Smyle
Describe how Smyle has changed since the pandemic took hold , and how will you broadly approach the return to live business ? A better question might be : how hasn ’ t our business changed ? The change has been seismic . We ’ ve adjusted to fully remote working wherever possible which means using technology to remain connected and collaborative , to really focus on our culture and community and the health and mental wellbeing of our people .
We ’ ve changed our service model to produce digital experiences vs live physical experiences and provided ongoing communications and skills development to help build expertise . We ’ ve revamped our external marketing and communication based on ever-changing client requirements .
We have conducted continuous research and analysis to help us and our clients prepare for a return to live business and physical experiences .
Has the pandemic shifted the skillset you require from your events personnel ; are you placing a greater emphasis on the need for digital skills ? Absolutely yes . We are lucky to have a digital-savvy team but there has still been a massive learning curve to better understand digital tools and project management processes , and how to optimise digital experiences for audiences who are suffering from digital drain and Zoom fatigue . We ’ ve also shored up the team with some new digital specialist roles that weren ’ t anywhere on our radar just 12 months ago .
Tell us about your recruitment plans for 2021 , including full / part time staff and the use of freelancers . We ’ re cautiously optimistic that we ’ ll be able to recruit some full-time Smylers based on the demand we ’ re seeing now and into the remainder of the year .
If things keep going the way they are , we ’ ll need more strategic , creative , technical , production and account people . But because the pandemic means everything is a bit shaky , we ’ re using this time to identify talent – particularly people of diverse backgrounds – and extend our teams as needed with freelancers and fixed-term contracts . This period has affected the way we recruit – we welcome opportunities to check out portfolios and get to know interesting people , wherever they are as working remotely seems to be working well . There are some amazing people out there and we want to hear from them .
Will Mould , managing director ,
XYZ
Describe how XYZ has changed since the pandemic took hold , and how will you broadly approach the return to live business ? Although there has been a huge lack of ‘ live ’ executions we are a brand experience agency and we have , therefore , still helped our clients produce meaningful experiences through our strategic , design and community knowledge and skillsets .
We have also developed our own hybrid / virtual events platform ,
Connector , which helps clients to produce
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Agency recruitment
interactive , immersive and sensory remote access live experiences . We believe that Connector will also allow us to produce live attended experiences in the future while still giving a meaningful experience for those attending digitally .
Has the pandemic shifted the skillset you require from your events personnel ; are you placing a greater emphasis on the need for digital skills ? Our team ’ s current skillsets are still hugely relevant and useful but there will inevitably have to be adjustments in how we manage projects that are often purely digital . Knowledge of different suppliers and ensuring our processes remain seamless is paramount .
Tell us about your recruitment plans for 2021 , including full / part time staff and the use of freelancers . We are already using lots of tech savvy freelancers and I see this continuing along with additions to our creative and strategic teams .
Amelia Shepherd , managing director ,
TRO
Describe how TRO has changed since the pandemic took hold , and how will you broadly approach the return to live business ? It ’ s been a challenging time for agencies , and we are no different , but we are confident that our focus on innovation and ideas will ultimately strengthen relationships , create ‘ stand out ’ in the industry and set us up for future success . www . conference-news . co . uk