In Conversation With: Softcat CEO, Graeme Watt

Earlier this month, we announced our Top CEOs UK for 2021 honouring the most highly rated leaders according to Glassdoor-submitted employee feedback.

Among the top 50 CEOs to feature on the list was Softcat’s CEO and Executive Director, Graeme Watt. In spite of the challenges of the last year, Graeme and the Softcat leadership team have managed to navigate these difficulties and placed on Glassdoor’s list of Top CEOs for the first time.

We caught up with Graeme to find out about his approach to leadership during a pandemic, hiring, and diversity and inclusion.

How have you adapted your leadership over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic?

We have worked hard to remain calm and pragmatic. We have been very transparent and don’t pretend to know all the answers. We are all learning as we go along.

Many people will know Softcat as an employee-led organisation with a strong culture so we have spent a lot of time listening to our employee colleagues to make sure we understand how they feel on a number of topics including mental health, motivation and morale and flexible hybrid working to name just a few.

We have also made sure to keep people connected to the leadership team throughout on decisions and guidance with a series of All Hands broadcast meetings, office by office Q&A sessions and weekly emails providing updates on all matters COVID-19.

What initiatives have you introduced to keep employees productive and happy?

Our key focus has been on making sure they are safe and well, feel connected and are fully enabled to do their roles. We have made sure that all employees are aware of the employee assistance program we have in place and we extended that facility to their families during lockdown.

We have over 30 trained mental health first aiders in the team that those who need help and support can lean on. We regularly pulse our employees to determine how they are feeling, giving them an opportunity to raise concerns and enabling us to respond to any hotspots.

We introduced a buddy scheme where those people who are feeling lonely or just wanted to be better connected, have regular touch points with someone else in the office. I volunteered for this scheme and have really enjoyed and valued my time with my two buddies.

We also have some more light-hearted ways of coming together. Drop-in coffee breaks, cooking masterclasses, fitness challenges and live prize draws for those who have excelled have been features of how we have continued to have fun and ensured our colleagues receive the recognition they deserve.

Why do you think employees have reacted so well to your leadership and company direction this year?

I think our team trust that we will make good decisions and do the right things with employees and customers at the forefront of our minds. Our weekly COVID-19 updates have become a feature of the last 15 months providing transparency and clarity to everyone in the company about what our guidance is and importantly why it is what it is. It is important that people feel connected when physically cut off from their friends, family and work colleagues and we have worked hard to keep those lines of communication very active and open.

What has been the biggest challenge for you and your senior leadership team?

I think it has been dealing with the uncertainties and planning for a variety of options. We have had to think hard about contingency planning around customer demand and cash flows, staff recognition, communications, staff welfare, return to the office guidance, flexibility for staff to enable homeschooling, how can we do more to help our communities and so many other considerations.

All this has been layered on top of our normal leadership agenda. I am lucky to have such a strong and tight leadership team in the company – we have discussed and debated but always with our employees and customers in mind. By prioritising our time on these areas I am confident that on the whole we have delivered some good outcomes. 

How do you tackle diversity and inclusion at work? Is this a big reason why people join and stay at the company?

We have developed a number of networks in the company to celebrate and talk about BAME, Women in Business, Pride, Ex-Armed forces, Faith, Family and Disability and Neuro-diversity. These networks allow us to discuss issues of minority representation, they create safe spaces to have that dialogue and we also celebrate the rich history and achievements of people from these groups. We have a great culture at Softcat where we go out of our way to support each other regardless of people’s backgrounds and determinations.

We have a number of key initiatives in play that we hope will continue to drive further diversity into the company. Our approach and actions around diversity and inclusion are a big reason why some of our people chose to work for Softcat over other options they may have. 

What is your top tip for anyone interviewing for a job right now?

I think to be sure you understand the culture and the values of the company. Take the opportunity to speak to people that know the company perhaps better than you do. It is important to evaluate whether the culture is one that you think you will fit into and be positive for you. The company’s value set needs to fit your own value set too.

Is Softcat hiring right now, and if so for what type of roles? What type of people are you looking for?

We are hiring basically across all parts of the business to support our future growth ambitions. We have roles in sales ( account managers, specialists and support ), technical, services, marketing and business operations to name just some. Please come and talk to us – we are always on the lookout for bright, ambitious people with the right attitude to pick up a career at Softcat and continue the company’s growth and success.