Another month has passed and with it another milestone – I’ve officially been at scarlettabbott for three months.
It’s been a whirlwind so far and this month was no different. Putting my thoughts down on paper, four key themes emerged: meetings, projects, collaboration and celebration. Here’s how it all went down:
Meetings
While hardly a day goes by without a meeting or two, this month was particularly vibrant.
We had lunch and learn session with Sliced Bread, who talked us through some of the exciting projects they’re working on in the world of digital learning, 3D animation, and – my personal favourite – virtual reality.
We reintroduced Hive – our monthly knowledge-sharing get-together. First, Senior IC Consultant Will explained why, when it comes to content, less is often more. Then, Head of Digital Tony took to the virtual stage to discuss the benefits of digital signage. Lastly, but by no means least(ly), Head of Culture and Insights Lisa explained why, in our own way, we’re all consultants.
We also welcomed back Dr Laura Taylor for a wellbeing session all about mental health and how to switch off from work. She shared some in-the-moment tips to handle overwhelming stress, including sense safari, star jumps and, the one that works best for me, box breathing. It involves taking deep breaths in and out for four counts each. I also like to draw a box with my finger as I go, to help anchor me back to my senses.
Projects
This one is a no-brainer; no projects = no project manager = I’m out of a job. Thankfully February had projects galore, both existing and new.
One of our long-standing clients had their next quarterly townhall. So we got stuck into helping draft up some pre-comms, creating some slick presentation slides and even pulling together an exciting sizzle reel for all their upcoming big innovations.
Then a new project landed in my lap, this time focusing on culture and values. It was daunting at first. I was off sick the Friday before and came in on Monday to an ominous ‘briefing call’. Thankfully all was explained, and nerves turned to excitement as I discovered this would be my first solo outing as a project manager.
Collaboration
The highlight of my month surprisingly involved hauling myself out of bed at 5:45am. It was an exciting trip down to London for our project manager away day. With three project managers based in the capital, it’s rare to find us all in the same room together.
Our day started with the usual email checking, replying to messages, etc, but from the comfort of our flexible workplace at Spaces. Close by was all the conveniences, including a small café for snacks and hot drinks.
Lunchtime brought far more eating options than the York office could ever hope to achieve. Our pick? Wahaca – Mexican street food bursting with flavour and, to my dismay, spice. I’m a mess at the first sign of spice – korma is my ideal level. Luckily, we had plenty of water and nachos at hand to sooth the palette.
After lunch, it was time to put our project manager brains to the test. We had a confidence check-in before getting to work on some paired project-based scenarios. It was great to see that even though I’ve only been at the company a short time, I understand our processes, and can confidently talk through my next steps.
We ended the day by sharing our proudest scarlettabbott moment. For me, it was delivering my first start-to-end project and writing these memoirs of my journey so far.
Celebrations
I had not one, but two reasons to celebrate this month. The first came in our monthly big huddle, where it was announced that I was January’s LinkedIn champion!
This competition, introduced by marketing manager Kate, is a way to encourage the whole team to test their social prowess and engage with people, stories and teammates on LinkedIn. And it’s worked a treat; playing upon our innate competitiveness.
The second celebration was a client saying thanks for all the hard work this year by sending a very welcome gift. I may have only been here three months, but I still took home a prized bottle of whisky for my efforts!
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