BOURNEMOUTH 7S
Time to tackle welfare It’s vital to look after your staff. Craig Mathie, managing director of Bournemouth 7s, talks about the festival’s decision to increase staff welfare facilities at this year’s event
How did Bournemouth 7s 2022 go and how did it compare to last year? We were absolutely delighted with how the 15th Bournemouth 7s Festival came together this year. The team had a fair bit more certainty, particularly in relation to COVID, and this allowed us to really hone our offering and improve our proposition for sports people and festivalgoers alike. I was absolutely delighted with how incredible the site looked this year and it’s been great to hear amazing feedback since we closed our doors. In addition to this, 2022 was notable for some incredible brand engagement and experiences – it’s clear to see that brands are ready and willing to engage with festival audiences again.
48 n www.eventbuyerslive.com
You increased staff welfare facilities at this year’s festival. What factors led to your decision to increase welfare provision? At the end of 2021, I attended a few industry events, including the fantastic Event Buyers Live, and was confronted by a host of colleagues and friends, who were absolutely done in after an incredibly challenging post-COVID return to major events. This reiterated to me that our industry needed to do more to look after the people who make our events come to life. Aligned to this, our incredible Bournemouth 7s team had gone through COVID uncertainty, a 42-day lead into our biggest ever festival and then a month lead into a festival launch.
They kept delivering but were under significant pressure and we realised that this was not sustainable. We have always been good at looking after our staff, but I was determined that we could and should do more to ensure that they enjoy going to work, even in the busiest times. What welfare provision did you previously deploy? How did this year’s provision differ? Staff welfare isn’t complicated; it’s just about making sure that you take care of the basics, which so easily get forgotten when everything is bang up against it. This year, we had a dedicated staff and welfare manager who was tasked with ensuring staff were fed, watered, and rested during the event. We
had several dedicated mental health first aiders, supported by our partnership with Dorset Mind, and ensured that welfare provisions were in place throughout the weekend. We worked with a new staff catering company, Kingsgate Catering, who delivered great hot food throughout the event and built a dedicated Light-On Lounge for staff to eat, rest, and relax during the event. In addition to this, we also looked to see where we could reduce shift times and avoid staff starting at the crack of dawn and finishing 18 hours later. Inevitably, there are long shifts and high pressure in our world, but we wanted to make sure our team knew how valued they all are in making Bournemouth 7s the success it is.
