Jmlegraph spring 2018

2018

SPRING

GO FASTER! Business at the speed of light [p3] Also in this edition

Creative Thinking From the 'Head' of Creative [p18]

Hey Big Spenders!

Taking stock with Purchasing [p7]

Through the Keogh The future's bright for Brian [p4]

Conference Highlights To Gateshead, and beyond!

[p12]

Contents

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GO FASTER!

By Ken Daly

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THROUGH THE KEOGH

By Brian Keogh

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THE CONTACT CENTRE STORY IN NUMBERS

By Abigail Heslop

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AN FST DAY WITH NANDA

By Vanessa Gordino

FINANCE: THREE SPREADSHEETS TO THE WIND

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HEY BIG SPENDERS!

By Kate Downey

PAUL'S 3D PRINTING PROJECT

By Paul Dunne

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THE CRAZY WORLD OF COMPLIANCE

By Mani Roberts

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UPDATE FROM PRODUCTION

By Kristian Gatenby

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By Jane Gill

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CREATIVE THINKING

By Kevin Dickens

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VAN DHARM, THE KICKBOXER

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By Pablo Alvarez

YOUR FINANCIAL WELLBEING

By Liezl van Zyl

INTERNATIONAL BABY

HOME KEYS

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MOUNTAIN BIKING

By Patrick Leahy

By Dharmesh Lathigra

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THE CONFERENCE - A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE AND TYNE

By Brian Dolphin

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CONFESSION!

By Ian Bennington

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CALENDAR MAN IN THE SNOW...

By Joanne Hayes

I HAD A BLAST (OFF)

By Brian Dolphin

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CROSSWORD

Ken Daly - Chief Executive Officer

Go Faster!

B

RILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT! I am of course referring to the plethora of amazing costumes that the JML team donned at our New Year’s fancy dress party on 12th January at The Hilton in Gateshead. It’s not ‘everyday’ you see Trekkies with Wookies, Storm troopers with Street fighters and Star Lords with Time lords - It was a MARVEL to see!

Yet the highlight for me was the daytime conference at The Sage. There was an amazing atmosphere amongst the 300-strong audience, the fantastic JML culture shone more brightly than ever as we outlined our mega ambitious plans for 2018 and beyond, in a commercial world that has changed beyond all recognition, and continues to change at an ever-increasing pace.

In order to be successful we cannot simply continue doing what we have always been doing. So we are changing, and we are changing fast.

Of course we have always been evolving (‘Evolution’ being the theme of last year’s conference) and now we are taking things up a level. To list some of the key developments we talked about at the conference:

including: Phoenix Gold FreeFlight and in some cases in retail will gain and Finishing Touch Flawless massive promotion in a TV show that • New customers – eg Tesco UK, will be watched by millions of people.

Tristar USA, Proxy Scandinavia.

We are currently filming and each day • New ventures – eg our investment is providing a great source of new in BE for Beauty and our Medicap products. The show should enhance Nutrition.

JML’s reputation • New media – A as an innovator Products will gain big increase in that makes the massive promotion in consumer’s social media and a TV show that will be everyday life easier. online influencer watched by millions programmes in The key thing 2018, plus a major though is that we of people new TV show have to be superfeaturing yours truly! fast to get these products to market in time for launch at the end of April and I’d like to touch on the very last point take full advantage of the opportunity. and the TV show. At the time of And that’s fine, because we are going writing I can’t go into much detail as faster in all things that we do. if I do, the lawyers will have my guts for garters. However you may recall So I’d like to take this chance once some of the elements of the show again to thank everyone in Team JML from our conference. Our view is that for all the great work that you do. this is going to provide a massive Continue to have fun even when not sales opportunity for JML. Products in fancy dress, and I wish you a very that we shall soon be stocking online, happy and successful 2018.

By Ian Watson

GUARDIANS OF JML

By Natalie Ratcliffe

NEWBIE IN INTERNATIONAL

HIDDEN TALENT

By Sonia Ascensao

• New systems – Microsoft Dynamics 365, JML’s ‘ERP’ system, phase 1 successfully implemented.

• New web platform for 2018.

• New CRM programme for 2018.

• New products – Blockbusters

By Stacey Kawooya

Spring 2018

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Brian Keogh - Chief Sales Officer

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Through the Keogh

What a fantastic event our recent conference was, it was great to be able to catch up with so many of you. I think it was by far our best one yet and I hope you are all as excited as we are about the plans we have to grow the business over the coming years.

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s Ken said on stage, one of the key things we all need to try and do is to go faster. It’s really important that we all try to make this happen, as a business that is standing still will be quickly overtaken by others in the changing world we live in.

The world of Retail and Digital is advancing quicker than ever before and we need to ensure we stay ahead of the competition. We must lead the way on innovation and launch products ahead of everyone else. We must become experts at digital marketing and increase our conversion rates and sales on JMLDirect.com and we have to land new customers across the globe.

These are some of the key things that the sales team are trying to make happen over the coming months.

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We are about to enter what we expect to be a bumper sales period in Retail. The rollout in circa 110 Tesco stores commences at the end of Feb. Combined with the launch of some much-anticipated promotional lines - Finishing Touch Flawless, Phoenix Gold FreeFlight and X Power Mop means we are forecasting that we will deliver some big numbers at the end of Q1.

increased number of products and shows and help us find even more winning infomercials.

As part of our plans to make Direct our biggest customer, we have finalised a shortterm deal to rent a national 24/7 Freeview channel for 3 months starting in April. This is a potential game changer for Direct as Freeview is available in nearly 19M homes in the UK which gets our products in front of lots more people.

We have also agreed a deal to rent channel 676 on Sky from the 12th March which will allow us to test an

The International team have some key trade shows coming up where they will be meeting with lots of current and new customers to showcase our fantastic range of products. They are pushing hard and are very close to some big deals coming off in new markets so watch this space.

In addition, we also have a lot of longform media playing out to drive Direct sales.

Powerfit, Handy Heater, and Copper Stone Pans are all strong performers and we are expecting a bumper Q2 and beyond for our Direct division.

We need to ensure we stay ahead of the competition

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It’s always fast-paced and exciting and I am sure we will have more good news to share in the coming months.

Finance: Three spreadsheets to the wind Hello again JMLers. A couple of weeks ago I had the honour of addressing you all at the conference where I spoke about the speed of change and the investments we are making to position the company to manage this.

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o, what does 2018 hold for us?

Well, during our planning and budgeting process we worked alongside the National Accounts team, International team and the Direct team and they came up with several initiatives they wish to put in place in order to grow revenue. These have been approved by the board and the targets set by these teams by themselves have revenues forecast at £78m. That will be an amazing achievement and it will be great if everyone can get behind them and support them in reaching this goal.

Some of the initiatives include focusing product development and sourcing so that each department gets their own portfolio and range; more American produced infomercials; focused analysis of the trials process and FASTER to market with new products.

Of course, another aspect is the acquisition of more brands and we are currently in advanced discussions on two specific brands at the moment. Although there is nothing that can be said about these at this moment in time, another exciting development that has just happened relates to our investment in BE for Beauty. I am pleased to announce that Unilever Ventures has invested in the business and becomes a partner with JML and the BE team to drive the global success of this

Patrick Leahy - Chief Financial Officer

business. Unilever Ventures is part of the huge Unilever Group and this relationship will give BE and JML contacts and access to corporations and markets all over the world plus market insights and trends that are normally only available to these large Multi-national corporations.

So, with the implementation of new systems, such as CRM, the Unilever partnership, acquisition of new brands, greater autonomy for the divisions to drive initiatives, and of course with our TV celebrity at the helm, I think 2018 will be the most eventful year for JML ever.

Within the Finance Department itself, since the last article Aleksandra has returned from maternity leave and is enjoying getting to grips with the new systems. Hla is now starting to take on more responsibilities too and will transition to a management accountant over the course of the year. With the audit in full swing and the various projects underway, the entire team is working flat out. By the time Easter comes they will have earned a well needed break!

International baby

Little Leo was born on Sunday 17th December 2017 early in the morning at 1.22am and he was 3kg. The wait wasn’t too bad and he made an appearance after a couple of hours.

His proud parents are exhausted but over the moon!

Now Leo is home, Cristina’s life has changed completely! Most of her time is spent changing nappies and giving cuddles. They are doing brilliantly and the little one is growing fast. Cristina is looking forward to introducing her little angel to the JML family!

Spring 2018

Bab y Leo Cristina & 5

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Hey Big Spenders!

Up in Tyne Dock sit three women who make up the Purchasing Team. Never heard of us? Well apart from spending large sums of the company’s money, we have the mammoth task of bringing in all JML stock from overseas.

Pablo Alvarez Former IT Director

Years ago, security was only important to banks, international corporations and the different armed security forces. For the rest of us, security basically meant keeping our keys, wallet and home safe.

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he accelerated evolution of technology has created an interesting singularity: we constantly generate tons of personal information that we need to protect.

If in the past losing our keys or wallet were a stressful headache, today, losing our phone can be dangerous.

Securing our personal and working devices is more important today than our home keys. We need to understand that through any of them, any person can find out almost anything about our life: access our bank accounts, access invoices from suppliers, see who our friends or relatives are, know where we went for lunch and dinner yesterday and the previous weekend, know which products we've bought or which services we are looking for...

There are no secrets left!

You probably have these devices protected by a password (excluding 123456, abcdef or similar). Sadly, in the majority of cases, people tend to reuse passwords or choose ones that can be discovered quite

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Home Keys easily, like MyName+DateofBirth, MySon+HisWeddingDate, MyDogName,… Using what is called “social engineering”, an unsolicited person can find the passwords of the majority of people; this is how the majority of hacking happens today.

This is not about being 100% secure; it is impossible, and we do not pretend otherwise.

But considering that having access to our email or phone represents an open access to our life, we should apply some basic rules to enforce security: • Avoid the use of 123456, 1111, 0000, 9999, 654321, abcdef, aaaaaa, password, mypassword or similar.

• Avoid the use of passwords that contain any link to ourselves or our relatives, like name, surname, birthdate, birthplace.

• Use a unique password for each critical device or applications like the bank or email. These passwords cannot be written anywhere.

• Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when possible, especially for key devices or applications like emails (banks already enforce this policy). MFA means that apart from a login with a password, there is an additional code number required (provided by text message).

and personal information, it is worth doing it.

These principles apply to JML exactly in the same way. Through any of our business devices there is a lot of confidential information available.

Even more now with applications like Office 365 and Dynamics 365.

We need to protect our data

Of course, all these rules require extra work that is not comfortable or convenient. However, if we think about the benefits of protecting all this vital Spring 2018

Security is not easy, it is not comfortable, but it is required. We need to protect our data, which is the result of all our hard work.

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housands of IBCs, Phoenix Gold, Copper Stone Pans and hundreds of other products are ordered and tracked from our suppliers to our warehouses before dispatch to our customers. We mainly sea-freight our goods in containers but can also fly, truck or send them by rail; usually from China but we also use America and Europe. We work very closely with our JML Oracle, Alastair, our many suppliers, freight forwarders and the Port to receive our stock as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.

Did you know, in 2017 our team raised 800 purchase orders for retail, direct and trial stock in over 600 containers?

By sea, China to the Port of Tyne is a 13,991 mile journey which multiplied by the amount of containers we used means we could have gone to the

If you are keen to protect your home keys, your wallet and your phone, please protect your business devices in the same way. It is vital that we all work together to reduce any potential risk.

If you have any questions, need additional support or if you see anything suspicious, please do not hesitate to contact the IT Team.

Since writing this article, Pablo has moved on to new pastures. He has been instrumental in leading some major changes in the business. He was responsible for the seamless office move to Chiswick in 2016; then there was the migration to the cloud; and most recently there has been the MS Dynamics 365 project. Pablo has given JML four years of great service and we wish him well in his new role. ¡ADIOS AMIGO!

Moon and back 18 times! To look at it a different way we have gone around the Earth 337 times! Remember this is just UK-bound stock too! Impressive for a very small team.

by Kate Downey Purchasing Executive

TEAM NEWS As of February, Rachel Haley will be moving over to the Logistics Team (which is still part of Operations) and we know she's going to smash it!

We raise, track and receipt all purchase orders through Dynamics 365 which we use very smoothly and successfully.

Our job involves a lot of moving parts that constantly change and we must keep a very close eye on all of it for stock planning and forecasting. Our best asset is that we are a passionate team that work hard to be the best we can be for JML and ourselves.

Next time you are in a store and see our products on display, remember the long journey they have travelled and the stream it flows down through JML to get to our customers.

Rachel, Emma and K ate

Paul's 3D P rinting Project Paul Dunne - Product Development Executive

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have started my own little 3D printing project called Likewood, producing artistic, sculptured objects.

The idea is that the products have aesthetic qualities and patterns of wood but are made out of Porcelain.

The simple forms are in stark contrast to the complicated method of production that is 3D Printing.

Here's a link to my shop if you'd like a look: www.likewood3d.com

The pricing could make you faint by looking at them but as the costs are extremely high and made to order, I currently have no other option.

The plan is to package them in wooden boxes, that have the 6 views engraved on the sides, and sell on my own website to increase the value of the product for the customer.

Here is a link to my Youtube channel that shows render animations of the designs I created too: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCyZCW3MkFDEPFgUcd2RG18w Spring 2018

I can also do bespoke pieces if anyone in the office wanted something made in the Likewood style!

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Mani Roberts - Broadcast Compliance Officer

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The Crazy World of Compliance

I joined JML in March of 2017 tasked with ensuring our TV ads comply with the complex regulations governing this area. It’s been challenging but rewarding and it’s a great feeling when one of our ads gets approved, it’s the culmination of a lot of work involving not just myself but also the Product Development, Production and Design teams who I work closely with.

behaviour. Plus knowing which battles to fight and which to let go helps decide on the best course of action.

To help get the script approved I’ll make changes to it knowing that it might be amended further down the line when it gets closer to the transmission date by the Production team. I’ll work with them to ensure any changes stay within the parameters of what we’re allowed whilst still pushing to get the best and strongest possible ad out there.

I also work with Design at this stage to ensure that claims on packaging and info in instruction manuals is consistent with what we say and show in our TV ads. We’ve had a few issues in this area whilst I’ve been here so ensuring all the messages we send out to the public about a product don’t contradict each other is very important so that we avoid people complaining about our ads.

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ll TV ads that we run on channels outside of our own must be approved by Clearcast, the body that oversees approval of anything you’ll see in an ad break of your favourite show on TV. I joined JML after working at Clearcast for over 10 years so I was experienced working with companies like ourselves ensuring their ads didn’t fall foul of the rules, usually I succeeded…

I wanted to challenge myself working on the other side of the compliance fence and learn more about the commercial decision-making involved when it comes to compliance issues so when I saw this role advertised online I knew I had to apply. Almost a year later I’ve learned a lot and have developed an understanding of the issues, questions and pressures of working with a commercial focus. By ensuring our ads are approved with the minimum of changes it means we can put out the strongest version possible which helps contribute to the overall success of the business.

Working with Clearcast can be tricky.

They have a reputation of being

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difficult and tough negotiators which can make the process of getting anything approved by them lengthy and complicated. It's a minefield dealing with them and you never quite know when things might blow up in your face even if you’ve worked there for as long as I did.

There’s a lot to learn about how they interpret messages in ads, for example how they see the use of ‘can’ and ‘could’. In their view if you say ‘can’ it means it will happen eg it’s a definite but if you say ‘could’ it means it might happen. So, if you say ‘you can win £1000’ it means you will win the money, if you say ‘you could win’ it means you might win so this subtle difference is important so the public aren’t misled about an offer or promotion. And that’s one issue of many, don’t get me started on decorated fireplaces at Christmas…

Sadly it’s not a case of just submitting a finished ad for them to sign off.

To get started you submit a script first, this is analysed and feedback is sent over outlining what requires supporting evidence eg ‘No.1 best Spring 2018

seller’ and also what parts of the script are unacceptable and can’t go any further eg ‘revolutionary’. I then work through the folders of documentation the PD team have for the product and try and find what I need, if I can’t find anything or need something new or additional from the supplier I’ll ask a member of the PD team to help which they’re always great at.

Sometimes we need to do a test involving members of the public trying out the product or a lab testing the product and I’ll work closely with the PD team to ensure the right questions are asked and we cover all the claims we want to make about the product.

It's at this point that the dance with Clearcast begins as I argue that the info I’ve provided covers their queries and they push back saying it doesn’t. Compromises can usually be agreed and middle ground found but sometimes a clash of heads is inevitable as we stick to our guns and Clearcast do too. Maintaining good relations with them is important at this stage as they can be a bit more forgiving if you’ve been on your best

Once Clearcast are happy we can submit the actual ad, huzzah! To make sure we’ve done things right we submit a rough version of the ad first so Clearcast can confirm everything is in order. If it is, then the final version that will actually be shown on TV can be submitted. Usually approval

Kristian Gatenby - Acting Head of Production

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n order to GO FASTER we have expanded the Production department and have brought in David Hipkin as a Producer-Director as maternity cover until Catherine Campbell’s return. David has a wealth of knowledge in the production industry, in particular with live and DRTV production, so his knowledge will greatly benefit the team and the business.

is a formality if we’ve stuck to the original script or, if we’ve made some changes, not drifted too far from the original approval.

Sometimes when an ad is sent over Clearcast can identify problems that weren’t picked up on in the script and we negotiate again to try and find a solution that suits us and them. There’s the mysterious world of disclaimers to navigate as well, these are the bits of text you see at the bottom of ads that give additional info to clarify something said or shown in the ad. They must be the right size and onscreen for the right amount of time and sometimes getting this right can be very frustrating as it can take a few goes (much to the chagrin of our excellent Editors).

and grovel to. They’re independent from Clearcast and will investigate any complaints from consumers by asking for a defence from both myself and Clearcast who have to justify why they approved the ad.

It’s a tricky situation when Clearcast have assured us that an ad is ok to go out but then are pulled up on it by the ASA. This situation occurred recently for Copper Stone Pans. The ad was approved by Clearcast but a member of the public felt a shot of screws being swirled around the pan contradicted what was said in the accompanying packaging. After a long process of providing supporting evidence, arguments and appeals we had to remove the shot even though what was shown was achievable with the pan, the ASA felt the shot exaggerated its scratch-resistant capabilities which clearly it didn’t.

Sometimes you can’t win!

All TV ads that we run on channels outside of our own must be approved

by Clearcast

Once our ad has been approved we can start running it. Usually that’s the end of my work on the project however sometimes a problem can rear its head further down the line. This is usually in the form of a member of the public complaining about an ad they’ve seen to the Advertising Standards Authority, the gods of the compliance world who even Clearcast must bow down

I really enjoy working in compliance, it can be tough but it’s worth it for the sense of satisfaction you get when your work comes to fruition and you see a JML ad on TV. Long may it continue.

Update from Production We also welcome Jack Clements and Louise Giddings who join us as Production Assistants. Both will be a real benefit to the team going forward, enabling us to maintain the current workload and to push forward/Go Faster to meet our business needs.

I’ve shaved my head. If anyone wants to touch it please email Kristian.gatenby@jmlgroup.co.uk and I will add you to the mailing list.

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T he Contact Centre Story in Numbers

5,7 00 194 53,687

Abigail Heslop - Contact Centre Manager

63.36 The average value of each order placed through the Contact Centre

87 The combined years’ service of the 12 team members!!

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The times we’ve been asked if we are “real” and not robots – our 10usual reply is “Sorry can’t compute”

The amount of products we sold to customers in 2017

17,000 The number of chats we’ve had with our customers via the website

12 65

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The number of agents at our outsourcer that take JML calls

195

65,798

The number of times a customer has said I love you at the end of a call (It’s easily done, we are very loveable)

365 How many days a year Customers can contact JML

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The size of the JML Contact Centre Team at Tyne Dock

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The hours the JML Contact Centre is open Spring 2018

by Vanessa Gordino - Senior Brand & Packaging Designer

Nand a Vanessa &

The amount of extended warranties we sold last year

The times we have been asked “Is it really any good?” when a customer is ordering

The number of calls answered in the Contact Centre

An FST day with Nanda

The average age of the JML Contact Centre customer

14,865 The number of responses we have received to the Customer Experience Survey

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The amount of times Mr T has pretended to be a real customer on Pure chat (We suspect the true figure is much higher)

Last Friday, I had the chance to spend the day with Nanda in FST. She was really friendly and it was amazing to share her work experience. Here’s how our day went: 8:00am - Robert Dyas, Chiswick We met at Robert Dyas in Chiswick.

Nanda showed me the 3 different POS and explained our tasks for each shop. We had to take a before/after photo of each POS. Then we cleaned and tidied each one, putting things back where they belong after the customers have moved them around.

We checked the tablet for the latest presentation and promotions. Then we checked at the back of the store that the new stock had been received.

We removed any old or damaged products and clip strips, and replaced it all with new stock, while trying to include the old stock wherever there was space. We made sure all the prices were in the right places and updated, then we loaded all the new promotion films in the screen to update that. Once everything was ready, we took the ‘after’ picture and entered all the information necessary on the tablet for each POS.

10:00am - Tesco, Isleworth We arrived in this store and the large Gondola was very messy. The main problem was that lots of the Miracle Bamboo Bra packaging was badly ripped. Even as we arrived, one woman had a bra out of the box and it looked bad. This is a problem that could perhaps be resolved with a single sample presentation on the gondola that people can handle to avoid them damaging the packaging (that my team designed!). Nanda decided that it would be better to add a shipper on the side of the gondola with all the old promotional stock.

This way we could still sell the Wheely Brights, Miracle Bamboo Bras, Star Showers and Tough Max Torches for a good discounted price by the shop.

12:00pm - Lunch 30min lunch in a café to get back some energy for the afternoon.

12.30pm - Asda, Wembley This shop is very big and there are 3 gondolas, fortunately they weren’t too messy as Nanda had visited earlier in the week. There was no new stock so we tidied and re-organised a few parts of the gondolas. Then we decided to return some damaged stock to Tyne Dock. We had a lot of Spring 2018

stock to return as 12 of the Miracle Bamboo Bras were very damaged.

We tried to find one of the managers to organise the return process, but they were all on their break so, to avoid wasting time, we decided to go to the next shop.

2:00pm - Asda, Park Royal Nanda is a perfectionist and she really likes to make sure that all her stands are in perfect condition, especially for the weekend when the gondolas get very messy. There’s only one gondola here but it’s always in a mess. Fortunately, the gondola was not too bad.

3:00pm - Robert Dyas, Ealing In this store they have 2 POS which were not too messy, but we had to change and add some of the products and re-organised them a bit.

Prices were missing as Robert Dyas had some new promotions prices.

This day has been fun and also showed me how I could improve my packaging for the future. Some problems popped out, especially the Miracle Bamboo Bra. A massive thank you to Nanda, it was great meeting her and sharing our work experience, she is always positive and keeps a smile on her face.

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The Conference - a Journey Through Space and Tyne Brian Dolphin - Logistics Assistant

I had only been with the Company for 1 week (I started on 4th September) before I was asked if I was looking forward to the conference. Having previously worked at Port of Tyne, the conference was something I was aware of, but this was the first time I’d considered the fact that I would be able to go.

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here was a general sense of excitement about it over the next few months, many people told me how much fun it was, how I would have a great time, and that last year’s event was fantastic. People started telling their stories of things that happened at events from years gone by, none of them that surprising, considering you don’t have to work at JML very long to realise that there are a lot of people here that like to have a good time. This may be a big reason why this is such a good place to work, having said that I’ve only been here for 5 months, it’s still early.

Out of This World It was now time to consider the theme of the conference and party, and try to find the right outfit. The more I, and others thought about it, the more we realised how broad that term was, ‘Out of This World’ encompassed an enormous amount of possibilities and picking something was becoming difficult. I was no stranger to fancy dress so I was confident that I would find something that was a good fit for the theme. I did find something which I thought I would end up getting, but left it for a few weeks just in case I found something better, there was also the fact that I expected that I may not be the only one to get this particular outfit.

I didn’t, so ordered my outfit and it duly arrived at the Tyne Dock office a couple of days before the event.

Naturally there was a lot of peer pressure to try it on immediately, fortunately due to my iron will (or

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stubbornness, depends who you ask), I resisted. I did however, try it on once I got home. It was big, it was a suit jacket that passed my fingertips, and pants that trailed along the floor, marvellous.

I didn’t panic, I knew what I had to do to fix it, take it to my mother. She worked her magic and all was well with the world. Everything was now sorted.

The Big Day Transport had been arranged between ourselves, working in logistics it would have been embarrassing had it not been. Our team arrived together and met in the hotel lobby, to head to the Sage for the conference together. To my surprise my hotel room was one of the few that was ready, but there wasn’t enough time to go up and have a look, jump on the bed, and check out the other less important facilities, that would have to wait.

question of ‘should I go to the bar now?’ I went with my better judgment and decided to wait until later.

The Conference was impressive, each presentation and performance was excellently done, they were informative, inventive and at times funny. The videos were extremely well received and seemed to be the most talked about afterwards. A sing-along was certainly not expected, and had certain sections of the audience swaying in unison.

I came away from the conference pleased that I’d finally met a few more of my colleagues and suitably impressed by the production of it all.

We arrived at the Sage, and made our way through the crowds. Having only been at JML for a few months I had no idea who most of the people were, but there were enough familiar faces around so as to not feel out of place, it was also great to see some of those that I had spoken to over the past few months but never met previously.

It was now time for the first important event of the day, LUNCH! Once lunch was dealt with, thoughts began wandering to the impending Conference, the party later, and the

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I had a BLAST (off) T

here was around 2 hours to pass before the party began, so our hotel rooms beckoned.

I had my key card, but waited for the rest of my team to retrieve theirs before heading up in the lift, we stood outside the lift and checked our room numbers, when I realised I was on the 5th floor, while the others were on the 3rd. Curious glances from my colleagues headed my way, when I noticed the sign next to the lift that said ‘5th Floor - Executive Rooms’.

I could sense jealousy behind their raised eyebrows. That ride up in the lift was an experience, I wasn’t sure I was going to survive it. I’m here though, typing this, so happy ending.

I spent all of 10 minutes in the room, before realising that I still had an hour and a half to go, and I needed 10 minutes of that to actually get ready.

There was only one place to go that came to mind, the bar. There were a few from Tyne Dock already in the bar (I know, I was surprised too), so I joined them, and they told some more stories of parties past.

The drinks receptions gave another chance to see more new faces, and check out everyone’s outfits, a shout out to Ian Bennington for Elliott & E.T. great effort. Pretty much everyone had put in some effort with their outfits, which added to the good atmosphere.

The party was excellent, drinks flowed, we all danced through the night, the band played on until they weren’t allowed to anymore, at least it seemed that was the case, with chants of “one more song, one more song” going on for what felt like another full set. I couldn’t write about this without mentioning ‘that moment’, you know the one, where a certain someone received a pie in the face, only for the person doing it to also receive a pie in the face, very entertaining.

Overall I had a fantastic day, congratulations should go to everyone involved, as it was clear that a lot of time and effort went into the whole day and night.

We dispersed to get into our outfits and I met the rest of my team in the lobby, where everyone had gathered before heading through to the party.

A minute or so later, Al came through the front door, in the same outfit as me, I was right, someone else would pick this, then followed Ben, and Andreas all wearing exactly the same outfits. There were four of us all wearing the same suit! We had a laugh about it, and recognized that we clearly all had very good taste and dress sense.

A journey through a frightening maze, was ahead of us, and the screams for those going through before us made it interesting. The outfits of the Aliens/Predators were very good, and some people were definitely shocked.

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Your Financial Wellbeing Guardians of JML September 2017 plans for the conference were well under way, and when an email was sent out by Mr Ken Daly asking for any volunteers to speak, I thought why not, I wanted to represent HR so I volunteered.

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ow I have been used to singing, acting and dancing on stage but speaking at a business event? This was a first.

Thankfully I had two amazing people also speaking with me, Peter Courtney – FST and Stacie Allcock – Product Trials Manager and it was a great experience to share with them. The whole process was very exciting and having the opportunity to work with Tim Kane and Angela McHale was so helpful. They spent time with us, teaching the best techniques to use when speaking, how to engage the audience and how to combat stage

fright, and to be honest I think all three of us had it nailed when it came to the big day.

After receiving training and finally having our speeches prepared we were ready to head to Newcastle for rehearsals and the conference of 2018. I think it is safe to say the nerves started to kick in, particularly the morning of the conference. I was hoping to enjoy a big freshly made waffle with Nutella but I just couldn’t face eating much, so cornflakes it was. Seeing everyone arrive made me more nervous but with Peter and Stacie there too I think we were all in the same boat. We had a lastminute rehearsal and then it was time. We sat through the first half of the conference feeling nervous, excited but also the thoughts of “I just want to get this over with”. Once we were up there we were on fire, we

From April 2018, JML’s auto-enrolment pension contribution increases to 2% and yours increases to 3%, so be smart if you’ve reached your first anniversary by opting to pay 4% every month to gain JML’s maximum contribution of 6%. It’s free money from JML, so give yourself a pay rise as soon as you’re eligible.

by Natalie Ratcliffe People Advisor

remembered what we were saying, we provided giggles and cheers and we even found a JML comedian – Peter should be taking requests for performances soon.

Stepping off the stage was a relief but it also gave a feeling of "Wow, I could do that again", but it was over for another year and all that was left to do was party, and party we did. It was a great night, with great food and entertainment.

The whole process of being a speaker really was great, I worked closely with people I usually wouldn’t on a day to day basis, I have learnt skills that will stay with me and we had fun on the way. I really would recommend people to volunteer if they get the opportunity because it really is an out of this world experience.

Newbie in International

by Stacey Kawooya - International Sales Assistant

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team

i everyone. My name is Stacey and I’m a recent graduate from the University of Portsmouth with a degree in International Business. I studied in Japan for a year and I can speak Japanese (not fluently but conversational level). More importantly, I didn’t expect working at JML to be the way it is. The International team is always full of energy and patient (I ask the same questions a million times). What surprised me even more was the conference. The fun that I had was out of this world (I know, bad pun). It’s hard to find a job where you don’t feel miserable going to work, but I can say that at JML I don't feel that!

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Jane Gill - Group Head of HR

I

t’s your money and it’s in your name (not JML’s) so you can access your pot 365 days a year if you want to watch your investments grow over the longer term. Indeed 42% of JML staff are regularly online, and from April, your pension pot will start to accumulate more quickly when the contributions increase to a total of 5% (i.e 2% from JML and 3% from you) so with more being saved for your retirement, it’s a great time to check how your investment is performing.

Your money is in the Schroder Managed Balance Fund recommended by our financial advisers, Hargreaves Lansdown.

Last year the fund grew by 10%, over 3 years 30%, 5 years 59% and 80% over the last 10 years – WOW! Just visit www.mycompanyplan.co.uk/JML and log in to your account. If you do, you’ll be one of the 74% of UK workers who are already investing for the future and what surprises me is that a recent Lifetimes Savings Survey found that those aged between 18 and 34 are saving on average £287 per month compared to those aged 35 to 54 saving £256! Well done Millennials, you’re not only saving more but are also more likely to pick your own investments.

Don’t delay, don’t opt out of auto enrolment like 26% of the UK workforce who haven’t yet started because if you are then you’ll need to save at least 16% of your salary to catch up with those who have already

joined. Use the Pension Calculator at Hargreaves Lansdown to see how much money you need to save to enjoy your retirement. There’s so much more you can do when you’re online and lots of user guides to read to help you.

You might choose to use the household budget planner to identify how much you can afford to save towards a deposit for a flat, and if this

all together means it’s easier to manage.

Whatever your aims, your interests and your attitude to risk, there’s likely to be an investment choice that appeals to the adventurous as well as the conservative investor so download the Hargreaves Lansdown app too so you can manage your investments while you’re on the move.

Your money is in the Schroder Managed Balance Fund recommended by our financial advisers, Hargreaves Lansdown.

is the case you will be interested to know that the Government will add £1,000 for every £4,000 you invest in a Lifetime ISA to buy your first home.

You might also be interested in understanding how to invest in stocks and shares or investing on behalf of your children both under the ISA wrapper. Alternatively, if you have pensions in other companies you might wish to transfer them into your JML pot – keeping them

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If you’re not already registered, it’s really easy to do - you’ll need a PIN first.

Just call Hargreaves Lansdown on 0117 314 1783 to request one to be sent to you.

Now is a great time to kick start your finances! And PS Anyone interested in saving £50 extra each month can make Additional Voluntary Contributions via salary sacrifice just contact HR@jmlgroup.co.uk. With the Gov’s new pension freedoms you can access your pension from age 55 so the more you save now, the more you are likely to have in the future bearing in mind that investments go up and down although when they’re down, some see it as an opportunity to buy in at a cheaper price.

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Creative thinking

If you have a growth mindset, then you only need to follow the same, simple 3-step process for creative thinking that I spoke about in my presentation….

Kevin Dickens - Creative Marketing Director

With all the talk of upcoming products, projects and strategies at the recent conference, the usual requirement for this column to update you all on the progress and activities of the creative and marketing department is a little redundant for this edition so, I thought I’d use this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone involved in making the conference and subsequent party such a success.

2. DEFINE

Choose a strategic topic to focus on and learn about. Creative thinking starts with an end goal, a desired future, and approaches to how you can make it happen. Research your topic for insights. What do you need to understand? What are the opportunities embedded in problems?

Shift your perspective to that of your end users and what they value.

Framing the right problem is the only way to create the right solution. Make sense of research by seeing patterns, themes, and larger relationships between the pieces of information.

Uncover customer insights to reframe problem areas into opportunities.

> Observe

T

he conference team who put together all the films, graphics and theming ideas do so on top of their usual day jobs. It’s a massive ask and requires lots of additional hours to make it all work but every year I’m amazed at how much passion and commitment is thrown at it. It's always worth it, of course, because the reaction it received on the day, and the weeks, months and years to follow is always overwhelmingly positive.

Talking of the conference, I thought I’d use the rest of my column to delve a bit deeper into the creative thinking process I touched on in my

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speech and hopefully inspire you to give it a try.

Creative thinking is a method used by designers and engineers to solve problems and find solutions for customers. Entire businesses have adopted creative thinking to re-invent the way they innovate, including P&G, GE, IBM, Pepsi and Apple. The focus of innovation has shifted from being business-driven to design-driven, from product-centric to customercentric, and marketing-focused to user-experience-focused.

You don’t have to be a ‘creative person’ to think like one. While learning to be a good designer takes years, you can think like a designer and design the way you lead, manage, create and innovate. Creativity begins with setting a strategic intention. If you are mapping out a strategy, you are designing.

One thing I didn’t have time to talk about in my conference presentation is the need to have the right mindset when thinking creatively. Design thinking requires a growth mindset, because in essence it is a journey of learning and experimentation. Having a growth mindset as illustrated here is key to becoming a creative thinker.

Observe users as they interact with your product, service or process.

What do you see? Is there a disconnect between what someone says and what they do? Have they created shortcuts or workarounds?

> Empathise

To create meaningful ideas you need to know your customers are real people not just users, and to care about their experiences. Ask openended questions such as, “What problems are they having? What does success mean to them? What do they stand to gain or lose?” Ask “why” questions to dig deeper.

> Leverage stories

What stories are your customers telling about their experiences? What are the hopes, fears and goals that motivate them? What insights can you draw from their problems and aspirations?

> Frame & reframe the problem

Remember my example of Toyota, who asked employees for ideas on how they could become more productive?

They received few suggestions. They reframed the question to: “How can you make your job easier?” and were inundated with ideas.

> Ideate

Now that you have some deep insights about your customers, the most powerful question you can ask to spark creativity is “What if?” and “What else?”. My example of how a new company called Tesla created the first mass market electric vehicle before all the established car makers with 100s of years of experience is a great example. They asked “What if?” to look beyond the limitations of what other companies were doing and broke the idea that EVs were just for small city cars.

Somewhere along this process, you will have that Eureka moment. Sometimes it will come willingly, other times it will require some serious hard work. But use this process and the ideas WILL come and probably when you least expect it.

If you ask anyone in my team “When and where do you get your best ideas”, the answer you’ll probably hear is “at the gym” or “on my commute” or even “In the bath”. That last one is my personal favourite. Bubbles, candles and some Celine Dion music and the ideas just come flooding out of me! Maybe I’m sharing too much? The answer you probably won't hear is “My best ideas come at my desk in front of my computer.” People hardly ever get their best

> Decide

Display your ideas on Post-it notes on a wall and ask, “What wows?”

Vote for the best options based on criteria such as desirability, technical feasibility and business viability.

Remember, personal opinion is not valid criteria. Base all your decisions on data and insight.

3. DEVELOP > Validate your idea

Invite people to test out and respond to your ideas. You can use anyone to test your ideas on. If you can get end users, great but if you can’t try to gain as wide a spread of opinions as you can. How do they feel about your ideas? What feedback do they have?

> Iterate

Treat your initial ideas as stepping stones to the right solution. Design is not linear. It is an iterative process.

Use feedback to improve on your ideas and keep reiterating until there is nothing more to add or subtract.

ideas here and yet, that’s where most of us spend our day.

Sparks of creativity tend to come when we’re not actively focusing on that task. This is the power of unconscious thought. Unconscious thought is made in the front, rightside of the human brain...

Which, just happens to be where Creative Thoughts are also made. That’s probably not a coincidence! So, if you can, always try to leave time for unconscious thought so your ideas can incubate and develop in the background.

Stare through a window, listen to music or scroll through Facebook - if the boss asks, you're CREATIVE THINKING!

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doesn’t matter when you cross the start or finish line. We have timed stages which means you can take it easy and save energy on the other sections, but once the section comes up, it’s literally a race against time.

Mountain Biking

Longest d ay eve r on a b ike

by Liezl van Zyl - International Account Manager

When did you start? I’ve had a bicycle ever since I can remember; cycling to tennis practice from a young age all the way up to biking to my lectures at Uni. How did you start and how did you progress onto full blown mountains?

There was a group of friends at church who invited me to join a ride in Surrey so I thought I’d go along to see what the fuss was all about. Needless to say I now know all about the fuss!

Have you ever won any competitions? Not solely MTB related.

It’s just a hobby for me. I came third in an off-road triathlon but that’s it. MTB was my strongest discipline as I can’t really swim to save my life.

Are you a solo rider or part of a team? We’re a bunch of friends who cycle together and I’m part of an MTB and road cycling group so there are always plenty of people to ride with.

What kind of kit do you need?

Cycling shoes with cleats (which allow you to click into your pedals), padded shorts, top, helmet, spare inner tube, pump, patch kit, nutrition, water. The list goes on...

Can you do this on a standard bike from Halfords or will they just break? It depends what type of terrain you are going to ride on.

If you’re just going to use the jeep tracks on the mountains or cycling down the Thames path, then a bike with some front suspension will do but if you’re going to try some singletracks / downhills out, then I would suggest an MTB with proper suspension (preferably front and rear suspension).

How fit do you need to be? I would say a basic fitness is required to be able to go up and down those mountains. If you want to do long rides however or you are training for a specific event, it will require a lot of endurance, longer training days and good discipline in general.

Do you train in a gym or on the road?

I commute to work on my road bike, go to Surrey over the weekends or head to Wales for some fun in the mountains.

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s n W a le i s e l a Gonz

What’s the biggest moutain you’ve biked? The Dolomites in Italy. It was a one day event, cycling 62km with 3,400 meters of climbing. It was my longest day ever on a bike. It was literally climbing for an hour and then descending in 5min down the

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mountain before you start climbing again. Oh but the views…they were brilliant!!!

uth Africa Cycling in So

Who is your biking hero and why?

Nino Schurter. He is a Swiss crosscountry cyclist who races for the SCOTT-SRAM MTB Racing Team.

Nino is probably the fastest, and certainly the most stylish, rider on the XC circuit — he’s bagged four World Championships, taken home the World Cup overall on four separate occasions and he won the 2016 Olympics. Talented, likeable, down-toearth, hard as nails and the bonus is that he is easy on the eyes!

Do you bike at night? I’ve done a couple of night rides in Dorking with friends who live locally.

MTB looks dangerous, is it? Yes, it can be if you’re not careful or if you try things which are outside your skills level.

Have you ever injured yourself? Yes but I have stopped counting What’s the worst that’s happened to you? Mmmm… Do I have to choose? I guess the time when I did a 360° flip over my handlebars with my shoes still clipped to my pedals and ended up in A&E.

Which race did you do recently? It was a 3 day Enduro style event in Exmoor in September last year.

How are the races set-up? Is it time relays or does everyone set off together? We set off together but it

What do you enjoy most about these races / events? Meeting people from all walks of life, the constant banter and I just love how the guys are always making sure the girls are being looked after on the trails #gentlemen #whatmoredoesagirlwant

Do you do any other sports? I play squash and the odd netball game here and there.

Finally, if I wanted to get started what advice would you give me about the best way to start and how to get involved? First of all, make sure you have a bike in working condition and preferably with some front suspension. Secondly, make sure you have a sense of adventure and lastly, head for the mountains and go and have fun!

What’s your favourite thing about mountain biking? Being outdoors.

And what’s the worst thing? A flat tyre when it’s raining.

Van Dharm, the kickboxer

by Dharmesh Lathigra - IT Systems Manager

The tender age of 41 might seem like a strange time to be taking up martial arts but for the past 6 months I’ve been attending kickboxing classes. I was always interested and wanted to do something since I was a teenager but never got around to actually doing anything.

I now train 2-3 days a week for an hour and have just received my first belt (Red) an achievement I’m very proud of, though I do have to remind myself I’m not quite a ninja yet.

Training is a combination of fitness, pad, bag work and light contact sparring (which sometimes turns into full contact!).

I am prone to injury and am always getting bruises and sprains but it hasn’t put me off! And of course I make sure my lovely beard is always protected.

I’ve never felt fitter both physically and mentally. My son Ansh now does karate and kickboxing so it’s turned into a family thing, I see myself as the Mr Miyagi of the house, though that’s usually just because the wife has me cleaning and dusting a lot.

This might explain why I can sometimes be seen air sparring in the office (And perhaps how my engineers are fearful of getting anything wrong and are now so efficient!)

I think I’m proof it’s never too late to take up something new, especially where fitness is concerned and I recommend it to anyone thinking about it.

How often do you get to do this?

Injuring myself? Or riding in general?

I go out to Surrey at least twice a month and do one race a year on average.

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Confession!

I have a confession to tell you about that I live with, years after the event.

L

et me explain that I’m male, I was single at the time and I worked as a travelling representative for a well-known UK retail company. Due to my job, I drove my little company van around the undisclosed region where I live.

My van was recognisable to all who knew me.

One day while working in a store on a busy retail park, I bumped into my friend and his very attractive girlfriend…. This girl was everything you could ask for – she was attractive, bright, had a great personality and a wicked sense of humour. Strangely, but relative to the confession, she also worked in retail AND I’d never seen her handwriting before…

Anyway, we passed the time and I diligently told them I had to get back on with my job, and they went off to do some shopping.

The confession element starts here… after I finished my store visit, I went back to my van in the car park where I found a note attached to the windscreen with no name, but with a telephone number on it… The note said something to the effect of:

‘Hi there – I’m sorry to leave a note, but I think you’re really cute & I wondered if you’d be interested in going out for a drink with me sometime?’

A-ha!! It had clearly been left on my windscreen by my friend’s girlfriend!

I thought her wicked sense of humour would’ve enjoyed winding me up (seeing as I was single at the time), especially as they’d have both recognised my van in the car park.

What a prankster this girl was!

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by Ian Bennington Merchandising Manager

So… what I did next (in a manner suitable for primetime radio broadcast) is my reason for begging forgiveness. I texted the number on the note, and said something to the effect of ‘I’d absolutely love to go out for a drink with you…’

However, I then continued to jokingly explain that I had an extensive list of demands and conditions I’d expect from her (including breakfast the following morning) and also explained how I had an extensive series of mind-boggling medical abnormalities (bordering on the ridiculous) that she’d discover during a romantic night out with me… That should make her chuckle when she got my text. NOW who’s the joker? I was such a card, and awarded myself a little self-congratulatory chuckle.

A short time later, I got the reply…. It said ‘Who is this?’

‘It’s me Ian – I got your note on my windscreen at the retail park! So when are we going for this drink…?’

Surprisingly, I didn’t get a reply, which I thought strange. Anyway, a couple of weeks passed and I bumped into my friend and his girlfriend again, this time in the pub. I asked her ‘So did you enjoy my list of mind-boggling medical abnormalities when I texted you?’

She replied ‘But I haven’t got your number, I haven’t had a text from you….?’

I replied ‘Aaah it’s like that is it? Don’t you remember the day at the retail park when you put that note on my van windscreen?’

She instantly burst into tears of laughter. My friend and I didn’t know what I’d said to make her react like that! She said ‘Oh my word – that note wasn’t from me!’

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She then explained that (as a fellow retail worker) she’d come out from work one night to find a note on her own windscreen to the effect of ‘…I’m sorry to leave a note, but I think you’re really cute & I wondered if you’d be interested in going out for a drink with me sometime?’, and while the sensible thing would’ve been for her to throw the note in the bin (especially as she already had a boyfriend!), she simply put it in her car. When she recognised my van in the retail park, she thought it’d be funny to put it on MY windscreen….

So some poor, lovestruck fella somewhere would have then received a random text (from me) explaining that he would probably need a strong stomach and he’d have to tick a lot of boxes if he was going to take me out for that drink…! He probably should watch a few episodes of ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ to prep for our night out.

My problem comes from the fact that it wasn’t hilariously funny (which I thought it was, and being a sadist found it hilarious for weeks), but more the fact that I’d had my own heart broken in the past by the fairer sex… I genuinely felt sorry for this shy fella who clearly didn’t want to ask this girl out directly, realistically due to nerves or being the owner of a fragile male ego in case she turned him down.

So for that reason, I hope you can forgive me whilst hoping the guy got over her and moved onto somebody clearly in his league, rather than out of it!

Actually, I should probably ask for HER to be forgiven too, as it was a bit weird that she kept a note from some random guy asking her out when she already had a boyfriend (eg. my friend!). She was clearly hedging her bets there…!

15 ENGAGE MEETING

Tyne Dock Office

SPORTS RELIEF DAY

Wear your best gym attire and bake!

3rd floor Chiswick

MARCH

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15 STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE WITH COLIN JACKSON

CLOCKTENNIS TABLE COMPETITION The clocks go back 1 hour

Chiswick Business Park at 2am on the last Sunday in October.

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EASTER EGG HUNT

CLOCK

Chiswick Office

Clocks go forward at 1:00am

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3rd floor Chiswick 6pm

Chiswick Business Park

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TBC MILLICOM CAFÉ TAKEOVER 3rd floor Chiswick

Man in the snow... or with very short legs

by Joanne Hayes Area Sales Manager

Here is a photo of Philip Softley (JH08), one of my reps based in Glasgow. I am sure you are aware Scotland has experienced extreme weather conditions and as a result, Philip has had to have a snow day. He kindly provided this photo to show the rest of the team just how bad it is in Glasgow.

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I-FI SPECIAL

SC

ACROSS ion. ’s initial expans 1. James Kirk fowl. er at w German 2. Sounds like ting yet. da d te sn’t star 3. This alien ha lebrities?

5. Fighting ce lieve it or not.

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15. In it to win never let go. at th 16. Aliens velocity.

18. Twist the ed bomber? ar -e 19. Pointy with no name.

20. The medic

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WRITER

by IAN WATSON, COPY

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Light Saber Predator • 4. . Galaxy • 11.

2. Vader • 3. ywalker • 10 rise • 16.

1. Tiberius • Beam • 9. Sk e • 15. Enterp • 8. Tractor • 14. Univers ho 7. Guardians . Time Lord n • 20. Dr W m Falcon • 13 d • 19. Vulca • 12. Milleniu . Warp Spee . Jabba • 18 Klingons • 17

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13. Last orders on forever. song that goes a of 14. One bit injections? baddie gives 17. Star Wars

Hidden talent

by Sonia Ascensao Accounts Clerk

A

s only maybe one or two people within JML are aware I have a hobby outside of JML. I am part of a Portuguese traditional folklore group called Grupo Tipico Português in which I am a dancer and we wear traditional clothes from parts of Portugal. Mine is from a little village in Madeira where my parents are from that were worn from my grandparents' era! I have been part of the group since 2012 where there are over 20 of us from dancers, singers and instrumental players. We get invited to events to perform as well as setting up our own events. So this is my hidden talent now exposed!

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