It’s been a typically drizzly November day in Manchester, but inside, it was decidedly sunnier for the Managed Services Summit North. We’re about halfway through this one-day event, which began with elevator pitches from Pax8’s Michael Breeze, Datto’s Greg Jones and Threatlocker’s Ben Jenkins before an engaging and interactive keynote from Kate Wood (pictured).
In her presentation Wood, now a freelancer following her role as culture director for Chess, provided direct advice to achieve business growth by committing to organisational culture. She should know what works having helped grow Chess from 60 to 550 people and from 63rd to 1st in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work for list.
In her in-play survey with the audience, it was clear that the ways organisations have adapted to the changes in working habits have varied greatly. But those in the room all agreed that the best way to engage with customers in 2022 will be a mix of in-person and virtual. Backed up with data from Microsoft, Wood also pointed out that Gen Z have found it trickier to find structure in a remote setting compared to other, and older, generations further up the alphabet. So in terms of the growing skills gap, this can be particularly challenging to attract talent.
Then with a show of clicks (not hands), she asked what organisations were doing to increase diversity and saw that across the board, it was a concerted effort to strive for better representation. Measuring employee engagement was also a key subject brought up and while Wood admitted that it’s difficult to measure, the growth of the organisation is the overall measurement. “It’s all about having a great culture to back it up,” she said.
Continually driving the cause for women in technology, Wood also heads the UK Women in Tech Network board and sits on the CRN Advisory Board, as well as runs a monthly mentor circle that provides support and knowledge share for a range of technology providers.
Stay tuned on IT Europa for more updates from the afternoon session, and for more information on the Managed Services Summit North, please go here.
