MES Strategy Day - Part 2

Last week the MES team had its annual strategy day.  It was a chance to get the team out of the office, to provide a platform for all to have a say about what changes are needed and what our focus should be in the coming year. It was also about spending some time with each other without phones going, emails buzzing (do emails buzz?) or managers hassling!

So my core topics this year were QUALITY and EDUCATION. 

 

Quality

As MES continues to grow and develop existing services further and get into brand new areas of work, it is vital we maintain the very thing that has helped us get to this point.  Quality has led to good word-of-mouth, recommendations and so on.  We don’t take this for granted but rather use it to further motivate us.  But is it easier to do with fewer people? 

There does seem to be a school of thought that says it is harder to control and deliver as you get bigger.  I am very much of the view that yes, it becomes more challenging, but it is possible.  Hopefully checking in on quality in this way helps us ensure it remains a core part of MES’s ethos.  It remains a continuous part of our process – delivering and maintaining quality.

Education

The focus on education is about making sure our clients are getting best value out of our services and products.  Cynics may say that this means getting clients to spend more with us.  There is an element of this yes – we’re a business, we think what we do is good and of value and so want more people to use our services so I wont apologise for that!  But it is also a lot more than that – it is about wedding our clients to us and making them feel MES is invaluable. 

It's about ensuring they are using our systems and services in the best way for their needs; using the features of a database effectively;  learning more about the world of membership engagement; learning new skills through our services; and that they feel like we are working hard for them and so on.

Of course, inevitably, these two themes mesh together – it’s a virtuous circle.  And a big part of whether we deliver these goals is how we operate as a team.  The mud, sweat and tired feet of the afternoon’s orienteering perhaps brought us together a little more!

Have a good weekend all!