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Tim Knight, senior consultant at Opencast, joins Emma Clark, Director of brand and marketing at Opencast, for a conversation about their identity and being non-binary. Tim discusses working in the tech sector, communication and inclusive language, and their love of sports. Watch the full conversation in this Opencast Voices film: https://vimeo.com/854711071
We’re buzzing with excitement to share Opencast’s Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne sculpture, designed by award-winning artist Lynne Hollingsworth. The design reflects the importance of sustainability and biodiversity to Opencast as a business. 🐝 Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson said: “We are delighted to sponsor St Oswald’s through the Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne art trail. We are a purpose-driven business – and our people are committed to making a positive impact on society. Our Shaun sculpture is a fun project with a serious message. Pollinators are vital to our environment and are responsible for a third of the food that we eat but they are in decline on a global scale as they face habitat loss, urbanisation and threats from herbicides and insecticides. We hope our family-friendly educational free-bees and our great wildflower seed giveaway will help make a positive impact on pollinator numbers in the North East. We’re committed to doing our bit to improve the environment in and beyond the North East – including efforts to decarbonise our own operations and support biodiversity. Our Shaun the Sheep BeeKind project is another step on our journey to make a positive impact on society”.
We’re pleased to share that Opencast is a North East HR&D Awards 2023 finalist! We’ve been shortlisted for HR&D Team of the Year, an award that recognises outstanding HR&D teams who have made a positive impact on organisations. We’re proud to share this recognition for our work across talent, people development and experience, and learning and culture. Huge congratulations to all those involved in making this happen, including chief people officer Cate Kalson, head of learning and culture Sheena Widdowfield, head of people experience Cameron Smith, head of recruitment Lorna Madden, head of people operations Lindsey Steinberg and talent engagement specialist Melanie Irving. See the full list of awards and finalists ➡️ https://bit.ly/43syZJx
Earlier this month, we marked Deaf Awareness Week – an annual event which celebrates the deaf community and aids better understanding about how we can make the world more deaf-friendly. Opencast’s Megan Wilson and John Owens shared their experiences of deafness and hearing loss internally with our people. Megan has generously shared their experience in this video, including their hearing loss diagnosis and challenges they’ve faced. Plus, Megan shares misconceptions about hearing loss and tips on communication.
Opencast, one of the fastest-growing independent tech consultancies in the UK, has opened its latest office, in Glasgow – seeking to capitalise on the area’s burgeoning technology scene and abundance of local talent. Founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2012, Opencast now employs well over 400 specialist consultants, including 19 of its team working in Glasgow. The consultancy expects the new hub to create new jobs in the city, and has ambitions to grow its Glasgow team to 30 over the coming year. With the opening of this hub, Opencast is hoping to tap into this opportunity and the city’s wealth of tech talent. Glasgow is ranking number one in the UK for digital tech graduates, highlighting the wealth of opportunity in the city. “Glasgow is a city experiencing thriving growth and investment, and it also has an unrivalled pool of talent, especially in the technology space. Opencast is proud to open a new hub in the city, and to be a part of this exciting time for Glasgow,” said Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson.
We’re delighted to win ‘Best Working Environment (Location)’ at the UK Company Culture Awards. The award is in recognition of our Newcastle HQ - both for the design and creation of the space (through our partnership with Xsite Architecture and Studio Kind), and the ongoing amazing work our people do in running it. The award was collected by Opencast’s Ellen Russell, Liliana Martin, Daniel Pearson, Lauren O’connor and Sheena Widdowfield – a huge well done to all five in making HQ a great place to work. Plus, the many others who play a part in making it happen. The judges were ““thoroughly impressed by this company and the collaboration that went into considering the diverse needs of staff for their ‘new normal’. The company listened to its staff and created a space tailored to their needs…this was truly impressive work!”
For Deaf Awareness Week 2023, Opencast junior software development consultant John Owens, born profoundly deaf, shares his perspective – arguing that attitudes towards deafness are among the biggest challenges deaf people face. "As part of Deaf Awareness Week, I want to share some facts – not all of them widely known – around deafness and how to communicate with deaf and hard-of-hearing people."
We’re delighted to share that Opencast has won the Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year Award at the Digital Revolution Awards 2023. The award celebrates those working with cloud technologies that are out-striding other employers and making proactive efforts to promote inclusivity, foster diversity, and champion equality within their organisation and beyond. Opencast’s head of people Lindsey Steinberg and head of talent engagement Lorna Madden collected the award, with Lorna saying: “It doesn’t stop there. We’re absolutely on a mission”.
Opencast has won the prestigious Judges Leadership Award at the 2023 Northern Tech Awards – with chief executive Tom Lawson picking up the prize for “the management team with the strongest vision and best leadership”. Tom was handed the GP Bullhound award at a gala dinner for investors and business leaders in Edinburgh on Thursday 20 April after presenting Opencast’s model for human-centred and values-driven growth to judges. Opencast was also named for the first time among the top 10 fastest-growing technology business in the UK North. The ranking is based on revenue growth over the last three years – and after finishing at 21st last year in 2023 the business was ranked in ninth place this time. Welcoming the award win, Opencast chief executive Tom Lawson said: “We are absolutely delighted with this award win. GP Bullhound’s Northern Tech Awards are data-driven so rely primarily on the facts of business growth. We were pleased to have been named in the top 10 fastest-growing businesses – but to then receive the prestigious Judges Leadership Award is fantastic."
Last year Opencast launched a new team of ‘people experience partners’ – aka PEEPs – to champion our people’s individual needs. Now our head of people experience Cameron Smith outlines how the strategy has played out – and the impact the new system has had. He says we are now looking to recruit additional PEEPs. "We will continue to challenge our approach to support and learning new innovative ways to help the team. "We fully expect to learn even more lessons as we move into our second year of work."
