The saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ often gets left to the old-age catalogue of Dad jokes, complemented by a watch thrown across the room. However, when it comes to our team from the North, the cliché saying runs true. It’s been just over a year since we first opened our doors in Scotland and last month marked the second year running that we delivered flexible staff to one of Scotland’s biggest sporting events, the Scottish Grand National.
The reason this event is so significant is that it was the first large-scale sporting event for our Scottish team in 2018. In what is a notoriously fun weekend, last year’s races brought a great team spirit and ultimately gave the Scottish office a great model – build a pool of workers that enjoy working through GIG as much as they do for the client’s themselves. It’s just an example of how extra support pays off in an industry that will always be focused around people.
With another jam-packed year at the races over, we sat down with our Manager of Business for Scotland and Northern England, Janette, to recap the past year, the challenges the team has faced and why GIG has been such as big success throughout Scotland.
First off, how was the Scottish Grand National this year?
There was definitely a sense of pride and nostalgia on the day. It was sort of surreal doing it again, especially as it didn’t feel like long ago that we did it in 2018! We booked a record number of GIG Seekers for the event at 200 workers, which accumulated to over 2000 hours over the weekend. It was also really nice to see some of the same Seekers from last year coming back again, which gave us a great sense of pride.
People enjoy working through us because we're also supportive. For example, I'll organise a small breakfast or goody bags for our Seekers at large-scale events or organise a bus to pick up workers travelling from afar.
How has it been building a pool of talented workers in the region?
When we started out, we found that a lot of workers were quite new to the freedom and flexibility the GIG app provides. However, once that word-of-mouth spread, the registrations just took off. People enjoy working through us because we're also supportive. For example, I'll organise a small breakfast or goody bags for our Seekers at large-scale events or organise a bus to pick up workers travelling from afar. They're small gestures but they go a long way in motivating the team on the day.
We now have over 700 Seekers and I think our approach to communicating and building these subtle relationships with our workers has helped us attract really enthusiastic and talented workers.
What’s been one of the highlights over the past year?
I don’t know if there’s a single highlight but the Gran National is definitely up there. It's been a solid year and it's been fun; we’re building a strong reputation in the hospitality sector and our growing relationships with large-scale sporting events has been fantastic. There’s definitely been ups and downs and stressful periods but the team has always delivered, especially with the support of my dear Mylo, our morale boosting office canine.
...We’re now staffing events such as The Stirling Marathon, Scottish Premier league football games, The Six Nations rugby finals and music events such as Rolling Stones, TRNSMT, Spice Girls, Pink and more!...
What do you think has challenged you and the team the most?
A think a big challenge, as with any expanding business, has been building presence and reputation in the region. When we first started, we were introducing a brand new concept of staffing to a region stuck in a traditional recruitment mindset. But even with the expected quiet periods that hospitality provides, we’ve grown and grown throughout the country.
We’re now staffing some of the biggest hotel chains in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as events such as The Stirling Marathon, Scottish Premier league football games, The Six Nations rugby finals and music events such as Rolling Stones, TRNSMT, Spice Girls, Pink and more! It’s a real mix of work but it just shows that more businesses are opening their doors to on-demand, flexible work, and our GIG Seekers are more than happy to work at all sorts of venues and events as it keeps it exciting!
To find out more about how GIG can help your staffing needs, simply contact janette@gigtogig.co.uk
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