'Always the last to know'

Reflections and Learning - Part 3

'I didn't know'; 'nobody told me'; 'I'm always the last to know' phrases that abound throughout our personal life and our world of work. When planning and delivering a schedule of events, we've started calling it a tour it feels more 'musiky,' communication is key

Flash back a few months

to our National Final - our biggest show to date. Broad plans for all our events are sketched out months in advance and as we get closer the plans tighten, schools are scheduled in, songs identified and the running orders plans generated and communicated to hosts, crew, tech staff, schools and so on. While all these basics are in place for all events The National Final is a bit different.. There is a set of skeleton documents which can't be completed until the last minute e.g. we don't know who the schools are, what the songs will be, seating plans, finalised ticketing and box office arrangements etc. We also have the planning associated with the guest acts - final confirmation of attendance, tech specs, sound checks and rehearsals and how this will fit with our own show requirements. In 2024 our guest act was late due to unforeseen traffic issues forcing us to make changes to the day so we need contingencies too.

For reasons outwith this blog we didn't get all the pieces in place until a few weeks before the event. We then had to build a show still with variables that we hadn't encountered in the Challenge before and some that we wouldn't be able to finalise until the morning of the Final. We had two weeks to go - we built our show plans plus contingency plans. We then had to discuss and agree these with the production, sound and lighting teams, find a new supplier for one piece of kit and once agreed communicate the plans to everyone. The two weeks prior to the event were quite stressful with each day being one of running scenarios, making phone calls, video calls, in person meetings, emails, whatsApp, texts in fact almost every communication tool you can think of. We felt that we dealt with the lead weeks quite well although my waking up from a dream where we had so much equipment and kit in the venue that we had no seats for children and parents was slightly disconcerting.

While we don't have a formal communication strategy, perhaps we should, we do have a series of documents that are issued to appropriate parties as we go. We also have an acute awareness of the different need of our different audiences/customers and their needs and use about every communication tool available to us. On the day around fifty people were involved in delivering the Final and while plans/schedules/emails provide the backbone for everything on the day it's different. The dynamics change, it get's personal, decisons are quick, communication lines have to be clear, communication is fast, verbal and at times fraught. It also needs to be two way in order for matters to be identified, raised and managed. There is also a need for clear direction coupled with consideration of various needs e.g.

• children - our key customers but the pathway to them is guarded quite rightly and strongly by parents, teachers and headteachers

• head teachers/ teachers/ choir leaders/ schools support - without whom we have no challenge

• School Communities - we know Glee can have a truly positive impact on school communities so it is important that we address the needs parents/carers.

• our volunteers, judges, helpers and our team - who engage with us across the whole season.

• production crews, front of house and back of house teams.

• on-line streaming audience

• Stakeholders - local councils, press and media and so on.

Every communication tool in the box was used but there is a single golden thread holding it all together - a shared value that we all wanted to pull of a show that would give the most positive experience we could for over 300 children, their teachers, carers/parents and supporters.

There is one other element - everyone is important regardless of role and we try to our best to speak to everyone involved, in fact missing out someone is viewed by us as a point of personal failure. We also try to reply to every email, text or message sent to us - it's not an easy task when we're on the road running 30 shows but we do try. We also thank our schools, the venue teams, crews, photographer, videographer by email after every show - it's important.

The personal touch is important to us. We view Glee as a family and work hard to keep everyone informed and on board. Nobody wants to be last to know, it will happen, however, it's the 'always'.

bit that's the problem so keep that in mind.