Nicola is one of our new culture consultants, exactly one week into the job she shares her thoughts on our recent ‘Culture Briefing Session, in Partnership with Carnival UK and Cunard’.
Last Wednesday, dragonfish held their first joint event with clients, Carnival UK and Cunard. The event was kindly hosted by Carnival UK at their offices in Southampton. This event wasn’t just a first for dragonfish, it was also my first event as a member of the team. Having started at the company just one week prior, Wednesday’s event was a wonderful reminder of why I chose to apply for a position at this company; it really did showcase what makes it so special and unique. I’m currently in the final stages of a PhD in the management of employee wellbeing, so for me it was really important to join a company that not only appreciated the importance of grounding their approach in solid research but also understood the way that this can be applied in practice.
Dragonfish’s research based, results driven approach was exactly what I was looking for and Wednesday’s event demonstrated beautifully how research and practice can fit together to deliver real results.
During the afternoon, dragonfish gave two presentations in which the company shared their recent pioneering research into vision, purpose, and values which was conducted with Bournemouth University, as well as the links between customer experience and employee experience. Following this, Hannah Leach, Director of Internal Comms at Carnival UK, gave us an insight into the changes they had implemented. This included shifts in employee experience which contributed to an impressive increase in their employee net promotor score from 6 to 22 over a 6-month period. From Cunard, Brand Director Lee Powell and Guest Experience Project Manager Pete Van de Pas shared their journey including the rejuvenation of Cunard’s world-renowned White Star Service.
For the guests, as well as for me personally, this was a great opportunity to see what the approach looks in real life; the impact the work has had on staff and customers, as well as the challenges that presented themselves along the way.
In addition to the presentations, there was of course also ample opportunity for questions and discussion throughout the event. There were guests from 34 different organisations, so lots of different perspectives in the room! I enjoyed several thought-provoking conversations and one of the things that really stood out for me was just how surprised and appreciative everyone seemed to be with the amount of rich content which was shared by dragonfish as well as Carnival UK and Cunard.
On reflection, it strikes me that the fact that Carnival UK and Cunard were happy to co-host Wednesday’s event, and to share the amazing journeys they had been on, is a testament not only to the effectiveness of dragonfish’s approach but also to the special relationships that the company builds with the organisations they support. However, perhaps above all else, Wednesday’s event made me feel exceptionally lucky to have joined a company that really does practice what it preaches. I think part of the magic of dragonfish is that everyone seems to feel the same way, and
this really shone through on Wednesday afternoon.