Guest blogger – Katy Kurn, Founder of Showoff Communications
Having known the Lanes Team for a while now, I was always hugely impressed by their take on HR. Now, while HR can be perceived as something people only need when times are tough, Dawn and her team have always believed that actually, good HR practices can be your best friend through the good times too. Lanes are determined, focused, practical and straightforward, but they are also full of fun, warm personalities and a genuine desire to help businesses grow. So, when they asked me to help with a project to launch their brand new website, it was a no-brainer decision for me!
Lanes have grown over the last few years, becoming one of the few HR consultancies in the UK to specialise in the construction industry. With their old website content reflecting more of a traditional HR business, we needed to create a site that showed all their specialisms as well as showcasing their hugely talented team. The project team was made up of Otelli Marketing who were leading on the website design and creation, the Lanes team as clients and I was responsible for writing all the new content.
Looking back, this was one of my favourite projects of all time. Why? Because of the way we worked together. Often, projects made up of many businesses can feel quite ego-driven, everyone jostling for attention and the need to show their business as the strongest link. But thankfully this project didn’t have one iota of ego. Project meetings were enjoyable, actions easily assigned, progress made at the right time and accountability taken by the right people. Now why can’t every project be like this?!
As a client, Lanes were brilliant. Dawn wasn’t precious about the existing content, she trusted the project team to work in her best interests and was happy to let us advise her. She was forthcoming with her briefs, which as a content writer is massively helpful and her feedback was always constructive and easy to decipher.
So, if you’re considering a new website, here are some tips to help you, based on the success of this project:
- Find partner businesses who really do have your best interests at heart and aren’t just in it for an ego boost.
- Be clear in your briefs, they won’t know what you want unless you tell them.
- Encourage the partner businesses to liaise with each other, you shouldn’t have to be the go-between for everyone.
- Trust the advice of the professionals, always give your opinion but be open to learning from their experience.
- Don’t be afraid to give your honest feedback. Everyone wants to close a project they can be proud of, so tell them what you really think so you can get the site you really want.
So, although timelines may be tight, briefs may be challenging and there are many moving parts, with the right partner businesses and by being a clear and approachable client, website relaunch projects can absolutely be fun!
To find out more about the businesses involved in the Lanes website project, you can visit our websites:
Lovely blog! Such fun working together