruitment plans for 2021 , including full / part time staff and the use of freelancers . We are constantly planning and looking at different scenarios for the coming months . Where possible we prefer to recruit full-time members of staff to retain knowledge within the business and this remains the strategy going forward . As with all event agencies , we will always recruit freelance staff for specific projects that require specialised skills .
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