Why a small operations firm spent September giving back

Most of our working week goes on three things: process, people and systems. We map how work really flows, find where it gets stuck, and help teams put it right. It is practical work, and it always comes back to people.

We are a small, London-based business. We can’t write big cheques. What we can give is time, skills and effort, and we can turn up in person. This September we did all three.

Showing up in person

Some of the most useful conversations I’ve had this year happened face to face, over coffee, at local events such as Business & Brew and Stevenage Business Buzz. The introvert in me nearly talked me out of going more than once. Every time I pushed through and showed up, it paid off.

Those rooms are full of people doing good work on their doorstep. Kevin Poulton, CEO of CDA Herts, was one of them, and conversations like that are where community work starts.

This week I joined One YMCA’s Corporate Connect Club for its latest Network & Learn event, hosted at the offices of ProHal Chartered Certified Accountants. ProHal and Panthera Consultancy shared what is changing across tax and financial services, and the YMCA team gave an update on its 140th anniversary year and on how corporate partners and local businesses support its work across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and now Oxfordshire.

A big thank you to Peter Hopkins and the whole YMCA team for the welcome, and for bringing such a diverse mix of businesses into one room to connect, swap ideas and learn from each other. Read about the Corporate Connect Club event on LinkedIn.

Putting our skills where they help

Our day job is making complicated things clear. That turns out to be useful well beyond client work. We have been supporting CDA Herts, Hertfordshire’s rural community charity, as it opens new Digital Support sessions, starting at the John Clements Sports & Community Centre in Codicote.

The help people ask for is often small: an app update, the NHS App, two-step verification. Small things like these are exactly where people get shut out. We have also been turning the phone network switchover into plain-English guides, so households and small firms know what is changing and what to do. Read about our work with CDA Herts.

Doing something hard for a good cause

Pedro, Andy and I each took on the One YMCA 140 Challenge: 140 km on foot across September, raising money for young people in supported housing. We set a team target of £420. At the time of writing, you have helped us raise £1,173. Read the story of our 420 km.

Grateful for the people, the purpose, and the progress.

What this month taught us

• Small help goes a long way. A few minutes spent on an app update or a login code can reconnect someone with their GP, their bank or their family.
• Trust is built in person. The best client conversations and the best community work both start with turning up and listening.
• Nobody does it alone. When one of our team was sidelined, our friend Jon Satinet stepped in so we could still get out for another 5 to 10 km.

What comes next

Social responsibility is not a one-month project for us. We will keep supporting CDA Herts’ digital inclusion work as the phone network switchover gets closer, and we will keep fundraising for One YMCA until the challenge closes on 30 September.

If you run a community group in Hertfordshire or London and think a fresh pair of eyes on how things work could help, we would be glad to talk.