Anthony Brown, Divisional Director, Excellerate Services UK & Ireland reflects on a busy, yet rewarding week!
It’s not every week you get to stop and properly think about what’s just happened.
This past week has been one of those, a week we all wish for in our career to truly test our capability.
Two mobilisations landing within days of each other. Both high profile. Both very different.
One of them was what is widely seen as the largest corporate estate in the UK. The other a high-end shopping and entertainment environment for a globally recognised retailer, where the standard expected is incredibly high.
If I’m honest, when you’re in the middle of it, you don’t always take in the magnitude of what you are doing, instead, it just feels busy. Very busy but exciting none the less.
The highs What stays with me most is the people.
We welcomed more than 600 new colleagues into the business across the UK and Ireland, from Thurso right down to Plymouth, across to the Isle of Wight and over to Dublin. That is a lot of conversations, a lot of first impressions, and a lot of responsibility to ensure when we go live, its perfect!!
There were thousands of pieces of kit, uniforms and welcome packs to get out. Vans and cars arriving, boxes being unpacked, last minute checks happening everywhere you looked there was a mass of activity, excitement, on the spot thinking, but always an approach to delivering excellent service for transferring colleagues and customers alike.
And then there were the teams. Colleagues from HR, operations, finance, communications and business development on site from 4am in some locations. Not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be there to welcome people, settle nerves and answer questions.
That is the bit I’m most proud of. The way people showed up for themselves, for our colleagues, for our clients and for our business.
The reality Mobilisations are never perfect. Anyone who says they are probably hasn’t done many.
There are always things that change at the last minute. Things you thought were sorted that suddenly are not. Small details that turn out not to be that small.
The difference is how you deal with it. The difference is being prepared for when these things happen and having the team to address it quickly while constantly communicating with all stakeholders.
This week, what stood out was how quickly people picked things up and got them sorted. No fuss, no drama, just a focus on fixing the problem and moving on.
That comes from experience, but also from people caring about getting it right.
The lessons If this week reinforced anything, it’s that planning really does matter.
Having a clear plan, knowing who is doing what, and keeping communication simple and consistent makes a huge difference when things get busy.
But plans only get you so far. You also need people who can think on their feet, make decisions and support each other when things shift, which they always do.
And they did.
And don’t forget to enjoy it! It is very easy during a mobilisation to move straight on to the next issue, the next site, the next task.
I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
But when you step back, there is something pretty special about these moments. Bringing new teams together, seeing people start something new, and watching it all begin to take shape.
There is a real energy to it.
So yes, it has been a long week. But it has also been a good one.
And sometimes, you do need to pause, have a bit of a laugh with the team, and take it in.
Because weeks like this do not come around that often and mobilisations of this scale and importance really demonstrate “Where Better Begins”!
