Category: Events

Webinar: ‘Facing The Crisis’ with Andy Briggs – CEO, Phoenix Group

Posted on by Marcus Hayes

Catch-up on the recording from our ‘Stories from the C-Suite’ episode with Andy Briggs, CEO of Phoenix Group. Andy came to Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, as a new CEO at the start of 2020. In a year of explosive change with unprecedented challenges coming from customers, the pandemic itself, digital disruption and a changing competitor landscape, Andy managed to keep the business strong and resilient. We wanted to know how, as a new CEO, he was able to navigate his company through the toughest of times. 

In our ‘Stories from the C-Suite’ series, we talk to CEOs who we believe are expert storytellers about the challenges of leading through change and what the next stage in the journey is for them.

The insightful conversation between The Storytellers and Andy explored topics such as: 

  • Maintaining a trajectory of growth and resilience during a major crisis 
  • The role of businesses such as Phoenix Group in creating a more sustainable future 
  • What effective leadership looks like in an age of constant change

The challenges created by the pandemic are showing no sign of slowing down. As it becomes clear that this crisis is changing how people live, work and spend their free time, successful business leaders will adjust to these seismic societal shifts by staying nimble, flexible and creatively future-proofing their organisations. This was a highly relevant conversation packed with insights – watch it now by entering your details.  

Webinar: ‘Talking Banking’ with Steven Cooper – CEO, C. Hoare & Co.

Posted on by Alison Esse

Watch the next episode in our ‘Stories from the C-suite’ webinar series, where we talked to Steven Cooper, CEO of the private bank C. Hoare & Co. His trajectory from a big banking behemoth with Barclays, to a smaller, private client bank gives him a unique insight into the evolution of banking. During our conversation, we explored how he has adapted to these different banking environments with their distinctive cultures. Simply fill in the details on this page to get access to the recording.

The challenges created by the pandemic are showing no sign of slowing down, and crises tend to accelerate change and innovation. As it becomes clear that this is changing how people live, work and spend their free time, successful business leaders will adjust to these seismic societal shifts by staying nimble, flexible and creatively future-proofing their organisations. 

In our ‘Stories from the C-suite’ series, we talk to CEOs who we believe are expert storytellers about the challenges of leading through change and what the next stage in the journey is for them. In this episode, Steven shared his insights into balancing a need to modernise to respond to customers ever-changing demands, while retaining a bespoke and unique banking experience rooted in a rich legacy of 350 years.

We covered topics such as:

  • The key to longevity, resilience and strength in banking to overcome major crises, including the pandemic 
  • The future of banking in the wake of COVID-19
  • What’s next as Steven’s next chapter at Aldemore, a new breed of challenger bank, begins in 2021

Watch this highly relevant conversation now by entering your details.

Webinar: ‘Putting people first in a crisis’ with Alex Perry, CEO – Bupa Insurance UK

Posted on by Robert Tennant

Recently, we hosted a fascinating webinar with Alex Perry, CEO of Bupa Insurance UK. This highly relevant conversation covered everything from healthcare insurance in these challenging times, to Bupa’s journey through the global pandemic and beyond. You can catch up with the recording by filling in your details on this page.

In our ‘Stories from the C-suite’ series, we talk to CEOs who we believe are expert storytellers about the challenges of leading through change and what the next stage in the journey is for them. Alex had much to say about leading through crisis and how his team has remained united and aligned throughout this time.

Healthcare that is personal, tailored to the individual and family-centric has never been needed more than during the global pandemic of the last six months. And physical and mental health are at the top of both our personal priority lists and those of organisations. In fact, working remotely has shown us just how inextricably linked our home and work lives are, and how integral wellbeing is to our performance at work. Health insurers and providers have had to react, change and innovate faster than ever before to help customers access care when they’ve needed it most. So what we wanted to know was, how do you make this happen across a business of 3,000 people?

We covered questions such as:

  • How did you equip your business with the shock of the pandemic?
  • What does the future of healthcare insurance look like?
  • Will your story evolve as the business and its strategy develops?

To hear Alex’s fascinating insights on these big topics, enter your details to watch the recording today.

‘Winning hearts and minds’: talking to Pano Christou, CEO of Pret A Manger

Posted on by Robert Tennant

In the most recent episode in our ‘Stories from the C-suite’ webinar series, we talked to Pano Christou, CEO of Pret A Manger. Pret has been through a lot in the past six months – like many businesses that rely on high-street footfall, it has been severely impacted by COVID-19 and lockdown, having to shut all of its stores back in March. 

Listening to Pano, however, there was no hint at defeat. And as the challenges created by COVID show no sign of slowing down, Pano is ready to face the pandemic head-on. Pret is adjusting to the seismic shifts of the pandemic by staying nimble, flexible and creatively reinventing its brand. This resilience may stem from Pano’s own personal story: he has worked at Pret since the age of 22, slowly working his way up from the shop floor. 

Our conversation with Pano was packed full of fascinating stories. We have identified five key insights from the webinar: 

  1. COVID was the catalyst for three years’ worth of changes that took place in just six months: if anyone had told Pano that Pret would experience three years’ worth of effort in one year, he said he wouldn’t have believed them. However, for Pret, this agility and fast-paced response to the pandemic is one positive out of an immensely challenging situation.
  2. The lifeblood of Pret is its culture of innovation: in the change narrative Pret co-created with us, one objective was to ‘rediscover the sparkle of Pret’. The transformation, which was accelerated by COVID, aims to ensure that this sparkle remains integral to everything Pret does. An example of this is its latest coffee subscription initiative. 
  3. “Leaders need to inhale stress and exhale serenity.” Pano was firm that he has never been a command and control leader. Rather, he believes people should be given the opportunity to flourish. Completing the Pret story before COVID has helped with this, as the leadership team were aligned on the direction of travel and are able to communicate this to their people. For example, Pano holds a weekly broadcast to Pret branches across the country to keep teams informed and engaged in a difficult time. 
  4. The Pret story is a red thread running through the organisation: the Pret story has served as an anchor, continuing to influence decision-making throughout the business. For example, even though there was a desperate need to reduce costs during lockdown, Pret has not reduced portion sizes. The fundamentals of Pret won’t change, as Pano told us: “when you are driving change through a business you don’t forget where you’ve come from.”
  5. “Hearts and minds.” Engaging the emotional side of people is key to Pano’s leadership. As a big believer in purpose, he wants his teams and colleagues to enjoy an emotional connection to the brand they are part of. And how does he cultivate this connection? By communicating through human stories and making people feel part of the journey Pret is on. He told us that co-creating Pret’s story meant pulling people from every part of the organisation to co-create the narrative – something they hadn’t done in the 37 years since Pret was founded. It resonated so deeply with teams that when the story was shared, many people were in tears. 

Ultimately, Pano sees COVID as an opportunity for Pret. With the Pret story empowering teams to own the part they play, there is a sense of alignment and also optimism for the journey ahead. As working from home continues, Pret is seizing the opportunity to reach out to new areas. Pano finished on a positive note as he described how he sees the future: the business will now be “following the people”, and no longer just the skyscrapers.

To catch-up and find out more about Pano’s story, have a listen to the webinar in full by clicking here. And don’t forget to sign up to our next webinar with Alex Perry, CEO of Bupa Insurance UK on 10th November, 13:00 GMT here.

Ebook: Hosting a powerful and memorable virtual event

Posted on by Imogen Wallersteiner

The nature of history is that major crises, like wars and rebellions, have sparked movements of change and seminal innovations. For example, at the end of WW2, the EU was set up with the aim of ending frequent and violent wars. Women finally gained the vote. The assembly of the world’s first electronic general-purpose digital computer was completed. As we begin to learn to live with the pandemic, it’s time for us to reflect on the innovations happening around us – particularly our societal shift in embracing the virtual world and unlocking its possibilities. 

Virtual events have never been so necessary. In this time of social distancing, working remotely and heightened uncertainty, organisational connectivity is essential. Humans are social animals. Interacting as a group or a ‘tribe’ is a fundamental need we have for our sense of wellbeing, and to enable us to make sense of the world and what is going on around us. So events that bring people together – even if online – provide an opportunity to build a sense of community – a space for leaders to open themselves up to those around them and hear their colleagues’ voices. 

At The Storytellers, we have put on virtual gatherings and experiences for our clients for many years now. We have long blended physical and virtual environments in corporate events, and inspired and engaged people on an emotional level through storytelling and narrative. 

Across our work with over 180 major organisations, we have discovered what makes a powerful and memorable virtual event. In this piece, we have identified what underpins our story-driven events, and have gathered together our top tips for putting on inspiring and engaging virtual and hybrid experiences. 

There are three key traits which make up any inspiring and memorable story-driven event. Discover them by downloading our white paper in full by completing the form on this page, and reach out to us if you need guidance and support in connecting your organisation through a virtual event. 

Are you ready to get digital? How to unlock connection through virtual events

Posted on by Flora Clarke

Virtual events still sound a little futuristic, but they have been happening since 1993, when the world’s first live stream brought us the exciting webcam footage from a coffee machine at the Waldorf Hotel in New York. And yes, you guessed it, millions of people tuned in to watch. If we fast-forward to today, developments in technology and social media have opened the doors to new ways to connect online, from baking tutorials to home-schooling and even Parliamentary debates. We have seen the cancellation of all group gatherings… festivals, sporting events and business conferences, all of which is putting virtual events to the test on an unprecedented scale. 

These mass cancellations also mean that many organisations are having to rethink the ways in which they co-create, engage and connect their employees to their vision, strategy and purpose – without getting together in person. 

And for that, we have good news.

Reflecting on a recent business leadership conference we co-hosted with Phoenix Group, the largest life and pensions consolidator in Europe, it is clear that a virtual conference requires the same care and attention to detail as a live event. This particular conference was meant to take place over two days in an idyllic Scottish hotel with their top 70 leaders, but due to C-19 we had to rapidly adapt it to be run virtually as a dynamic digital experience. By keeping the energy levels up and having a jam-packed agenda, this highly-interactive conference was still filled with networking opportunities, collaboration and breakout sessions. 

It was a very successful two-day offsite, produced and delivered from the comfort of our homes. We were able to break participants into smaller groups for discussions by using the great breakout room function on Blue Jeans. We were able to synthesise and play back live data and feedback to participants in real time. We played inspiring films and presented slides for them in to engage with in a dynamic, pacy way. And we were all able to keep connected in the background using WhatsApp. 

This virtual conference enabled participants to fit in some home schooling, have breakfast, lunch and dinner with their families and it significantly reduced the environmental impact of hosting a large conference of this nature. And we still even had a virtual drink at the end of the second day. 

And so, while many companies are cancelling their conferences, roadshows and town halls due to COVID-19, we ask why? To all those who have their reservations about hosting a virtual event, to those who are worried about the technology or it not being as engaging and exciting or for those who are concerned that you won’t get the great attendee insights that are normally generated at events, then you are mistaken. The impact of the event extended well beyond the computer screen, and the feedback speaks for itself:

  • “A hugely successful remote conference”
  • “Future model for conferences”
  • “Highly engaging and inspiring conference”

The value of face-to-face interaction will never go away, but there are times where going virtual has never been as essential. This is a time when clarity, focus, a sense of belonging and the need to energise and galvanise now-fragmented teams is needed more than ever. Now is not the time to cancel your meetings, but to lean into the virtual world that offers so many amazing technologies that can make a large-scale meeting a truly wonderful digital experience. Don’t be overwhelmed by the technology or push back any key milestones in your calendar for fear of losing impact. Make the connection with your team when they need it most. It really does work.

Is your company ready to get digital?