In the latest edition of The Lowe Down, ESSA’s bi-annual membership update, our Sales and Business Development Manager, Helen Lowe, shares what we’ve been working on behind the scenes to support and represent our members. 

The past six months here at ESSA have seemingly flown by – but what an exciting six months it has been! Between our first-ever Senior Leadership Summit, annual AGM, charity golf day and more, there’s been plenty to get involved in and plenty more to celebrate!

I want to start by extending a warm welcome to the many members who have joined us in the last six months, which brings our total membership count just shy of 350. It’s always incredibly encouraging to see our membership grow, and I look forward to welcoming you all officially at an ESSA event soon.

For now, here’s an overview of the key highlights from across ESSA these past six months:

Senior Leaders Summit

Our first-ever Senior Leaders Summit was a huge success, bringing together event industry leaders and giving them the chance to reassess and focus on what is most important for their business.

The feedback has been hugely positive, and as such, we are looking to run the event again next April – stay tuned for dates to be announced.

AGM & Charity Golf Day

This year’s AGM saw over 150 members visit ExCel London who gathered for networking and reflection. The day also saw the new appointment and reappointment of several members to the ESSA Board – a huge congratulations to all of those elected.

Our charity golf day also took place, which saw fierce competition taking place out on the greens for another successful charity event. This year, funds were raised for the Ride to Live Challenge, with funds being donated to the British Heart Foundation.

Accreditations

These past six months have seen even more members undertaking our accreditations, with 20 members becoming health and safety accredited and 28 members becoming sustainability accredited in the last six months.

The introduction of our accreditation convoys has allowed small groups of dedicated members to work more closely together alongside the guidance of our accreditation superstar Josh Taylor. These groups have undoubtedly helped make the accreditation process more manageable, empowering members to work more closely together, guide each other and share their successes to help others. Our current convoy is just about halfway through the process, so we look forward to seeing them complete their accreditation in the coming months.

On the topic of sustainability, it’s been great to see so many more companies moving forward with their sustainability journey and achieving different tiers based on where they are currently. We always stress that sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint, and every tier achieved is recognition of your commitment to sustainability in your business.

Benefits

Finally, I’d just like to share several current and upcoming key benefits all ESSA members should know about.

• Quest Cover has launched their new HR service, which alongside the core support you already know, includes bespoke and professionally written contracts and handbooks, as well as a new Employee Management System

• We’ve been busy updating our sustainability guidance for members, which can now be accessed by members in the members zone

• ESSA members are entitled to a 5% discount on insurance policies through our partnership with InEvexco, and those who are ESSA Health & Safety accredited can also enjoy an additional 5%!

• Our website has been having a bit of a makeover behind the scenes, and soon we’ll be launching our new CRM that members will be able to access for all their online training needs.

As always, thanks for being part of ESSA, and if there’s anything you need, we’re here to help!