B.I.G
Keeping staff motivated to perform with FISH! Live Learning
Video Arts in conversation with Tim Smith, General Manager BIG
Tell us about the business need you were looking to address
The key things we were looking to change were about attitudes and our approach to work. Particularly for the sales guys it can be very hard. The other thing was a focus on the customer. Also, we’ve always been a fun business but I wondered if we’d lost of bit of the fun in the last couple of years. Obviously it’s been tough with the market conditions and I did wonder where the laughter in the office had gone.
And you’d heard about FISH!?
Our French Sales Director had found FISH! and ran it with her team last year. When I reviewed what they’d done it really was one of those light bulb moments. It talks about having fun, choosing your attitude, being there for your customer…it ticked a lot of the boxes that we needed.
Sometimes training gets pushed down the priority list for smaller companies. Why do you think it’s important?
Training is seen as important within our global business, even for a small subsidiary like us. And my management team buys into that. People have a choice. If they don’t think they’re getting the development they need from their employer then they will start to look elsewhere.
So you called Video Arts?
I saw that Video Arts were the consultants for FISH! in the UK so I got in touch. I wanted an event that could bring everyone together so we asked Video Arts to formulate a day that would work for the whole company.
What did the trainers do on the day?
The first thing they did was to help us remember the successes in the business. We’re really good at remembering when we don’t do so well, so that was really important. Then they used the video to take us through the four steps of FISH!
The video is so inspiring. Seeing those guys having such brilliant time even though they are literally around stinking dead fish all day! It was very professionally run: the Video Arts trainers were fantastic. They kept it light hearted and pacey and I would absolutely recommend them.
What was the immediate impact?
Across the board it went really well. Everyone got a lot out of it - I hadn’t heard us laugh so much as a business in a long time. That evening people were coming up to me and saying what a great day it had been and that it was one of the best things they’d done. They all came away with some new tools and felt uplifted.
And longer term?
Every day the sales team come in and write their attitude on a board. It helps people who aren’t necessarily in the right frame of mind to get support from the rest of the team to change their attitude for the day. They’ve also started throwing fish soft toys around when they get an order in: things that are helping them play and have fun at work. And we’re starting to hear more stories about things that have gone well in the day and are much better at thanking people for their efforts.
Ultimately, it’s up to our people to want to make these changes. We’ve been letting the teams make changes from the bottom up, they’ve taken ownership and are using the FISH! principles every day. Whatever happens, day-to-day FISH! is a constant reminder that there are always opportunities out there so let’s go and get them!
