As business enters the creative age, it is becoming increasingly obvious that new ideas, inspired thoughts and the ability to see things in a different way are the talents required of a successful manager. So ABSA (the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts) has formed the Creative Forum for Culture and the Economy to bring the arts into the workplace and inspire a new generation of business leaders.
The information revolution has changed irrevocably the nature of manufacturing and commerce. Mechanised production and computerised data processing have negated the human function in many modern businesses. While this has streamlined costs, improved standards and ensured consistency and quality, it has removed essential human characteristics from the production chain.
This has caused problems and weaknesses – for a business to be truly great it must find a point of difference from its competition: a new idea, an exciting development, an improvement from time to time. But how can these ideas be generated by staff constrained by practice and procedure to think logically?
One answer is to look to the arts – where creativity, invention and the expression of ideas are the defining characteristics.
Integrated partnerships
During twenty years of involvement with arts and business, ABSA has identified a shift towards more integrated partnerships. Initially sponsorship was a one way process, with businesses donating cash in return for specified promotional benefits. More recently, individuals in business began to donate their time and expertise to the arts through ABSA’s innovative Business in the Arts programmes.
Some leading companies, such as Allied Domecq and Arthur Andersen realised that there were cross-overs between the two and their volunteer managers were themselves receiving clear benefits from their placements. This inspired early experiments in more direct encounters with the arts which ABSA have gathered under the generic name ‘Arts at Work’.
Inevitably, examples of Arts at Work are as many and varied as the arts themselves: from discussion groups with respected artists to staff workshops in dance and drama, exhibitions of art in office foyers to management development through the medium of the theatre. Some leading companies have set the scene with their pioneering projects.
Arts at work in M&S
For Marks & Spencer, Arts at Work was a natural follow-on from its model arts and community programmes. As one of the world’s leading blue chip retailers, Marks & Spencer knew that its people were its greatest asset. But Andrew Stone, joint managing director, recognised a gap in his staff’s lives – a lack of involvement with and understanding of the arts, often since their school-days.
From small beginnings, the Arts & Science Forum was born. The first lecture was on the theme of colour – a subject which permeates all aspects of the company’s work. This appealed to both the artistic (choosing the right colour) and technical (achieving the right colour) sides of the business and united staff in a common interest. Since then, the Arts & Science Forum has grown to the point where large and enthusiastic numbers of M&S staff now meet fortnightly.
The Forum has enjoyed contributions from artists and organisations as diverse as the Royal Ballet, Michael Gambon talking about his role as Galileo, the painter Humphrey Ocean, the ICA and the Chelsea Physic Garden. Marks & Spencer found that by bringing the skills of artists into the workplace, they could break down cultural barriers within their offices and teach staff mutual respect. As Andrew Stone said: “It started as a way of introducing our people to something they might have been missing; but it has proved to be an excellent means of improving internal communication and team spirit, and liberating ideas.”
Intercompany transfusion
Another major sponsor, Allied Domecq, has pushed its involvement with the Royal Shakespeare Company way beyond the traditional boundaries of sponsorship. It has set up a programme of ‘transfusions’ – intercompany training which includes the RSC’s staff passing on their skill in voice production, presentation or creativity, as well as Allied Domecq managers running courses for the RSC in a variety of business disciplines. The two companies are so taken with these new developments that they have joined forces to organise a conference in London, which explores these and other relationships between the arts, business and society.
Some other companies are beginning to use the arts, particularly theatre, in change management and ‘scenario painting’. Change is endemic in business life today, and although the board may have a clear vision of the future, communicating that vision to its workforce and other stakeholders is a common hurdle. Now some leading businesses such as Post Office Counters and Pearl Assurance are commissioning theatre workers to turn their vision into reality – and the resulting play can be a much more powerful medium for communication than a video of the chief executive. As Richard Surface, managing director of Pearl Assurance, says: “Your vision becomes reality, you can see it, digest it, debate it. It is a great engine for change.”
Other projects are less direct, with apparently fewer tangible benefits, but certainly high hopes of success. City lawyers, Mischon de Reya, have recently employed a poet-in-residence to work with its teams of legal staff. For employees whose tools are the written and spoken word, there are many opportunities for development and inspiration. Only time will tell if the poet’s successes can surpass the acres of publicity.
Arts benefit too
So it is becoming obvious that the arts have much to offer business, but the arts, too, can benefit from this new generation of partnerships. Arts at Work is an appealing add-on to an arts sponsorship package which provides essential funding for many institutions. It also deepens the relationship, encouraging long term support. Further, the projects themselves develop new audiences for art – cultural consumers and advocates of the cause.
The arts are no longer suspicious of business, as they were two decades ago. Development staff actively court business support with considerable success. In future, ABSA expects many arts organisations to offer their creative input, training and development services as part of a cultural services package where they can meet businesses on a level playing field.
ABSA’s role will be to monitor development, promote standards and best practice, and spread the word to those who are still a little sceptical.
The new government has put commitment to the creative industries high on its list of priorities, but ABSA believes that every industry needs creativity. Indeed all businesses need creative teams as well as the creativity of each employee.
Unlocking this latent talent is the mission of Arts at Work and the challenge for the new age of business/arts partnerships.
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