Working from Hols

I know you are supposed to shut everything down when you go on holiday and not be contactable by man nor beast. I would like to present an alternative view....

I find it much more relaxing if I know all is well (yes, I know its my business so I am much more bought in than some) - this consists of using mobile tech for what is intended for.

check my email once over breakfast (reply in 10 words or less if needed) - be available if someone wants to / needs to talk to me and...........that's about it

this approach helps me relax better and enjoy my break much more than some self enforced purdah

works for me!

New OME Home

So this week, we left the www.businessdesigncentre.co.uk where we have been for 9!! years - where did that time go??. It felt vaguely emotional to leave (not that emotional - no tears were shed)

But everyone has had a lovely lift with the new office environment - its great because of

1. its light and bright (like your house - dark and gloomy will never be one's preference
2. Everything is shiny and new - desks, floors, IT kit (I wont mention the relocation budget - which was blown)
3. Outside access - lovely roof terrace for lunch, post work drinks, a break from your colleagues ( I am not sure this will be quite so attractive in February)
4. Other people - we share the building with 3 or 4 other businesses - who are all in creative digital industry - so we don't have to talk to the same old faces we share an office with for the last x years
5. Lovely board rooms and meeting rooms for clients, suppliers and partners

So - everyone buzzing, productivity going through the roof, happy staff

I predict this uplift will last a long time - at least until next Tuesday anyway - when I will get the first comment that "its not the same as the good old days in the old office"

OME Hospital Club

Wow - its our 10th event tonight (if you want to find out more go here) - it started off as an idea Kork had one day 4 years ago and its now become a proper thing. As ever equally worried about too many people turning up for capacity and simultaneously fearful - it will be just us and the speakers and a lot of food and drink.

Why does it work?
1. It is completely not a sales event (obvs we have picked up clients - but that's because we are great)
2. It has a small bit of content - but it really is about networking
3. People can drift in and stop for a beer - or end up in Covent Garden at 2am (I have done both)
4. Its kind of semi regular - 3 events one year, 2 the next and I quite like it that way.


Anyway - look forward to meeting some good folk tonight

A Seismic Event in History

OME are moving out of the Business Design Centre in Islington, We have been here (in ever expanding units) since we launched 9 years ago and I feel rather emotional about it all. we are heading to a beautiful location with crazy stuff like access to natural light, roof terrace and bar downstairs but it wont be the same as our lovely gloomy Stalag.

So does location affect culture?
1. I hope it marks a step up as we continue to grow and prosper
2. Maybe it will make us more professional as we will be in such a cool space.
3. But I hope it does not take away the fun and informal atmosphere that I think our staff and clients like.
4. Anyway - I think its a good excuse to have a summer party, so hopefully the landlord wont ask us to leave the next morning!

In Praise of 33

Not exactly breaking news but last month - ThirtyThree (rec ad agency/comms/rec marketing agency)- sold for loads of money an undisclosed sum to Capita. So congrats to the owners but I thought I would just state a few things I learnt from working there for a couple of years in early 2000s,knowing the owners quite well and as part of the wider industry over the last decade, and they are:

1. You can run a successful highly profitable business while simultaneously treating your staff, suppliers and clients with warmth, respect and honour. I had witnessed some successful businesses who treated staff appallingly, or overcharge clients or beat up suppliers - but it does not have to be that way.

2. You can grow and not lose your sense of identity. Now this point is more as an observer - but they maintained reputation of being creative, innovative and interesting as much as a 120 person company as a 20 person company.

3. Making money is vital but you can have a laugh along the way too. Despite what some of our more serious industry colleagues think - we are not curing cancer or saving the planet - we are creating/delivering campaigns for staff /employees/companies and that is really, really important but.....not that important


I like to think we have implemented much of this here at OME but let me know if you think I am wrong!

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back to Dom’s blog

Well when I retired my blog in April last year – I did not imagine it would only be dormant for about 11 months. So why are we re-launching

1. By popular demand of course. I have received 2 messages literally been flooded with requests to bring it back. It would be wrong of me not to give the people (my mum and auntie Pam) what they want.

2. We are doing something different – so interspersed with my comments on what is going on “out there” in recruitment marketing, candidate attraction, rec technology – will be other stuff. Such as -

3. Vlogging where appropriate (and probably when inappropriate too) we will be uploading some short clips of think pieces, events, comments

4. An insight into the wider OME – when I started the original blog we were a young, start-up with 4 staff – we now employ nearly 20 people and one of the biggest buyers of recruitment media in the UK – this vlog/insight/news section should reflect the many different voices that make up OME now.

5. Create an opportunity for suppliers/partners/clients to have some interactivity/conversations or just post abusive comments

Anyway – hope you find it useful and just for clarification and an amended legal disclaimer - The opinions expressed herein are mine alone but probably also do represent the opinions of most other people at OME too

Blogged Out

I saw that for first time ever (in 7 years of life) I had not blogged for a couple of months. And I was about to launch into a thinly veiled OME PR piece commentary on the trends in rec marketing industry when.......

its all a bit 2000s isn't it. Even though I was always amazed at the traffic figures for the blog - the users were definitely on the decline (yes - it could be the quality of the content too)

Twitter is quicker and easier and just better.

So long blog - it was nice knowing you