​​Mocean is a sustainable corporate events and comms agency.
Written by Siena Taylor.

​We’ve aligned our Plan it First playbook with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This helps us benchmark our performance against an internationally recognised set of goals and it’s the perfect opportunity to contribute to a better world. 

Devising a global plan to make measurable improvements isn’t easy. That’s why the United Nations asked businesses, non-profits, individuals, and government agencies to collaborate on solving society’s substantial global problems and the SDGs developed following this consultation. 

“We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations” - Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

What are the SDGs? 

They are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”. 

While we commit to all 17 goals, we have chosen to champion specific goals. We are paying particular attention to the following goals:

Goal 3. Good health and well-being. 
We take steps to ensure the health and well-being of our staff, suppliers and customers including both physical and mental health alongside enrichment and growth.

Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth. 
We provide well-paid quality jobs in a thriving sector that benefits the UK and Irish economies. And we support the development and growth of young people in our locations.

Goal 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. 
We have a track record of innovating for success and for disrupting our industry.

Goal 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities. 
We run events in various locations bringing work and prosperity. We give back to community projects by donating time, expertise and items and always use local suppliers where possible.  


Goal 12. Responsible consumption and production. 
We know that events are bad for the planet. That’s why we implemented Plan it First - To minimise and control our contribution to this environmental impact. 

Goal 13. Climate action. 
Plan it First was designed specifically to help tackle climate change. One of our business values is Don’t harm the planet and we live by that mantra every day.

Plan it First is currently in the process of being accredited by Green Meetings. We always have an eye on environmental and societal issues and incorporate that into the way we run our everyday business. 

Follow us on socials to track our journey. Contact us today to see how we can help bring sustainable events to your organisation. 

​Mocean is a sustainable corporate events and comms agency.
Written by Siena Taylor.

We are changing how corporate events are run and delivered for our clients. The reason?

Corporate events are essential to business life, but they put increased strain on natural resources, local infrastructure and the environment. They contribute to unnecessary environmental damage, often generating significant waste, excessive single-use items and additional carbon. 

• 100+ million disposable plastic cups are used at events every year.
• Roller banners account for 550 tonnes of PVC waste sent to landfill in the UK, with less than 1% recycled. 
• The UK events industry emits 1.2 billion kg of CO2e yearly. 
• 20% of food prepared for events is wasted (sometimes as much as 60%).
• 176kg CO2e emissions per delegate per day at a conference. 
• On average, an event attendee produces 1.89kg of waste per day - 85% of which find its way to landfill. 

The stats put into perspective the true and vast impact of the industry. The events industry has a big part to play, ensuring sustainability is at its heart when running operations.

As Richard Branson said, every single person in a business should take responsibility to make a difference in everything they do. 

We are committed to changing how we produce events for our clients and are implementing our groundbreaking sustainable events playbook Plan it First. It will directly address and work towards reducing the impacts of the event industry in every single way. We put the planet first by eliminating all the harmful elements from our productions. It’s about being prepared, planning for a better outcome and adopting a mindset that challenges the status quo. 

Follow us on socials to track our journey. Contact us today to see how we can help bring sustainable events to your organisation. 

We have been working on something very exciting here at Mocean and it’s been years in the making. We have created something that helps us deliver sustainable events as standard.

We are officially launching Plan it First - our groundbreaking sustainable events playbook for corporate events.
We put the planet first by eliminating all the harmful elements from our productions. We look in granular detail at each event we produce and aim to reduce the environmental impact in areas such as carbon, waste, energy, food and water. It is about being prepared, planning for a better outcome and adopting a mindset which challenges.

We appreciate the word sustainable has been exhausted. We're not launching this as a tick-box exercise or jumping on the bandwagon because it’s the right thing to do in the current climate. One of our business values is 'Protect the planet'. We’ve been doing this for years - before it was trendy or an ESG / governance requirement from investors.

Mocean Founder Mick Lindsay said, "it makes perfect sense to create modern, progressive and empowering places to work, but it makes no sense if we damage the planet in the process."

We've seen a desire and enthusiasm from our corporate clients for this. We are ready to step up and lead the way and have created a guiding set of principles to ensure our corporate events are as environmentally sound as possible.

As Barack Obama said, “it is not a choice between our environment and our economy: it's a choice between prosperity and decline.”

Plan it First will allow our clients to receive detailed measurement documentation for their Scope 3 emissions reporting.

We are also working on a report and measurement platform alongside our playbook. It will provide clients with the means of tracking and measuring their event's environmental footprint.

Follow us on social media to track our movement towards more sustainable events. Feel free to share them across your social media platforms. 
Get in touch today to see how we can bring sustainable corporate events to your organisation.

1 in 4 adults in the UK feel lonely some or all of the time.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and this years focus is loneliness. We could think of no better way to raise awareness than by talking with our friends at Marmalade Trust, the UK’s leading loneliness charity who are pioneering and raising awareness about loneliness and who help people make new friendships. We spoke with health care professional Amy Perrin who started the charity. 

How did Marmalade Trust begin? 
I started Marmalade Trust back in 2013. Whilst volunteering in Bristol, I realised that some of the older members in my tea party group did not have anywhere to go for Christmas Day, so decided to take a few of them out. It had such an important impact on helping isolated people connect and it has grown from there!

What is Marmalade Trust’s mission?
Our mission is to create a society where we recognise that loneliness exists and support each other to find new friendships. We do this by running direct projects in the Bristol area supporting people experiencing chronic loneliness and by raising awareness nationally.

Why do you think it’s important that we talk about loneliness? 
It’s so important that we talk about loneliness! Loneliness is a natural human emotion, something we are all likely to experience at various points in our life and yet there remains so much stigma surrounding it. It’s important that we talk about it so we can recognise it in ourselves and others and avoid it from being a chronic issue - which will then have an impact on health.

What are some of the misconceptions about loneliness? 
People often think that loneliness is a mental health issue - it isn’t. Try and consider loneliness as a warning sign, like hunger is a warning sign that we need to eat, loneliness is a warning sign that we need to address our human connections. It is often thought that loneliness just affects people of an older age, whereas actually the 18-24 year olds report higher levels of loneliness.

What is Loneliness Awareness Week and how can people get involved?  
Loneliness Awareness Week is a national campaign we run to raise awareness. It takes place between 13th-17th June 2022. You can get involved by sharing our assets, being part of the campaign and sharing and talking to people about loneliness. Together we can reduce the stigma.

You can find out more details about Loneliness Awareness Week and Marmalade Trust by visiting their website or follow them on socials marmalade_trust.

Like most charities, the impact they make and the people they support can be greatly improved by a small increase in donations. If you feel that you can spare a small amount (or large amount) as part of mental health awareness week then please do so HERE

What makes a leader? 
What makes a leader great? 
​What makes a leader great in a time of global uncertainty? 

We’re living in a changing and uncertain world. Uncertainty comes in many forms and with that comes volatility - with cultural, political and societal issues all changing at a vast rate, there has never been more of a demand and need for strong leadership. So we wanted to explore what great leadership looks like.

Here at Mocean we believe to lead is to have clear purpose, open communication and to lead by example.   

​Have a clear purpose based on your values. 

• What’s the purpose?
• What’s the desired outcome?
• Is it something worth getting behind?

Take New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, when the pandemic started - she made quick key decisions by setting goals the desired outcomes. This purpose was to protect New Zealanders from Covid-19 and to minimise the risk of contracting and spreading the disease. New Zealand, along with Australia were among the first nations to close their borders to minimise this risk. Ardern clearly stated “we need to do this for the health of the country, and our people”. Ardern and her Party’s purpose was and is clearly based on their people-centric values. 

Only in the past week or so have New Zealand set a date to reopen their borders for the first time in nearly two years. To stand firm in your purpose-based values is admirable and something to be praised especially in a time of global uncertainty. 

Communication.
Autocratic leadership doesn’t make sense in our modern world. It’s hard for a community to get behind something when communication isn’t clear or the purpose does not make sense. Make your communications understandable and concise, ensuring the narrative is suitable for who you are talking to. Being honest and keeping your word can establish and maintain trusting relationships.  

Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen all sorts of communication. Some excellent, clear and purpose-driven and others vague, indecisive and popularity-driven. Authenticity, honesty and integrity should be the number one priority when communicating because people will see through if you are disingenuous.

“Authentic leaders are not afraid to show emotion and vulnerabilities they share challenges with their team. Developing a solid foundation of trust with open and honest communication is critical to authentic leadership” - Farshad Asl. 

Lead by example. 
It should go without saying. If you can’t follow your own rules, how can you expect others too? Being authentic and accepting responsibility and accountability is all part of this. And this is very true in a workplace setting - if you require certain behaviours and mindsets then you must make sure that you are the first to adopt them and lead by example even when that is the harder route to take. 

​The media was quick to pick up on the actions to those of the Queen, sitting alone at the funeral of her late husband, In that moment she defined great leadership, abiding by the rules for everyone to see. 

Having clear purpose-driven values, communicating with honesty and leading by example will do wonders for your employee engagement and team cohesion and are all signs of a great leader. 
​
Leadership can be hard to get right at times, particularly during a period when people are less forgiving, it’s so important to invest in communicating the correct messages to your internal audience. We can help support you on your leadership journey so please get in touch to discuss how we can help. 

Last week we welcomed Darcy to Mocean HQ to learn about all things marketing, events and internal comms. Here’s what she had to say about her experience… 
​
Introduce yourself…
I’m currently a second year psychology student at University of the West of England (UWE). One of my modules this year is about careers and self development and requires work-based learning in an industry you’d like to go into. I’m interested in marketing as a future career because it’s creative and heavily linked to understanding people - my favourite thing about psychology! Mocean welcomed me a couple of years ago to help with a few team building events and I knew they’d be the best people to talk to about marketing, employee engagement and  internal communications.

What have you learned about Mocean this week? 
I have learned so much about Mocean this week - the importance of workplace culture and engagement and how they directly affect productivity. I’ve gained insight into the variety of employee engagement programmes they run including hybrid / live events, conferences, storytelling and shared experiences. I’ve also learned a lot about their company values, including their ‘Plan-It First’ policy. This helps to minimise their contribution to environmental damage by encouraging sustainable thinking and events including their zero tolerance to single-use plastic at events. I was delighted to discover their carbon off-setting initiative that they do through the charity Temwa for any unavoidable travel. 

What insights have you gained in marketing and events?
In terms of social media marketing, I’ve learned about the four social platforms Mocean use (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and how to make effective posts, what media / content gets the best engagement rates and how to source stock photos. I was also introduced to ‘know, like, trust’, the idea that through social media potential clients can get to know your business. The more authentic and human you are (e.g. ‘behind the scenes’ content), the more they’ll like and therefore trust your business and want to work with you in the future. I also learned about their Customer relationship management (CRM) platform ‘Hubspot’ and wrote my own template outreach email to new and potential clients. I learned about getting the right balance between being informative about their services whilst also maintaining Mocean’s tone of voice and authenticity.

What have you enjoyed the most?
I think my favourite part of this week has been learning about the social media side of marketing because it’s really relevant and it was so interesting to use a social media platform in a business context. It really got me thinking about the connections between marketing and psychology - the effects of posts on people’s thought processes. It was incredible to think about how one post can have so much thought behind it. I also loved the focus on ‘Plan-It First’- it’s so relevant and it’s amazing to see a company putting so much effort into creating more sustainable events.

Thanks for having me Mocean! 

Here at Mocean we are hugely concerned about the impact humans are having on the planet. Our commitment to minimising waste in the industry is why we think it’s vital to share our own commitment and environmental story. We can think of no better time to share this than during Zero Waste Week.

Zero Waste Week (6-10 September 2021) is a week long campaign raising awareness about the environmental impact of waste. Their mission statement is “No-one can do everything, everyone can do something, Together we can do anything.” Campaigns such as this serve as a reminder about how vital it is that individuals, businesses and organisations play a part in reducing waste and helping protect our planet.  

We can’t hide from the fact that some of our core business activities such as live events may have a negative impact on the planet. And we’ve developed a whole new way of working that minimises our impact on every level including our contribution to environmental damage. We call this Plan-it First. 

Plan-it First’s basic principles are…

• Always plan to create greener, more sustainable events.
• Always think: How can we do this better? 

• Avoid single-use collateral or use alternative, less harmful materials.
• Provide more sustainable travel arrangements. 
• Influence buying decisions of clients so they become more sustainable. 
• Influence supply chain to be more sustainable. 
• Use LED lighting to help reduce electricity usage. 
• Off-set unavoidable travel and carbon impact.
• Offer high quality digital alternative to live events.
• Zero single-use plastic.​

​
​Our ultimate goal is to be 100% carbon neutral by 2025 and we encourage all staff, suppliers and clients to contribute to a more sustainable world by planning events that don’t harm the planet.  Now more than ever businesses are understanding the importance of this especially in light of corporate social responsibility (CSR) changing. Company’s are now rightly being measured on environment, social, governance (ESG) and doing better business.

We believe in a strong commitment to ESG and can help organisations and businesses invest in their commitment also. We’d love to explore how we can support your business in your commitment and help you have brilliant days at work.

Here at Mocean we think it’s important to support and celebrate communities and we have always passionately believed that all organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact. 

Which is why we love getting involved with communities to help them thrive and grow. We think it’s important to support communities any way possible. This may take many different forms and often a small act of kindness can mean a great deal to small community projects. We also work between communities and businesses, encouraging them to work together, raising awareness of community projects, providing resources and forging long lasting relationships and the impact of these initiatives can been seen many years on.

Our current community programme supports The Woolacombe Skatepark Project as they embark on their journey to create a space which gives skating fanatics a place for freedom, creative expression and happiness.

We have helped this project by creating a number of high quality films to help with stakeholder engagement and fund-raising initiatives. We are also guiding them on creating a social media presence. This will sit alongside their mission to help to fund the project. Our expertise will allow for the reach and professionalism that the project deserves and ensure the project achieves its goals. 

Mick Lindsay, Managing Director of Mocean said “I’ve always believed that a business should do more than make money. I’m interested in Mocean leaving a positive trail behind it which is why we actively support community projects and environmental improvement. The Woolacombe Skatepark fits perfectly with this thinking and I’m delighted that we can support such a brilliant and positive community project”.  

If you would like to know how you could support the project either through donation of time or sponsorship then please follow on all socials @woolacombeskatepark or get in touch with us at [email protected]

At the beginning of the year we watched the US presidential inauguration as President Biden set out his vision for a new era of ‘unity and togetherness’. The changes seen to the top level leadership at the Whitehouse was a marker for the rest of the world to step up and change the way we see others.

Diversity and inclusion means being welcome to all people regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification or disability. A diverse and inclusive workforce inspires fresh ideas, different opinions, new vision and enables innovation. A strong commitment to D&I is a fundamental strength of a modern business.

Here at Mocean we believe that success comes when everyone feels included and valued because inclusion is the very foundation of team cohesion. Being part of ‘something’ is energising and inspiring but if one person is ignored then we cannot truly achieve greatness. If someone is different in some way, we shouldn’t feel threatened. We should accept them into our world and celebrate the richness they bring to our culture and everything we can achieve together. By having open minds we can open up a world of possibilities and seeing things differently to others can be hugely powerful.

We did some great work on D&I at the end of last year for our friends at Babcock Marine as part of their culture change programme. Everyone has the right for psychological safety at work and a stronger sense of belonging comes by building a more inclusive culture. The right to feel safe in your working environment, to feel accepted for who you are and to feel respected for your contributions. It's about being valued as a member of the team and it’s great to see traditional companies like this taking a modern and progressive approach to Diversity and Inclusion.

“Inclusion is no longer a mandate, it’s an opportunity instead of mandate, we should consider inclusion as an opportunity to on-board talent without any boundaries and limitations - cross-geography, cross domain, multi-generational and across genders” - People Matters.

D&I makes great business sense especially for employee engagement and experience - employees in diverse businesses are typically happier and more productive, they attract better talent, they are more innovative and are favoured by customers and investors alike. Diverse companies also win more business, grow faster and are more profitable than less diverse businesses. In short, diverse businesses perform better in almost every single way. We need to celebrate our differences and recognise those differences truly make us better as people and as a business. 

We can support your shift towards becoming a more inclusive company so please get in touch to discuss how e can help.

I think everyone will be saying good riddance to Covid when we finally come out the other side. 2020 was a shocker of a year and 2021 hasn't been much better so far. 

This time last year we were all blissfully unaware of words like Coronavirus and Covid.  For most of us, it’s the first time in our lives we have not been able to say ‘oh that sort of thing doesn’t affect me’. It’s affected all of us!

And while it’s affected young and old alike, the changes its necessitated in the workplace have been monumental. There we were, happily evolving our way into things like  the concept of non-presenteeism, flexible working and beginning to become aware of platforms like Teams and Workplace.  (And for many of us Zoom meant either an ice lolly or the 80’s classic from Fat Larry’s Band.) Then bang! Out of necessity evolution became revolution and what would probably have taken 5 years to achieve in normal times got compressed into months.

Our clients, like many businesses have had to fast track their technology plans to move to new ways of working, sweeping aside the challenges and obstructions that they would have encountered pre-pandemic.

So, good for technology, but what about the people? How have employees coped with the enforced change. Before the second lockdown, I think the answer would have been some like it, some don’t. Many of us really liked the opportunity to work from home with the flexibility it afforded us and the opportunity to more easily balance our family and work lives. And the amazing weather in the UK probably helped. Some people however hated it. They hated the isolation and the lack of a physical work community.

And arguably the second wave was harder. And the the third lockdown is darker, colder and whatever the novelty might have been, its worn off long ago.  Some of those who were advocates of the new ways are  beginning to feel the strain. It’s getting harder, but with a vaccine rollout in full flow, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and from a health perspective, things are going to get better. 

But Pandora’s box has been opened and some things, like the way we work, won’t go back to the way they were. This brings about a whole new set of challenges for businesses and their employees.

We believe that businesses with a strong culture that places the interests of their employees front and centre are the ones that have fared the best during the pandemic and will also be in a strong position to tackle the new challenges going forward.

So what do we mean by culture? For us culture means creating a safe and rewarding workplace that encourages and recognises boundary pushing effort, creativity and achievement. And it is made up of a number of key components that include:

• Purpose, a singular vision that unites your people.
• A clear set of values that drive your behaviours.
• A strong commitment to fair and consistent recognition. 
• Enlightened leadership - Leading with empathy and intelligence.
• An emphatic commitment to employee well being.

Keeping people motivated. Leading and inspiring remotely. Understanding that different people will cope (or not) in different ways. Understanding the  new responsibilities of leaders and above all maintaining a focus on your employees mental health and well being. E.g. How are they dealing with the isolation? Do they need virtual ‘water-cooler’ moments? Are they suffering from video burnout or a never ending barrage of online meetings?

New situations demand new protocols such as maybe a ban on scheduling meetings over lunchtime. And when people do inevitably start to return to office working, what will that environment look like? Maybe the working environment needs to change like the one at Runway East in Bristol pictured above. They've been pioneering the shared collaboration space. 

Businesses are different and everyone needs to find their way. And that’s where we come in!

For clients such as Babcock International, Microsoft, BT and RBS, we help them to define the workplace culture they want, devise programmes of sustainable change and then we bring it to life for their employees in a vivid and compelling way with creative internal communications.  We do this by getting to know the business - throughly - through the eyes of the leadership and  more importantly through the eyes of the employees. Only then can we help deliver what’s right for the business.

The workplace is evolving and one thing’s for certain, there will always be new and different demands to challenge your leaders and your people. The right culture can be instrumental in successfully navigating these changes. And remember,  if you look after your culture, it will look after you.

Have you considered the impact of Covid-19 on your employees health and wellbeing?

How comfortable will they be returning to the office? Have you considered employee engagement when returning to the office  following a long period of furlough or working from home? And what will the working environment even look like post-Covid? 

These are some of the many questions being debated as we look ahead to a post-Covid era. Inevitably, Covid-19 has massively impacted employee health and wellbeing and not necessary in a good way. Increased isolation and loneliness, less distinction between work and personal life and a lack of human connection are just some of the many side effects.

Whilst part of your workforce may be experiencing burnout, others, who may have been furloughed, will feel underworked. It’s important to bring these two halves back together in the return ‘back to normal’ and we need to ensure this is done in an engaging and healing way. An important factor to consider when bringing a disjointed workforce together is what the future workplace will look like and how it will function. Working environments impact employee health, wellbeing and engagement and the question is, do companies still need to be leasing vast office space lined with hundreds of desks or is there a more beneficial way of working? A trend that is likely to emerge is the increased use of co-working spaces. According to Co-Working resources and Coworker, 5 million people will be working from co-working spaces by 2024, an increase of 158% compared to 2020. 

Another suggestion for the future workplace is ‘the 15 minute city’, a concept created by Carlos Moreno that goes against modern urbanism. This is the design or redesign of cities so that within the distance of a 15 minute walk or bike ride people should be able to access work, housing, food, health, education, culture and leisure. This would also help tackle climate change and reduce carbon footprint. According to Moreno, modern cities are currently a “bubble of illusionary acceleration” and aren’t working to our benefit, we need cities to adapt to human needs rather than the other way around and this has become even more apparent during Covid times. If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that community and locality are very important to human needs and were vital during lockdown. So could this be the solution for a post-Covid recovery? 

There’s reason to believe existing offices will be used for hybrid and flexible working. Paul Dunn, Executive Director at CallisonRTKL has gone as far to say “there won’t ever be a generation looking to return to an office 5 days a week 9-5”. According to an article by ‘All work’ explaining workplace trends in 2021, the office will be a place where workers pass through and collaborate with their colleagues rather than sit and work which is likely to result in a stronger and more resilient workplace culture. Companies will need to make office spaces more vibrant and inspiring in order to achieve this collaborative environment.

Co working, 15 minute cities, hybrid and flexible working or a full return to the office. Whatever the future of the workplace might look like it’s clear that times are changing.

The one thing we do know is that the way we communicate with our employee has never been more crucial.  Talk to us about how we can craft your internal comms and help make that transition a little smoother. 

Here at Mocean, we have always passionately believed that any organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact. That’s why we are delighted to announce our partnership with Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) as we become a member of their ‘250 Club’. We’re joining a network of brilliant and likeminded organisations and ocean activists to help drive forward a movement for change. SAS are a community dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife and are a grassroots movement that has become one of the UK’s most active and successful environmental campaigns. 

We’ve always been concerned about the negative impact that running employee engagement events can have on the environment and acknowledge that some of our business activities, left unchecked, could be harmful to the planet. This does not sit well with our ethos and values and that’s why we have our 'Think Green' policy. This mindset shift is all about understanding best practice for running events but also promoting a culture that challenges bad practice and is always thinking: How can we do this better for the environment? Every time we produce events or comms collateral, we make sure we minimise our impact on the environment and we actively encourage all staff, suppliers and clients to think sustainably. This is the basis of our day-to-day business and ensures we are always thinking and acting sustainably.

As a member of the ‘250 Club’, we will help to protect the UK’s unique coastal environment in SAS’s fight against plastic pollution, pushing government for change, holding brands to account and inspiring the next generation to protect the ocean. We are constantly evolving to become a more sustainable business and our partnership with SAS supports and upholds this. 

Drum roll…..
Mocean

Not a bad place to start when writing a blog on culture.

The Lotus Award recognised our own culture as a business as well as the work we do for our clients in the areas of employee engagement and employee experience. So first a bit about our workplace culture. Our mantra is ‘Be more Mocean’. We have four simple behaviours that we created between us that ‘nail’ how we want to exist for each other, our clients and the planet.

• Shake things up
• Behave with integrity
• Protect the planet
• Do brilliant things

That’s it. And these behaviours are driven by a simple purpose - to give people more enjoyable days at work.

That’s us. But it’s not the same for everybody and 2020 has shown us not only how important it is to define your own culture but also that  if you look after it, it will look after you. In fact we would suggest that the businesses that have fared the best during the pandemic are those that have maintained their investment in the components that go to make up a strong culture.

So what do we mean by culture? For us culture means creating a safe and rewarding workplace that encourages and recognises boundary pushing effort, creativity and achievement. And it is made up of a number of key components that include:

Purpose - What is the singular vision that everyone believes in. 

• A clear set of values that drive the behaviours that define  how the business operates.
• A strong culture of recognition - celebrating good and calling out unacceptable
• A diverse and inclusive workforce.
• Enlightened leadership - Leading with empathy and intelligence.
• An emphatic commitment to employee well being.

All of these components are key ingredients . Particularly in challenging times. There is a greater need for them when for many the working community has been reduced to a set of squares on a Teams or Zoom call. 
Keeping people motivated. Leading and inspiring remotely. Understanding that different people will cope (or not) in different ways. Understanding the  new responsibilities of leaders and above all maintaining a focus on your employees mental health and well being.  All these things will determine the nature of your business’s culture. 

But as I said, businesses are different and everyone needs to find their way. And that’s where we come in!

For clients such as Babcock International, Microsoft, BT and RBS, we help them to define the workplace culture they want, devise programmes of workplace culture change and then we bring it to life for their employees in a vivid and compelling way with creative internal communications.  How, by getting to know the business - throughly - through the eyes of the leadership and  more importantly through the eyes of the employees. Only then can we help deliver what’s right for the business.

At the end of the day your culture will define and deliver the overall employee experience and it won’t be a surprise to learn that a happy workplace is a productive workplace. If you would like us to help you on your culture journey, we’d love to chat.

Mocean, making waves in employee engagement since 2014. #makingwaves

As specialists in employee engagement and employee engagement events, we understand the power and energy of  live events but the current reality is that for now, they are off the table. But life has to go on and when it became clear that for most people business gatherings would be reduced to a grid of boxes on a Teams or Zoom screen, we realised that some interactions needed to transcend the virtual meeting format and deliver something better, more significant. The digital version of a live event if you like.

So we came up with Live Studio.

Live Studio is a hybrid bundle of technology, employee engagement know-how and powerful creative execution that can deliver a range of interactions. From product launches to a complete digital conference Live Studio can deliver the punch of a live event without the need to put your delegates or customers at risk by bringing them all together in one place.

How does it work?

Mocean: Live Studio is a portable broadcast studio enabling you to stage your event as you would any live conference. You get the professional production values of a conference with quality lighting, sound, animation, film, and slide packs. Think of it as a cross between a live conference and a TV studio - all being broadcast direct to your audience and facilitated by a professional host. Presenters and guest speakers come to the studio and present as they would at any live event - under covid controlled conditions, of course. This is broadcast live via your preferred platform where the delegates can dial in from anywhere in the world. These ‘as live’ shows allow delegates to have a worthwhile and memorable experience without putting them at risk with no loss of interaction with their colleagues.

So, we’ve got the technical capability to deliver a virtual event. Job done, right? In fact wrong. That’s just part of the story. It’s like having a well equipped recording studio with no musicians. Getting the content right is essential. 
Mocean are a creative agency with extensive experience in developing effective employment engagement strategies and delivering cracking creative communications for the likes of Microsoft, Babcock International and BT. For all these clients we’ve combined our experience and technical capability to deliver effective events throughout the pandemic and even during lockdown. With brilliant results.

And Live Studio is not just about offering a solution for the pandemic. There are some clear advantages that Live Studio has over the traditional live event.

• Cheaper - No more hiring of expensive venues. No accommodation and catering costs. No travel costs.
• More inclusive - No limits to the numbers who can take part so more people in your organisation might be included. Also easier for overseas delegates to take part.
• Better for the environment without all the travel normally incurred..
  
  

So, Live Studio is for life, not just for Covid. Either on it’s own or alongside live events It can add frequency, inclusivity  and a richness to your comms strategy and could make your comms budget go a lot further in the process.

Call us to find out more. Mocean. Making Waves since 2014.

We are excited to launch our new ground-breaking packages of team building with social purpose.

​As a business we have always lived by a set of values that reflect fairness to people and kindness to the environment so combining our core business activity with our values seems like a natural progression for us. The basic premise is that these awesome team building packages will result in a positive outcome for the communities in which we operate or for the environment. We have already delivered some brilliant social purpose events for Microsoft and we hope to develop more innovative concepts that reflects our social purpose agenda. This will also support the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments of our customers so if you would like to know more about these exciting packages then please >> get in touch <<. 

We are delighted to announce that we have become a fully on-boarded preferred supplier to Microsoft. We have already produced some amazing events with them and they have already shown us that they will be a brilliant client to work with. Microsoft were particularly interested in our team building with social purpose and this is an area that we hope to develop further. We plan to produce even more exciting team building and employee engagement events for them which will be delivered at conferences and stand alone venues, globally. 

We are delighted to launch our new marketing campaign: #DoSomethingToday

​We appreciate that this isn't the usual approach when a leading events company launches a marketing campaign but we're just too concerned about the impact that humans are having on the planet to stand by and do nothing. So we decided to divert our marketing budget and use it to be a force for change by promoting small, easily achievable tasks that will help make the planet a little bit better, one act at a time.

We believe that these small acts can have an enormous effect over a period of time. It's based on the Japanese Kaisen Theory of continual improvement and we want to get as many people as possible on board. And if you're sceptical about the impact that these small actions can have - with over 7.5 billion people living on earth, just imagine if everyone did one thing, every day. So, what will you do today? ​

What's the problem anyway?
Humans are having a devastating impact on the planet and there are all of kinds issues that need addressing before it’s too late. Take the palm oil issue, deforestation or the pollution being generated every day across the world. And, of course, there is the single use plastics that are ending up in the ocean and choking our seas life. Put simply, the search for global profits has had a devastating effect on the planet. It’s time to act before it’s too late and you can do your bit by changing your behaviours. As a company that believes all organisations should have a positive social and environmental impact, it’s time we asked you to join us in doing something positive to help save our delicate environment.

It is our hope that by promoting these acts of kindness towards the environment (however small they may be), we inspire you to do the same. If you are interested in collaborating with us on our #DoSomethingToday venture, please get in touch to see how we can help each other.

We are delighted to announce the launch of a brand video series called Mocean Pictures.
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Team building and employee engagement doesn't always have to be complicated and costly which is why we want to share some experiences and ideas that business leaders have tried and found successful. We will be releasing a regular series of short videos crammed full of useful advice and tips on how you can better engage and motivate your employees. We will be interviewing many industry leading experts and discussing the many of the issues businesses face daily. 

We want the Mocean Pictures series to be as interactive as possible and we would encourage you to get in touch with any comments, feedback or general request for topics. 

​Yesterday we ran our fourth Netwalking event and the BBC World Service were there to record a 3 minute article for the broadcast on the radio. Wahoo!

Once a month, we run our Netwalking sessions which are a wonderful mix of casual networking and hill walking on the Mendips guided by our very own mountain leaders Mick and Tom. 

We started the idea to demonstrate the awesome team building and employee engagement events that we offer our clients but it soon became clear that there was a real appetite for these events and we started to offer them out to the wider business community in and around Bristol. 

Yesterday, everyone was in a jolly mood from the start. I guess it must have been the combination of getting out of the office for the afternoon, the fact that the weather had brightened up after a whole day of rain or it may have been something to do with the awesome goodie bags that they were given with their very own Mocean T-shirt and GoBites from Go Faster Food! 

We were joined by BBC journalist Claire Forestier who took time to understand the concept of Netwalking and also recorded the thoughts of the walkers representing companies such as Excalibur Communications, Teacher Hub, Skanska, Artemis Clarke, Halcyan, Sales Alliance, Global Vans and Claire Stone Nutrition. 

After the beautiful walk in the stunning Mendip Hills we headed to a lovely traditional country pub for some well-earned ‘rehydration’. 
What a great way to network!

​Thanks to all those who attended. We will look forward to our next event on August 16th. If you would like to book a place please contact us on [email protected]

It’s a simple formula isn’t it. Put simply, the more a team works together, the better they perform. When teams work together something incredible happens, you find yourself working faster, smarter, more efficiently and more committed. This approach to team building really does help build better performing teams. Why? Because,  employee engagement has clear benefits to your team and the wider business and simple team building activities can really help improve your productivity. A happy and engaged employee is much better for any team. We know that team building is often over-looked by leadership teams but there is clear and proven evidence that teamwork = success. To help inspire you and your team to collaborate and work together, here are ten quotes that celebrate the awesomeness of teamwork and team building.

Top ten quotes on the power of team building, teamwork & collaboration

1. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
2. “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
3. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie
4. “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.” – Michael Jordan
5. “Teamwork begins by building trust” – Patrick Lencioni
6. “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn
7. “The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.” – Lewis B. Ergen 
8. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” – Reid Hoffman 
9. “Great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people." – Steve Jobs 
10. "Cooperation is the thorough conviction that nobody can get there unless everybody gets there." – Virginia Burden

Visit our TEAM BUILDING page to find out more about how we can help build better performing teams for your business.