Making It Happen and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ THREE update
17
September 2002
Printable version
Studio
session for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ staff given by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Director-General Greg Dyke
Good morning everyone and welcome, wherever you are watching or listening
- here in the studio, on the ringmain or the web. Thank you for coming
along or tuning in.
And
a special welcome to two guests in the studio from our international
offices - Shirley Flores, who has joined us from New York and Qurban
Ali from our Delhi bureau.
I
am particularly excited to be in this studio this morning as I am fulfilling
a long-held ambition to appear on Top of the Pops - well this is the
Top of the Pops stage.
We're
going to try and keep this session to an hour so that those of you watching
with your teams can spend some time after the session discussing the
issues covered.
And,
as you can see, we've decided to dispense with a professional presenter
today.
All
you get is me, and later some of my colleagues from the Executive Team.
It's
some seven months since my last studio session and I wanted to update
you on some of the big things that are happening in the organisation.
Back
in February I launched Making It Happen, and I plan to use much of today
to tell you where we've got to and explain what's happening next.
But
before that, I want to talk about some of the achievements of the past
few months, and in particular the remarkable run of live events we've
broadcast on television, radio and on-line this summer.
As
I said, a remarkable few months and some remarkable coverage.
There
are many people to thank for all of this, but this morning I'd like
to say a particular thank you to some people who don't often get a mention.
And they
are the people who work in OB's.
Without
their commitment, ingenuity and sheer professionalism, none of what
we've just seen would have been brought to the eyes and ears of the
world.
In
fact we've had a fantastic summer across all our services, and the forthcoming
Autumn on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ ONE and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO promises to be every bit as good.
I want
you all to see for yourselves, so we're showing the channels' preview
tapes on
the ringmain every day this week. Alternatively, you can get hold of
a VHS copy by emailing internal communications.
So
what else has been happening?
Well
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide has won the Queen's Award for Exports which was thoroughly
deserved. Remember, many of the best television programmes at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
- like Blue Planet - only
get made because of the money Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide brings in.
Next
week sees the launch of the Scottish soap - River City. I was on the
set myself last week, and it looks great.
We've
launched radios 1xtra and 6Music - two of our new digital radio stations
- as well as the three new digital TV channels - Cbeebies, CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR.
And in New Media, interactive television has really begun to take off.
If I tell you that in
July, more people used our interactive services in digital homes than
watched Channel Five, you can see what I mean.
Another
exciting development in the coming weeks will be the launch of Freeview,
the new digital terrestrial television service which should be on air
by the end of October. Hopefully the result will be that millions more
people will be able to get our digital services in the future.
Finally,
some important breaking news.
We've
heard this morning that Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State at the Department
of Culture Media and Sport has given the go-ahead for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ THREE.
This
is great news for everyone - but particularly for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ THREE team.
As I've said before, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ THREE is central in our drive to connect with
young audiences. I know it's been a long wait, but this has been a tough
decision for the Secretary of State, and looking back, I think she was
right to push us to define the channel more clearly.
The new channel will be launched in the New Year, and I'm confident
that it will bring a new public service concept to this currently under-served
audience.
So,
there's no doubt that things are going well for us at the moment. But
it's important that
we don't get arrogant or gloat. Remember, these things always go in
cycles and there will be bad times as well as good in the future.
One final
thing before I turn to Making It Happen. As you know, pensions have
become a big issue
in recent months with a large number of companies scrapping their final
salary schemes.
I
just wanted to say we do not plan to do that at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ - we think our
current scheme is a valuable asset for our staff. However, this decision
might mean all of us having to pay a bit more into the scheme in the
future - and by all I mean staff and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ itself.
Now let me turn to Making It Happen.
Remember
when we launched it in February, I said it was designed to make the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ the most creative organisation in the world.
A Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
which puts audiences at the heart of everything we do.
A Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ which
encourages risk taking and innovation.
A Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ which
attracts and develops the very best talent in all parts of the organisation.
And a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
which is a great place to work.
So how
is it going?
Is Making
It Happen having an impact and changing the way we operate?
If we want
the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to change, we can do it.
Back
in February I said that Making It Happen was not to be a top down, management
or consultant led process, but one which was owned by everyone in the
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. And this is precisely what is now happening.
Take the
Just Imagine sessions for example.
So
far there have been 150 of them across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ - including one in Nairobi
later this week.
An
amazing 7,000 people have been involved, and they have come up with
some great idea for
their own departments and for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ as a whole.
That's
by far the biggest consultation exercise the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ has ever done.
The
ideas, comments and suggestions which have been gathered from these
sessions are central to Making It Happen.
In other words, this whole culture change programme is being driven
by you - by people right across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
In the
next six months, I want to get that 7,000 figure up to a minimum of
10,000.
It's not
too late. If you want to get involved and go to a Just Imagine session,
go to the Making It Happen site on Gateway where you can find details
of all the events that are happening between now and Christmas.
Surveys
we've carried out over the past two months indicate that forty per cent
of you now believe that Making It Happen will make a real difference
to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
That confirms
my experience that things are changing and that there is a different
atmosphere across
the organisation.
We, all
of us, are making a difference.
Pretty
soon staff will be able to order a DTT adapter for Β£66 - that's
a saving of between 35% and
45% on the retail price. And by the way, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ isn't subsidising this
deal.
Full details
about how to get one will be available soon on Gateway and in Ariel.
We also
plan to announce a similar deal on Digital Radios in the near future.
Another
thing which was raised by literally thousands of people during the Just
Imagine sessions was that they wanted the opportunity to learn more
about other parts of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ beyond their own team, department, profession
or discipline.
So, we've
decided that, from next year, everyone in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ will be given a day
a year which they can spend in another part of the organisation to meet
new people and get a broader view of the place.
We'll be
giving more details about how this will work in due course.
At the
heart of Making It Happen are the seven theme groups which are looking
at big issues which matter to people right across the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
I thought
I'd ask the leaders of those groups to give you an update.
Those theme
group leaders will be reporting back to the Executive Team in January
and in the meantime, your divisional teams will be drawing up Action
Plans based on your local Just Imagine sessions.
In the
New Year we'll bring all this work together to create a Making It Happen
plan. I'll announce the details of that in the Spring.
Changing
the culture of any organisation doesn't happen overnight. Experience
from elsewhere suggests it could take up to five years.
This means
that there's always a danger that big change initiatives run out of
steam before they have a real impact. And as many of you have said in
the Just Imagine sessions, that is something which has happened before
in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
That's
why I wanted to talk to you today - to make it clear that I and the
Executive Team believe this really matters - and we're in it for the
long haul.
Making
It Happen isn't a short- term initiative. It won't go away. Don't be
surprised when I'm still talking about Making It Happen in six months'
time. In a year's time. And beyond.
This isn't
a bolt-on - something we do, if we have time, after the day-job. It's
the most important thing we're doing at the moment. It's about ensuring
the future of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
Making
It Happen is all about serving our audiences better.
It's about
making better radio, television and online content which entertains,
inspires and engages people.
It's about
enriching the lives of our audiences.
Our aim
is to take the best of the old Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ and create a more vibrant, exciting
and creative new
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ.
Let me
say again what I said in February - the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ already does great things,
but just imagine, just imagine how great it could be.
Now I want
to hear from you - the people here in the studio, and those of you watching
and listening in your offices.
Last time
I handed over to Fiona Bruce - sadly, today we've only got Mark Byford.
