Wednesday 8 May 2024

Uncategorized · Wednesday 8 May 2024

Welcome to Walk in My Shoes!

This month, we relaunched Walk In My Shoes, an initiative set up by our CEO Greg Lawson, to provide each Smartie with the opportunity to spend a day in a different role.

Walk In My Shoes

Our internal initiative, Walk In My Shoes, was set up by our CEO Greg Lawson, to provide each Smartie with the chance to experience a day in the life of their colleagues in a different department. While this programme was initially established a few years back, the recent acquisition of new companies and the dynamic developments within Smart meant that it has been reignited and reimagined better than before for 2024.

Whether someone has dreamt of working alongside the kitchen team prepping exquisite canapés or desserts, or shadowing the Operations team for a day delivering a major sporting event, or even learning about website design with the marketing team, now they have the chance! The first few sessions have taken place this month, so let’s see what our Smarties have been getting up to outside of their day jobs.

Greg Joined the Logistics Team!

Our CEO, Greg Lawson, recently took the opportunity to spend a morning fully immersed in the day-to-day operation of our logistics team. From organising the cellar and event design, to tackling the less glamorous task of sorting the dirty laundry, Greg got a firsthand look at the critical, behind-the-scenes work that keeps our catering running seamlessly. His hands-on experience has provided him with a deeper appreciation and dedication and hard work that goes into ensuring every event is a success, from start to finish.

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‘Joining the team in the warehouse for Walk in my Shoes was a real eye opener. To say they work hard, is an understatement. It was interesting to better understand the systems they use, and the challenges they face, particularly at peak times. I have great respect for every department across the group and the work that they do, but it was great to be reminded of just how hard our Smarties graft, and to be a part of the team on the ground.’

Greg Lawson, CEO, Smart Group

Frieda holding bowl of eggs in Moving Venue Kithcen

Frieda and Samantha Joined the Pastry Team!

Our first WIMS session saw Frieda from Smart Live, and Samantha from Story Events step into the shoes of our Pastry team. Starting the day in our pastry kitchen in Deptford, they delved into the intricacies of the craft, observing everything from preparation to packaging, and, of course, the essential tasks such as maintaining the cleanliness of the workspace. As a surprise, they even whipped up some delicious cookies for the Smart AGM! In the afternoon, in an impromptu twist, they made their way to Last Supper, where they witnessed the behind-the-scenes of a major event tasting.

“Thank you so much for letting us participate in WIMS yesterday – it was such a great experience, honestly.

Sarah, you taught us a lot, your team were phenomenal and I can’t wait to have the chance to join you in the kitchen again soon. Please send our thanks to the guys and I really hope the guests at Evolution enjoyed their desserts last night 😊 Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity”

Samantha Holman, Story Events

Annabel Joined the Kitchen Team!

Annabel, Managing Director of Smart Live, immersed herself in the life of the Kitchen team over at our Bermondsey site, learning all about event preparation and the processes it takes to bring an event together. Annabel ended the day over at Kensington Palace, where she supported the chefs on the relaunch event for The Orangery!

It was a great day! Thank you so much Alistair for taking the time to talk me through everything you and the team do to prepare for an event and the processes it takes. I always had huge respect for the chefs but the level of detail it takes to get it right, totally amazing. Being both over at Bermondsey and then over at Kensington Palace, it was great to see everything from (almost) start to finish.

Annabel De Souza, Smart Live

Becs joined the Evolution London team!

Becs from Smart Live spent the day over at Evolution London experiencing all that’s involved in a build day for the Sports Industry Awards, an annual fixture in our calendar! Her day involved overseeing the build, from setting up stages and lighting rigs to ensuring every detail aligned with the vision of the event. Although Becs is already accustomed to witnessing the transformation of venues for events such as this, she learnt all about the nuances of our flagship venue, Evolution London, and the behind-the-scenes magic of bringing such a blank canvas venue to life.

Thanks so much for organising this – I had such a great day and learned loads!

Becs Stitt, Smart Live

Liv Joined the Story Team!

Last week Liv Parrott our Senior Venue Sales Manager, had a busy day with the Story Events team. Starting off the day with a client site visit at Old Billingsgate, Liv then got to join a briefing call with a designer for a new pitch, proofread some proposals, and work on a venue search for an exciting new brief!

A jam-packed day! It was so fab, and the Story team looked after me very well and created a fantastic itinerary. Thank you, team Story; for letting me walk in your shoes💗

Liv Parrott, Senior Venue Sales Manager

Elaine Joined The Moving Venue Sales Team!

Elaine, our Group Commercial and Compliance Director, recently joined the MV sales team for the afternoon, intending to better understand their quoting process, gain experience building proposals and understand the smooth handover process from sales to planning. Towards the end of the day, Elaine joined the team at a live event at the Tower of London, witnessing how the team liaised with the client on the night.

Despite working in close proximity to each other at Deptford, it was really useful to get a more in-depth look at how the team work across MV sales, and the challenges and the processes they have in place – it was beneficial to spend that time understanding their day-to-day.

Elaine Sawford, Group Commercial and Compliance Director

Adrienn Joined the Last Supper Team!

Adrienn, our Management Accountant, joined the Last Supper team for an event at the V&A! To start the day, she visited the Last Supper offices, where she began with reviewing the event schedule with Patsy, the Head of Operations, and learnt how to create a packing list for an event. Adri and the team then headed over to the venue, where she assisted with creating the stunning set-up for this exciting event, including everything from tables and chairs, to linens and plates.

It was nice to see how organised everything was. Everybody knew what to do, and the set up went really well. The room became stunning within a short period of time!

Adrienn Kaszas, Management Accountant

Nina Joined the Story Team!

Nina, one of our Event Planners from Moving Venue, recently joined the Story Events team, working on a live event! The event itself was a takeover across three levels of Building 7 at Chiswick Business Park, with a live broadcast from some of the CEOs, and workshops for the guests to take part in the afternoon. The workshops provided opportunities for delegates to donate their crafts and designs to charity at the end of the day. Nina’s day began with registration, telling the guests what sessions and levels they were going to ahead of the live broadcast for the event before overseeing one of the broadcasting sessions on her designated level and the cocktail-making workshop at the end of the day.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Story Events because as a planner I mainly focus on looking after clients (such as Story) with anything they may need with regards to catering. It was very interesting seeing exactly what they do on an event and the similarities there were between what they do and what my clients do!

Nina Calvert, Event Planner