Category Archives: Business

MID Communications achieves Platinum accreditation for its people practices

MID Communications is delighted to announce the achievement of Platinum level accreditation following a recent Investors in People (IIP) reassessment in June this year. This is highest possible achievement given by IIP, in recognition of great people practices.

The accreditation reflects the work the business has put in since the last assessment and our overall commitment to managing our people well and promoting high performance.

Since 1991, Investors in People has defined what it takes to lead, support and manage people well and MID Communications can now call itself one of the best employers for people practices in the UK. In our previous blog we mentioned our aim to achieve gold level, therefore, to exceed this target and achieve the Platinum award from IIP shows how big an achievement this is for MID Communications both as a team and a business.

Danny Simpson, our CEO said “I am so Proud of all our people and our efforts over the last 3 years; however, I am impressed with how following the framework robustly, it really has helped in shaping our people strategy and move the business forward. Not only is this amazing to be accredited with such a prestigious award, but the benefits to our business have been nothing short of fantastic. I would recommend any business to do this if you are passionate about growth, success and most importantly your people. I am proud of every one past and present that has helped play a part of our journey in building a great business. Our goal is to be an employer of choice in the Northwest; a company who invests in its people, knowing that they are the heart and engine of success.  I would also like to recognise our HR Director Jennifer Hulme who has led this project and framework all the way back in 2015, from the year she joined. If you have passionate people, with goals and determination, then anything is possible.”

Jenn Hulme, HR Director and Head of Stores commented “I am so pleased to be part of this great business; to be supported so fundamentally in the achievement of this fantastic accreditation really shows the quality and investment Danny Simpson, CEO makes in the People of MID Communications. I believe, if you put people at the heart of the business, engage, develop and motivate them to be better, then the performance will come. As well as HR Director, I have the great pleasure in leading the Store estate. I endeavour to bring my HR practice into my daily conversations and talk of the value of good people management, in helping to deliver targets. I hope this, plus a lot of focus on evidencing our performance helped us achieve our ultimate goal. For HR Practitioners it is often difficult to measure ‘how are we doing’; we rely on employee surveys etc. to tell us if we are measuring up. IIP is the ultimate scorecard for HR, one I would thoroughly recommend. This result will stay with me a very long time as it is the culmination of many years of hard work, however we will not sit on our laurels, as I know it is as hard to retain as it is to achieve”

As Jenn mentioned, the hard work will not stop now that we have achieved Platinum. We will continue to strive for excellent people practice in the years to come, an important factor that will allow this amazing business go from strength to strength.

The changing retail landscape

Following on from last week’s edition of The CEO Files about ‘retailtainment’ and the changes the retail world has gone through in the last few years, I just wanted to give my thoughts and predictions on what is still to come for retailers. The demand for online shopping will, without doubt, continue to dictate the market however I believe the impact of online will eventually start to plateau. The effect the online shopping industry has had would have been unimaginable, nevertheless, we are now seeing online retailers like Amazon wanting space on the high street. Could we see another shift in the coming years?

Over the space of 2019 and beyond we will see more advances in retail and shopping, a few of which I will give my opinion on below. I believe these will happen because of 5G, which launches this year, and will drive change even more. I will be covering 5G in The CEO Files in the coming weeks so make sure to keep an eye out. 5G doesn’t just bring faster internet on the mobile, it will bring so much more.

10 retail changes we’ll see this year

Below are my top 10 predictions of the next big changes that we will see impact retail and businesses alike in the very near future:

1. 3D Payments – This will become present this year due to mobile devices offering facial scanning to unlock them, this will move to payment like Apple Pay and android pay becoming even more popular.
2. Faster and simple shopping – like we’ve seen with ‘Dash Button’ ordering on Amazon.
3. Cashless environments – I believe in the next 3-5 years that mobile devices will replace all other payment methods as more and more people use smartphones and devices to pay for their goods. The UK is currently the third highest cashless country, behind Canada and Sweden.
4. AI and machine – learning customer’s needs faster and more efficient will become important for businesses. Also, this will shape things like driverless vehicles offering faster deliveries.
5. Voice recognition – ordering through our smart devices, ‘Hey Siri. ‘Alexa’, etc.
6. Mobile led approach – This method will be adopted by more and more businesses as 1 in 5 people use the smartphone to buy something every week. 66% of digital traffic in retail comes from a smartphone and over 50% convert to transact.
7. Social media – it will continue to disrupt the shopping and buying experience and will continue to replace call centres as web chat, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc see growth in marketing and customer interaction.
8. Push communications – through apps, beacons in stores and direct messages through social media will play a part in marketing changes.
9. VR – Virtual Reality has come on leaps and bounds and will feature in the buying experience. Consumers will be able to experience the virtual retail environment from their own private setting, at a time convenient to them.
10. 3D sensing – retailers will be able to use your facial expressions to decide the products they display. You will be shown products that you give a positive facial reaction to,

As you can see there is a lot on the horizon and a lot more change still to come in the retail industry. One thing that will stay the same is that the customer experience and the ability to ‘retailtain’ will always be paramount.

Thank you for reading and I hope this has been useful to my fellow retailers and business leaders. Please feel free to find me on Twitter (@DannyMIDSimpson) and give me your opinions on how you think the retail world will change in 2019 and beyond.

Until next time…

What is retailtainment?

Retailtainment is the word I have come to use a lot over the last couple of years. People who know me will know what this word means, but for those that don’t, this is the word I like to use to describe bringing the retail space alive.

Retail has obviously changed over the years but in the last three or four years it feels like the change has been a lot more abrupt and rapid. Why is this you ask? What can retailers do? What are the challenges ahead?

All good questions, that I will give my opinion on in this blog. I am extremely passionate about retail. I started my retail career at 20 years old with B&Q and have now been in the industry for 18 years. I love it and always will.

What have been the biggest changes in the retail industry?

I believe the three biggest changes have been:

1. Declining footfall on the high street
2. The birth of omnichannel
3. Internet retailers getting bigger, stronger and smarter

Over the last four years, footfall on the high street has declined by a considerable amount which presents some real challenges for us as a business. However, we still attract customers through our passion for excellent service, finding creative solutions to help our customers and, of course, ‘retailtainment’. Getting the team to bring the retail space alive and get involved in the community, is important.

Omnichannel brings online, voice and the retail space together giving consumers a seamless experience. Some retailers have really made huge strides on this and some have yet to start, but the landscape shows if you don’t utilise a cross-channel content strategy then customers will become disconnected with your brand. Consumers expect businesses to offer this and do it well in order to build that trust, credibility and loyalty.

Successful internet businesses have really tailored their approach to work online and are using this when they move to the high street, the clicks to bricks. However, the retailers fighting to compete in the online space, the bricks to clicks, have really suffered and struggled. You only need to look at the retailers that we have lost to see this. Maplins, Toys R Us, HMV and  Blockbuster are just a few. The digital world just simply cannot be ignored or used ineffectively.

So, what do customers want in our retail space? They want you to bring the product alive and create an experience, not just a sale. On a personal note, I love watching Waterstones have the Gruffalo, Peter Rabbit and many other characters in store and bring the books to life. This is added value that you can’t get purchasing a book online or on an eBook reader. This is what retailtainment is, giving the customer an experience that makes them want to come back.

I believe that, in the race to online, so many great retailers have forgotten about the people and the bricks and mortar part of their business. Service on the high street continues to frustrate, due to non-existent cross-channel and poor customer experience. This pushes the customer away from retail stores and onto online platforms.

In the next edition of The CEO Files, I will give my predictions on what changes and challenges are on the way for retail in 2019 and beyond. To see my previous blogs click here.

Until next time…

Happy New Year to all our customers, partners and associates

2018 was an exciting, fun and successful year for MID Comms and MID Group, now the new year is here and we’re ready to do it all over again even bigger and better. We want to say Happy New Year and to thank all of you, our customers, partners and associates, for supporting us on our journey and hope that continues into 2019.

My top three highlights from 2018 

As already mentioned, 2018 was a fantastic year for myself, both personally and professionally, as well as MID Comms and the wider MID Group as a whole. Every year I set goals, something that I believe is vitally important. Without a vision and goals that you stick to, you are at risk of losing sight of everything you’re trying to achieve. In the world of business there are always highs and lows, however, I must say that last year, as a business, we achieved some incredibly big things and I am proud of all those that worked hard in order to reach our objectives. So, what were my top three standout highlights from 2018?

MID Group Formation – It’s no secret, I love the world of telecommunications. I’ve worked in the industry for over a decade now and it’s fast-paced, ever-changing and extremely rewarding. However, since I joined MID Communications back in 2009, I’ve always strived for the business to evolve and continually develop and the idea of growing beyond just a telco company is one I have held for several years. Turning this idea into reality with the formation of MID Group in May 2018 is not only one of my top highlights of last year but one of the proudest achievements for the MID brand to date. MID Group is an umbrella corporation that all current and future MID businesses will sit under which you can find out more about here.

My Ideal Destination Launched – Once MID Group came along, obviously we had to think about what the first business to join MID Comms under the Group umbrella would be. Several ideas were banded around but there was one that really excited me and my partners, especially after the conversations we had with the wonderful Hays travel. In December 2018, after months of being kept under wraps, My Ideal Destination launched and became the first sister company of MID Comms as part of MID Group. We have an experienced team on board who are now raring to go and make My Ideal a success in 2019. I am proud of everyone involved in making My Ideal Destination a reality and even prouder that it is now launched and trading. Check it out if you have not already!

MID Comms Evolution – Last but not least I can’t forget to talk about MID Comms. I will be celebrating my 10-year anniversary with the company in September and it’s quite amazing how I’ve watched the business go from strength to strength. In 2018, MID Comms really evolved in all areas. Our learning and development structure has been improved, our social media presence has grown massively and as always we’ve made sure the customer is at the heart of everything we do. I am looking forward to seeing what this year has in store for MID Communications. I know that the team will work hard and put in maximum effort to smash it in 2019.

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of The CEO Files. There were too many highlights from last year to list them all but the three above I am especially proud of. So, fasten your seatbelt, set out your objectives and make sure you are ready to go out there and make 2019 a successful year whether that is for yourself personally or your business.

Until next time…

MID Comms lending a helping hand to Mission Christmas again this year

We’re fast approaching that time of the year that we all love. I’m like a big kid when it comes to the festive period and I can’t wait to spend it with my beautiful wife and children. It’s a time for everyone to get in good spirits and spend quality time together, exchanging gifts and Christmas joy. However, not everyone has this luxury. In 2018 there are still too many children across the North-West and the UK as a whole that are underprivileged. 1 in 3 children in Manchester live in poverty and this is completely unacceptable. That is why I am proud to say that, for the fifth year running, the whole of MID Communications will be pulling together in support of Cash for Kids Mission Christmas.

Cash for Kids is a cause that is very close to my heart and I have the pleasure of being a trustee for this amazing charity that does so much to enrich the lives of less fortunate children. Last year, as a business, we managed to raise an amazing amount of money and gifts and this year we’re going to do even better. We’re asking our customers, partners and associates to do something different this year. We’re asking you to swap your Secret Santa for Mission Christmas and we’d love it if you could join in the fun. At just a small cost you could make a child’s Christmas and I personally think that is something extremely powerful, heart-warming and worthwhile.

You’ll be able to donate gifts at any of our MID Comms O2 stores across the North-West and you can find your nearest in the link below. Also, if you happen to be visiting MID House before the 18^th December visiting myself or one of my colleagues then we’d love it if you could bring a gift that we’ll ensure makes its way to Cash for Kids.

Store Locator

Engaging your workforce this Christmas

As I mentioned at the start of the blog, I absolutely love this time of year. It’s a time for us to come together as a family, both inside and outside of work. I see MID Group as one big family and, as CEO, it’s my job to make sure that all its’ wonderful employees have an enjoyable festive period and are rewarded for all the hard work they’ve put in over the year. We need to ensure that we’re all having fun inside the workplace, so that we have a great end to the year as a business and get ready for some well-deserved time off.

Supporting Cash for Kids is just one of the things we do at MID Comms to engage our staff and get them in the Christmas spirit. We decorate our head office and stores, wear some outrageous clothes for Christmas Jumper Day and more.

However, this year I wanted to bring the whole of the business together, along with their families for a special surprise I’ve been planning, with the help of my fantastic PA Ascia, for some time now. This December, the MID Group team will take over the Trafford Centre Odeon to watch a festive film together with family, friends and colleagues. It’s our way of giving back for all the effort put in across the business this year.

All in all, giving your workforce a bit of reward and recognition at this time of year spreads a positive message, boosts morale and breeds excitement for what the new year will bring. In my opinion, it’s vitally important.

What are you doing to engage your employees this festive season?

Until the next edition of The CEO Files…