My First Three Months... By Becky Hughes, Governance and Compliance Manager
I joined Diverse City in January this year, with 5 years under my belt working in the third sector. Joining an arts charity from an Education charity was a refreshing change for me and one I was really excited about. I’m pleased to say it’s one of the best moves I’ve made! The people are fantastic and it’s so exciting to be working in such a progressive and open work place. There’s been a lot of learning for me in these first few months, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the sector and new ways of working.
Top 3 highlights of the first three months?
The people. I’ve already been amazed by the knowledge and experience of the dedicated Diverse City employee and the trustee teams. I was so warmly welcomed when I joined, everyone was down to earth and super helpful, especially in those early days when I was finding my feet. I even received a beautiful welcome gift in the post which made me feel really valued. I’ve been amazed by the ‘people policies’ at Diverse City, from flexible working possibilities to the open approach to booking annual and sick leave alike. This is how all workplaces should function!
The April trustee away day, which I wrangled, was a major highlight! It may sound like I’m blowing my own trumpet, but it was such a good day. It was great to meet theExecutive Team in person and some of the trustees face-to-face. We had valuable conversations and established great new working approaches to strengthen the board.Help in getting the event together came from the wonderful Louise who booked a fabulous venue and the joint Artistic Directors who collaborated on the agenda for the day.It was a real team effort that helped me get stuck in.
The Trustee Away Day, 17.04.24
Three things I’m looking forward to in the next 3 months?
At the time of writing I’m most excited about the in-person working day in Winchester in June. I can’t wait to meet my colleagues in the flesh, and spend time not only strategising, but also getting to know each other to strengthen the team.
I’m looking forward to getting new Co-Chairs in place. This long process started before I joined Diverse City and I’m excited to see it finally coming together.It’ll be great to work with the co-chairs to strengthen our established board.
Finalising the data for the ACE Annual Survey for the first time and getting it all submitted will be fantastic. It’s a daunting task, but I’ve had great support from Becky C to get everything in place and I’m confident I’ll deliver on time and to a high standard. I’m pleased to take tasks like this off the Executive Team’s plate, freeing them up to focus on more strategic work. I’m already considering magical ways to improve the process ahead of next year’s survey.
Overall, I am so glad to have found such a great place to work.I feel like a valued part of a team, all striving for the same thing whilst also being appreciated as an individual who has a life beyond the screen 🙂
My final highlight would be learning about the company. I spent most of the first month getting to know ‘what was what’ and learning about the main systems and processes. I looked through the company’s history and watched footage of previous shows which helped me to get a handle on what Diverse City is all about. I was endlessly amazed at the achievements of this relatively small-scale, home-working arts charity that I am proud to say I work for.
