Skylark Media are a creative video production agency based in Bristol. Founded in 2005, Managing Director, Jo Haywood has dedicated her life to alerting people about the climate crisis and to this day she remains true to her mission to use video as a medium to tell the story of environmental solutions.
Currently, she leads an eight-strong team of video creatives and strategists, with a desire to work with partners who want to affect change through video.
A certified B Corp, the business has always nurtured creative talent and this has continued through the support they have received from the Workforce for the Future programme.
In November 2021, Jo started working with Julia Gurr, a Business Skills Advisor at Business West, who is helping to deliver free support to businesses in the West of England.
Jo recalls, “Initially I had some calls with Julia about the strategic direction for the company and that was really helpful, just to have somebody to listen to me and use as a sounding board. We then talked more about training for my current workforce, workforce planning, and talent retention, especially as we were just coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, where recruitment and retention were challenges a lot of businesses were facing.”
Working with a team of highly skilled creatives, Jo felt that her workforce would benefit from some cross-job training in other business-related skills, to support them moving forward and develop their roles within the business.
“I wanted to offer something to everyone, so a lot of my production team have done training in things like project management, sales, Microsoft Excel and being a future leader, all of which I would not have known about had it not been for Julia connecting me with the right people. The training courses have benefitted the business – we now have better project management being carried out and my staff are able to get a lot more from the software we are using, by being more aware of its capabilities.”
With staff development at the forefront of her mind, Jo also sought help regarding her staff appraisals and freelance contracts, wanting to ensure these were up-to-date, effective and fit for purpose.
“With my appraisals, I wanted to make sure that I was asking the right questions and getting the most out of my time with the team. I’ve always assumed the practice I was taught was the best way, but it was a great chance for me to check in on that. Julia provided me with some great templates and forms which really helped me improve on what I was doing. She also put me in touch with an HR expert, who gave me feedback on our contracts, and we’ve now included a reference to our B Corp status and how all staff can follow steps to remain sustainable, so those are two things we were supported to tidy up internally, which was really timely and great for the business.”
Working with Julia and Business West also allowed Jo to hone in on producing new job descriptions for some of the team, which in turn increased their pride and confidence in their roles, as well as offering advice on routes to recruit and whether apprenticeships would be suitable for the business.
As for plans for the future, Jo has recently employed some new starters and she is keen to continue to offer her team development opportunities.
“They’ve all got a taste for it now and I definitely want to be offering them training on a regular basis – they get a lot out of it and if I can do this via Workforce for the Future, this will be my preferred route.
Without Workforce for the Future, I wouldn’t have known where to access this training. As a small agency, with no HR department, the Business West team has slotted in as my HR/team development help and that has had a hugely positive impact. It’s been a very positive experience for me.”
To find out more about Skylark Media and the work they do, visit their website.
Find out more about how Business West can help via the Workforce for the Future programme here.
Business West is currently celebrating one year of becoming a B Corp. Find out more here
About Workforce for the Future
Business West is delivering Workforce for the Future in collaboration with other partners and the West of England Combined Authority.
For more information on Workforce for the Future, please visit the West of England Growth Hub. The Growth Hub is the West of England Combined Authority’s dedicated business support service which offers free, one-to-one advice and guidance for SMEs.
The West of England Workforce for the Future programme has received £4m of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
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