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Opencast is committed to the Armed Forces Covenant and currently holds a silver award of the Ministry of Defence-approved Defence Employer Recognition Scheme. We are a proud forces-friendly employer! To mark Remembrance Day, we asked the armed forces veterans on our team to share their reflections on why it's important to remember those who have served and what Remembrance Day means to them. “That time of year when you pause and reflect, to be grateful for the things you have and to remember those who gave up much more, for our freedoms” – Rob Adkin, director of partnerships. “Remembrance Day is a day to reflect, not just on my own journey but for all those who have served and what the cost of that can be. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them!” – Rich Handley, client relationship director. “I will be honouring the bravery and sacrifices of those who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces. A time to acknowledge those individuals who have dedicated their lives to safeguarding our freedoms and peace.” – Ashton Carter-Ridgway, talent engagement partner. Support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal here ➡️ www.britishlegion.org.uk
Announcing a new healthcare partnership between Opencast and the non-profit GMDN Agency for a major upgrade of the agency’s user platform and digital offering. The GMDN - Global Medical Device Nomenclature - is the leading global standard for the naming, classification, and categorisation of medical devices. The GMDN Agency is the registered UK charity that maintains the GMDN database, which used by regulators in over 70 countries, with members in 145 countries. Opencast director for health Paul Malcolm said: "Our software and user experience teams will help the agency to modernise its technology and scale its software development capabilities – enabling it to deliver its strategic vision to be at the forefront, globally, of naming and grouping of medical devices.”
Throughout October, we've been celebrating Black History Month at Opencast. The finale of our celebrations was led by a brilliant bunch of our people, hosted at our Newcastle HQ. The family event included an African attire fashion show, Black History Month documentary, food, music and a dance competition. Huge thanks to Blessing Oziegbe, Rehanat Kiyesola, Olubusayo Akanro, Oluseyi Ogundare, Adenike Idowu, Fausat Lawal, Timothy Onaolapo, Rodney Mensah, Stephen Kajekere and all of our people who contributed to a month of brilliant activities!
Janet Onyia joined Opencast as director of transformation and change in August 2023. In this blog, Janet reflects on her work and progress so far – and explains how the right approach and processes can help other scaling organisations to take advantage of the opportunities offered by change.
Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson has been named as one of the UK's Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders for 2023. Tom shared: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be included in the LDC Top 50. While personally proud, this accolade is also a recognition of work by the wider Opencast team in ‘reshaping the way business is done, to address the needs of a rapidly changing world'. Social impact lies at the heart of our business, both in the work that we do and the way we support our people. That’s what excites me about this business.”
Opencast has taken a step forward to formalising ourselves as a purpose-driven business, after submitting an application to become a B Corp. Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson shared: "We are immensely proud finally to have made our B Corp submission,” he said. “Becoming a certified B Corp will formalise social goals as key business objectives. In a world with huge environmental and social challenges, working simply to maximise shareholder profit is no longer enough….We’re also committed to ensuring that the work we do not only has a positive social impact but avoids any detrimental impact on the environment or society.”
Opencast has rehomed 12 MacBook laptops to a Durham primary school to help its pupils compete on the world stage in robot coding, design and build. The donation to Portobello Primary in Chester-Le-Street comes less than six months after a similar donation Wardley Primary School in Gateshead. Both schools are engaged in the international VEX robotics competition - including an International Day of the Girl event next month. "We're committed to doing what we can to boost STEM learning in schools," OC head of software development and STEM ambassador David Sarginson explained. "We need to invest in the next generation of technologists – and we're particularly pleased that these MacBooks will also be used to help inspire girls and young women into tech careers.” Huge thanks to Craig Pratt from our IT partner CMYK for supporting the Opencast MacBook rehoming programme.
Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson shares the steps Opencast is taking in formalising the purpose-driven nature of our work in his blog, Purpose isn’t new for us: it’s in our DNA. Tom’s blog illustrates the steps we’re taking including our B.Corp UK submission and signing up to the UK’s Better Business Act coalition. Tom also shares Opencast’s renewed purpose, mission and vision.
Finding out what people think when they leave an organisation is good practice – and exit interviews can bring out lessons and insights about how people think and feel that may not be available elsewhere. At Opencast we use exit interviews as part of our listening strategy. MI-Say’s Julia Smith, who helps us support our people, explains how our exit interviews work and the thinking behind them.
We’re delighted to announce Janet Onyia has joined the Opencast team as our new director of transformation and change. Janet will help power the further expansion of Opencast and oversee all transformational activities within the business, with a specific focus on change management. Janet is a global tech delivery leader with an impressive record of leading large-scale digital transformation projects and programmes. “I’m really excited to be part of the team that will propel us forward to our next phase of growth,” she says. “I firmly believe in doing good while also doing well – of a firm having a purpose, but also being successful and sustainable. This is exactly what I saw with Opencast – the company’s values align perfectly with mine and I’m so happy to contribute to something special.”
