The Spektrix Conference 2019

Welcome to the 2019 Conference from Spektrix's Managing Director, Alice Young.

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We open the day with a series of short, sharp and inspiring stories from arts leaders about how they are building and deepening resilience within their organisations. Liam Evans-Ford (Theatr Clwyd), Brenna Hobson (National Theatre of Scotland) and Millicent Jones (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) will share their thinking and learnings around the conference themes of Healthy Workplace, Cultivating Relationships and The Bottom Line and leave you enthused and ready to embrace the day.

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How do we engage our teams to develop a positive, collaborative and empowered staff culture? From recruitment to induction and through to ongoing training and development, Sheffield Theatres explore the benefits of cross departmental working and the impact of a values-based organisational culture. With insight into their approach across sales, communications and fundraising teams, the panel offers insight into the power of investing in your teams and enhancing your company culture.

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Cultural organisations need to deepen the relationships they have with their audiences; from a purely commercial perspective it is much cheaper to get someone who is already a customer to come back, yet the Spektrix Insights report shows that many organisations are not quite succeeding with this. The total experience you offer plays a key part in how loyal your audiences are. The customer journey is not a series of isolated, disconnected interactions (even if it is being delivered by a series of disconnected departments), and to offer an excellent customer experience there needs to be thought, consistency and consideration given to how those interactions inter-relate and are delivered. This session will look at how you map your customer journeys and how thoughtful customisation of aspects of your digital activity could significantly enhance the customer experience, driving engagement, revenue and loyalty. We will share tools and techniques that can be used to map your customer journeys, examples - large and small - in which this approach has been successful, and explore how custom web development has achieved significant improvements in customers’ experience.

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In this session we’ll explore how prioritising accessibility in your organisation can help you reach new audiences, improve working conditions for your staff and bring benefits to your wider audience base; and how you can use Spektrix to help you achieve this, as a functional tool and also a consultative partner. We’ll look at how improving the experience of your existing and new access bookers helps your teams deliver a first class service and hear from industry experts on how we can all develop our approach to Access in the arts. Join us for a discussion on how to open these conversations up with your teams and advocate for accessibility to form part of your core objectives.

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How can arts organisations develop an approach to philanthropy that resonates with younger customers? What specific factors do you need to consider in order to attract the next generation of donors and retain them in the long term? An expert panel will discuss donor psychology, the perspective and experience of a young arts philanthropist and how cultural organisations can turn today’s young ticket-buyers into tomorrow’s most valuable supporters.

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In a data-rich age it’s easy to get overwhelmed by masses of available figures and reports. In this sea of data, are you focusing on the metrics that really count, or being distracted by measures that aren’t crucial to examining and monitoring your organisation’s financial stability and the loyalty of your patrons? Beyond measuring ticket volume, revenue and capacity, there are a few simple metrics that are critical organisation-wide to understanding the reliance your organisation has on your patrons. How loyal are your patrons, really? Is loyalty growing in your organisation? Are their contributions to the bottom line across ticket buying, memberships, subscriptions and giving growing? TRG Arts will share six key metrics that your organisation should be measuring. We’ll share examples and insights from arts and cultural organisations of all genres and sizes who have used these metrics to inform decision-making, confirm organisational priorities, and as a result have generated increased revenue and improved patron loyalty.

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In this panel discussion, senior leaders will share their organisations’ approach to setting financial targets for sales and fundraising. Join a conversation with your peers and executive leadership that will focus on ways of working that facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and how to foster a joined up approach to setting realistic targets. Through real life examples from four of the country's most successful cultural organisations, sector leaders demonstrate how careful, data-led target setting can inspire teams to greater collaboration and effort whilst managing expectations from stakeholders, boards, and staff members themselves. This session provides inspiration and approaches for you to guide your teams to shared success in 2020.

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Transactions made over the phone and in person are on average 40% higher in value than those made online, according to the Spektrix Insights Report. In a shifting cultural landscape from physical to digital, Rebecca Steen - Box Office Manager at Town Hall Symphony Hall - and Roddy Gauld - CEO at Bolton Octagon - will share their stories of how they were persuaded to see the value of human beings as the best sources of customer insight and data for their organisation, and how their bottom line is ultimately driven by the power of people.

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Audience members come and go… but how do we ensure they return year on year? In this session, we will explore the various metrics and techniques in Spektrix that you can use to identify audience personas at your organisation to facilitate strategic decision making targeted at securing audience loyalty. Whether it’s lapsed attenders, first timers, or genre specific audiences, dynamic marketing is a must.

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Poor mental health is now the number one reason for staff absence. Addressing this and opening up conversations around mental ill health within your organisation is essential to providing employees with support and guidance to bring them back to a healthy state. During this session, our speakers will provide guidance in taking an honest, practical and effective stance on mental health through discussions around: Taking an holistic approach to health, giving mental health the same significance as physical wellbeing; Ideas for implementing workplace mental health initiatives; Advice in establishing guidelines to comply with policies and legal requirements; Communication skills and advice to facilitate dialogue around mental health and illness in the workplace. The session will be practical and full of takeaways you can begin to implement within your own organisations. Mental illness and dealing with wellbeing isn’t always straightforward so our speakers will be highlighting the difficulties around these conversations and encouraging you to explore what might work for your organisation.

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In recent years we’ve seen fellow charitable organisations become embroiled in controversy regarding their corporate affiliates. In many cases, the decision to retain or terminate those relationships has fallen to fundraisers. But should an individual fundraiser be responsible for determining the ethical policy of their whole organisation? And with less public subsidy than ever, how does the cultural sector respond to ever-increasing scrutiny around corporate fundraising? In this session, Michelle Wright - founder and CEO of Cause4 - will offer expert advice on navigating the moral maze of corporate partnerships for organisations of all sizes, and provide a framework for establishing a robust ethical policy that your whole organisation (not just fundraisers) can own.

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Take some time over lunch to network with fellow arts professionals, or book ahead for one of our inspiring Lunchtime Sessions.

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Take some time over lunch to network with fellow arts professionals, or book ahead for one of our inspiring Lunchtime Sessions.

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New ways of thinking, new ways of working: this session will illustrate the value of adopting a more joined-up approach in organisations to maximising B2C income (i.e. income from individual customers). In commercial organisations, the mantra “turnover for vanity, profit for sanity” is well understood. Do our organisations think about leveraging income streams to maximise the contribution to the bottom line? Or are our income-generating strategies siloed, with individual departments focused on their own turnover targets? In this session we will explore the inter-relationship between the income that is generated from Admissions, Affiliation (e.g. memberships, donations) and through Ancillary sales (e.g. retail, F&B). We will look at how change in one area can impact income in another and how different business models lend themselves to different strategies when it comes to retaining more of that hard earned income! The session will include a mix of theory and practical case study examples, with some tips and tricks to help you maximise income and build your resilience.

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A talk about empathy. An explanation, via an illustrated talk, of ways to think about the world from outside the bubble of working within your arts organisation, and why that approach can benefit everyone in your organisation – including your ticket buyers, donors and artistic director.

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Many cultural organisation websites have a ‘Support Us’ page, but no one is looking at them. The team at Supercool benchmark data across their sites, and the data shows that no one is looking at these pages. So how do you get potential and existing donors to make donations online? Using case studies from Town Hall Symphony Hall, Chichester Festival Theatre, MAC and Sheffield Theatres, we’ll look at how organisations are successfully raising funds online. We’ll look at how you can use storytelling and compelling images and messaging to encourage donations. We’ll look at how you can use Spektrix web components in flexible and smart ways to put the ask in the best places. We’ll also look at why the website can’t do it alone - you need to involve everyone in the organisation! We know people don’t have unlimited time and budgets, so the emphasis will be on the biggest gains for the smallest inputs.

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Michael Nabarro, Spektrix CEO and co-founder

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Do you fully understand what coaching is about? Often leaders in our industry are expected to know it all and get it done when in reality very few of us are given opportunities or time for upskilling. Do you also feel that, whatever coaching really is, you can’t afford to spend hours having complex conversations with everyone? Our question to you is: can you afford NOT to coach? Is your business fully productive, everyone is motivated to do their jobs well and everyone is always striving to operate at their full potential? Are you confident in the sustainability of your work model? You don’t need sophisticated coaching skills to have coaching conversations with your team members. In this session Gabriela Gandolfini - an experienced Coach for Performance, with a background in the cultural sector - will explain what coaching is and give you actual tools you can use to have coaching conversations. Don’t worry, no role play involved but we need your voluntary participation with examples. At the end of the session we will ask you this question again: Can you afford NOT to coach?

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In this session, speakers from Arts Council England and from successful cultural organisations will explore the growing landscape of audience data collection and segmentation in the arts sector. With so many tools, models and methods of analysis available - it’s more important than ever to implement good practice in data strategy to deliver value back to your organisation from the information you collect.

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When trying to fulfill strategic aims and hit your business’s targets, it can be difficult to hit pause and think about how to keep your staff learning and improving from what they’ve been doing. Retrospectives, a key part of agile workplaces, is a very simple, easy-to-learn practice that allows a team to build trust, reflect on recent work and constantly evolve as a team and workforce. Members of Spektrix’s own engineering team will deliver an interactive workshop to help you understand the benefits of retros, and give you the tools to start retro-ing right away!

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In this session Sarah Frost, Client Insight Manager and co-author of the Spektrix Insights Report, will discuss how having a well thought through, low level giving strategy can be a lucrative way to raise additional funds. Focusing on an holistic, cross-departmental approach using multiple tools across the Spektrix system and beyond, she’ll be sharing some best practice examples from other Spektrix users and practical hints and tips for getting the most out of your CRM system. This session will prove low level giving shouldn’t be overlooked or deprioritised, and can complement your high level cultivation strategies.

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In this session, the AMA will explore how a more inclusive organisational composition helps to create a more resilient organisation. Bea Udeh will describe her work to diversify the AMA’s member rep network and its impact. Deaf social entrepreneur and AMA board member, Jane Cordell, will describe how the AMA has pursued inclusion in its Board. Both speakers will take an honest look at: The process involved in being genuinely inclusive, including the challenges; The positive changes that have resulted; and how this policy will be sustained and developed in future.

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Before our unmissable closing keynote, we take a moment to pause and reflect on the sessions, connections and moments of inspiration we’ve shared throughout the day.

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Touretteshero’s Jess Thom will share how she led a change with Battersea Arts Centre to make the whole space and experience accessible to everyone, from booking tickets, arriving, right through to enjoying the shows. All performances are now relaxed unless otherwise stated. Jess will be introduced by Tarek Iskander, BAC Artistic Director and CEO. Tarek’s previous roles include National Director for Theatre at Arts Council England and Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio. He was also one of the founders and Associate Artistic Director of the Yard Theatre in Hackney. Jess and Tarek are two people working to make culture more inclusive. Their work breaks the mould. Our 2019 conference aims to equip organisations to embrace the coming years with resilience. Jess and Tarek will inspire us to further our inclusivity ambitions for our new and existing audiences, visitors, donors and participants.

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