The Concorde Conference Centre at the Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport proved a fitting venue for a day focussed on how our member organisations can manage and thrive in times of ‘turbulence’. Indeed, the opportunity to exploit the context was not lost on David Herd, who managed to introduce no fewer than 18 air travel references as he hosted the first SSF UK leaders’ meeting of 2019!
Whilst SSF UK leaders could be forgiven for suffering Brexit fatigue, the agenda sought to both look beyond Brexit as well as focussing firmly on the practical steps that can be taken by businesses in times of uncertainty and disruption. In fact the need to discuss the current turmoil was apparent early in the day, with half those present stating in a live sli.do poll that Brexit uncertainty had already had a very visible impact on their organisation, and most listing ‘labour supply’ followed by ‘supply chains’ as key areas of concern.
Opening with a keynote talk by Stephen Gregson, Corporate Finance Director at MHA Moore & Smalley and John Boydell, UK Director of Ampios Management Partners, our guest speakers set the economic scene for what they dubbed the “Brexit thriller” and went on to discuss how Scenario Planning is always a worthwhile exercise and can help mitigate risk even in times of ‘unknown unknowns’.
In a wide-ranging, engaging talk, which looked afresh at many accepted economic truths and recast them in a new light, debunking several myths along the way, Stephen’s key take away hinged on taking a creative, questioning approach to the interpretation of data, asking the ‘why what how’ of statistics. John’s main point was that even in uncertain times, it is still critical to keep making decisions. Identifying the key drivers behind change and viewing scenarios as alternatives where you increasingly narrow down the “possible, the plausible, the probable to the preferable” makes scenario planning an achievable exercise, where “collaboration, looking into the future and spotting the key turning points” is crucial. A quote from Seneca summed up their inherently positive message that challenge and frustration can make businesses stronger: “skilful pilots earn their reputations in storms and tempest”.
Providing the invaluable member perspective, Lisa Hooley and Carla Connolly gave us a fascinating insight into SPXFLOW’s detailed Brexit ‘no deal’ scenario planning. A global, US based company, supplying highly specialized, engineered solutions in over 150 countries and with operations in over 35 countries, SPXFLOW’s key driver was a refusal to compromise their core characteristics. Their rigorous, ‘bottoms up’ approach examined 5 workstreams - Trade, People, Customers, SFEL and IT Systems - and proved a meticulous study into how Brexit might impact into every aspect of the business. Attendees clearly found the case study highly enlightening and prompted several to want to return to their own organisations and question, amongst other things, IT system planning done to date, underlining the value of the shared member experience.
Over a networking lunch, it became clear that there was a need to explore further the level of Brexit planning in the room, and crucially the strength of the connection between business plans and Shared Services. Many leaders shared their own experiences and provided an interesting, varied and cross-sectional snapshot of the challenges faced in today’s climate.
We moved on to topics of interest for future SSF UK leaders’ meetings. From how to manage the prevalence of data and ensure it adds real value to the customer to exploring the functional vs GBS model; from challenging the mindset of the individual in a newly created Shared Services to what a Shared Services career looks like these days, there were many excellent suggestions.
The day was rounded off with a prosecco reception and fascinating talk and tour of Concorde – a great example of ‘Tomorrow Now’ when technology, combined with innovation and creative mindsets focused on one goal… and a very fitting tribute given the British model is 50 years old this week!
Quotes of the day: “it’s been a great day – a real Brexit eye opener!”
“I was worried about the agenda – Brexit and Shared Services, really?- but it’s been very thought provoking. The real benefit is hearing from other people in the industry”.
“We hadn’t really considered much how Brexit would affect us but today has enabled me to re-think and take back some fresh insight to the team”
Our speakers have kindly agreed to share a selection of their slides from the event, and these will be stored on the resources section of the website.
Our next Leaders’ meeting will be our evening summer social event, ‘How to bring a touch of magic to your business leadership’ on the 26th June at ‘The Albert Square Chop House’ in Manchester. Our Autumn Leaders’ event is set for the 18th September at ‘Hotel Football’, Old Trafford – do join us to engage in the discussion and add to the value and voice of the Forum!
