Opinion: Blackjack Promotions on prioritising people in times of crisis

In this guest column, travel retail and brand experience specialist Blackjack Promotions reflects on its response to the global pandemic. Three of the company’s leaders explain why their people took priority during the industry’s biggest crisis to date… and how that crisis opened up new opportunities.

Blackjack Promotions Head of Travel Retail Leanne Nutter shares the biggest lesson learned through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has tested us all, including the travel retail and aviation industry,” she says. “When put under immense pressure, we realise our strengths. One of the most notable for Blackjack Promotions is how agile, determined and motivated our team is.

“International travel restrictions and event cancellations meant Blackjack Promotions had to adapt and evolve. We are experts in connecting consumers with brands through memorable experiences, but in a world where everyone stayed at home, we simply couldn’t achieve this in the same way.”

Rather than wait for the world to reopen, Nutter says Blackjack Promotions sought new opportunities where the company could leverage the strength, skills and agility that its team has to offer.

“The sector most in need of those qualities at the time, was healthcare. As people specialists, we are proud to have been given the opportunity to help in the fight against COVID-19,” she adds.

“We successfully redeployed hundreds of team members into the NHS to support COVID-19 related activity, opening up a new long-term business stream for us and our people. As travel retail started to re-open following the first lockdown, we worked hard to prepare our teams and ensure they had the confidence to return to the travel retail environment. Our #BeReady campaign provided essential training on returning to work safely and we introduced an employee assistance program focused on welfare.”

Nikki Fisher, Head of Staffing at Blackjack Promotions, describes how Blackjack Promotions entered a new sector.

“We were able to quickly mobilise a flexible operational team, with the right skills and competencies through our vetted database, to support the NHS. It gave our people a morale boost and a sense of purpose when they needed it most”

“As the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic began to escalate, so did the number of patient admissions. The additional pressure placed on UK hospitals was enormous,” she says.

Fisher notes the increased demand for manpower in the hospitals, to direct and assist patients, and a surge in demand for additional high touch-point cleaning, deep-cleaning, porterage and PPE logistics.

“Additionally,” she says, “a significant number of NHS staff – including critical cleaning teams – were forced to shield or self-isolate, which caused gaps in service delivery.

“We were able to quickly mobilise a flexible operational team, with the right skills and competencies through our vetted database, to support the NHS. It gave our people a morale boost and a sense of purpose when they needed it most. The move into NHS support not only protected jobs within our business in the short term and offered our people a level of reassurance, but it has also created a longer-term opportunity for future growth within healthcare.”

“What has become apparent during this time of crisis is that, it isn’t just our business model that is agile and resilient, so are our people”

Fisher underlines Blackjack Promotions’ partnership with Cignpost Diagnostics, through which the company provided 250 trained team members to service the manpower needs at COVID-19 testing sites at Heathrow, Gatwick and Edinburgh airports.

“Our agile workforce are helping to carry out swab tests, marshal car parks and support on-site administration,” she says.

“What has become apparent during this time of crisis is that, it isn’t just our business model that is agile and resilient, so are our people. They are remarkably diversifying into new service areas and continuing to deliver first class service, all driven by Blackjack’s culture of prioritising our people.”

Blackjack Promotions Head of Experiential and International Operations Fiona Rayner says the experience of working through the pandemic really delivered on the mission statement of the business’ parent company, ABM, which is to ‘make a difference, every person, every day’.

“At our core, ABM is a people business. We lead with our people to make a difference and that is what we’ve seen Blackjack Promotions deliver throughout the pandemic.

“Across the ABM portfolio, we have introduced initiatives to nurture our team, drive recognition and engage people during the pandemic. We are currently training members of our team in mental health first aid, which includes how to help cope with depression and recognise poor mental health; how to help others with mental health illnesses and learning non-judgemental listening skills.”

Rayner highlights Blackjack Promotions’ launch of a Recognition Certificate scheme which rewards the work of its team members. The launch coincided with the company’s Team Member Appreciation Week.

“As the UK gradually comes out of lockdown and looks forward to further easing of restrictions in the coming weeks, we are feeling immensely proud of the people behind this business,” Nutter adds.

“Over the past year, our team members have proven themselves to be nimble, shown outstanding flexibility and maintained excellent work ethic during an extremely difficult period. We look forward to what it is shaping up to be a very exciting year ahead together,” she concludes.