Opinion: Blackjack Promotions on prioritising people in times of crisis – The Moodie Davitt Report

On this visitor column, journey retail and model expertise specialist Blackjack Promotions displays on its response to the worldwide pandemic. Three of the corporate’s leaders clarify why their people took precedence in the course of the business’s greatest crisis up to now… and the way that crisis opened up new alternatives.

Why people matter essentially the most: Blackjack Promotions’ Leanne Nutter (let), Fiona Rayner (centre) and Nikki Fisher

Blackjack Promotions Head of Journey Retail Leanne Nutter shares the most important lesson discovered via the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has examined us all, together with the journey retail and aviation business,” she says. “When put underneath immense strain, we realise our strengths. One of essentially the most notable for Blackjack Promotions is how agile, decided and motivated our crew is.

“Worldwide journey restrictions and occasion cancellations meant Blackjack Promotions needed to adapt and evolve. We’re consultants in connecting shoppers with manufacturers via memorable experiences, however in a world the place everybody stayed at dwelling, we merely couldn’t obtain this in the identical manner.”

Somewhat than look ahead to the world to reopen, Nutter says Blackjack Promotions sought new alternatives the place the corporate might leverage the energy, expertise and agility that its crew has to supply.

Blackjack Promotions is adamant that the wants of its workers members and model ambassadors stay a precedence 

“The sector most in want of these qualities on the time, was healthcare. As people specialists, we’re proud to have been given the chance to assist in the struggle in opposition to COVID-19,” she provides.

“We efficiently redeployed a whole lot of crew members into the NHS to assist COVID-19 associated exercise, opening up a brand new lengthy-time period enterprise stream for us and our people. As journey retail began to re-open following the primary lockdown, we labored onerous to organize our groups and guarantee they’d the boldness to return to the journey retail atmosphere. Our #BeReady marketing campaign supplied important coaching on returning to work safely and we launched an worker help program centered on welfare.”

Nikki Fisher, Head of Staffing at Blackjack Promotions, describes how Blackjack Promotions entered a brand new sector.

“We had been capable of rapidly mobilise a versatile operational crew, with the appropriate expertise and competencies via our vetted database, to assist the NHS. It gave our people a morale enhance and a way of function after they wanted it most”

“As the size of the COVID-19 pandemic started to escalate, so did the quantity of affected person admissions. The extra strain positioned on UK hospitals was huge,” she says.

Fisher notes the elevated demand for manpower in the hospitals, to direct and help sufferers, and a surge in demand for added excessive contact-level cleansing, deep-cleansing, porterage and PPE logistics.

“Moreover,” she says, “a big quantity of NHS workers – together with essential cleansing groups – had been compelled to protect or self-isolate, which triggered gaps in service supply.

“We had been capable of rapidly mobilise a versatile operational crew, with the appropriate expertise and competencies via our vetted database, to assist the NHS. It gave our people a morale enhance and a way of function after they wanted it most. The transfer into NHS assist not solely protected jobs inside our enterprise in the quick time period and supplied our people a stage of reassurance, however it has additionally created an extended-time period alternative for future progress inside healthcare.”

Variety in times of COVID-19 – Blackjack Promotions crew members took on a brand new position at Heathrow Airport

“What has grow to be obvious throughout this time of crisis is that, it isn’t simply our enterprise mannequin that’s agile and resilient, so are our people”

Fisher underlines Blackjack Promotions’ partnership with Cignpost Diagnostics, via which the corporate supplied 250 skilled crew members to service the manpower wants at COVID-19 testing websites at Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh airports.

“Our agile workforce are serving to to hold out swab exams, marshal automotive parks and assist on-site administration,” she says.

“What has grow to be obvious throughout this time of crisis is that, it isn’t simply our enterprise mannequin that’s agile and resilient, so are our people. They’re remarkably diversifying into new service areas and persevering with to ship first-class service, all pushed by Blackjack’s tradition of prioritising our people.”

Blackjack Promotions has launched initiatives to drive recognition and interact its crew members people in the course of the pandemic

Blackjack Promotions Head of Experiential and Worldwide Operations Fiona Rayner says the expertise of working via the pandemic actually delivered on the mission assertion of the enterprise’ guardian firm, ABM, which is to ‘make a distinction, each particular person, every single day’.

“At our core, ABM is a people enterprise. We lead with our people to make a distinction and that’s what we’ve seen Blackjack Promotions ship all through the pandemic.

“Throughout the ABM portfolio, now we have launched initiatives to nurture our crew, drive recognition and interact people in the course of the pandemic. We’re at the moment coaching members of our crew in psychological well being first assist, which incorporates methods to assist deal with melancholy and recognise poor psychological well being; methods to assist others with psychological well being diseases and studying non-judgemental listening expertise.”

Blackjack Promotions says its workers have “confirmed themselves to nimble, proven excellent flexibility and maintained wonderful work ethic throughout an especially tough interval”

Rayner highlights Blackjack Promotions’ launch of a Recognition Certificates scheme which rewards the work of its crew members. The launch coincided with the corporate’s Workforce Member Appreciation Week.

“Because the UK regularly comes out of lockdown and appears ahead to additional easing of restrictions in the approaching weeks, we’re feeling immensely proud of the people behind this enterprise,” Nutter provides.

“Over the previous 12 months, our crew members have confirmed themselves to be nimble, proven excellent flexibility and maintained wonderful work ethic throughout an especially tough interval. We stay up for what it’s shaping as much as be a really thrilling 12 months forward collectively,” she concludes.