Mairéad’s Secondment Opportunity

In September 2022, Steps announced the opportunity for one individual to undertake a 3-week secondment in a different Steps Region of their choice, to enhance personal development and build connections globally.

An opportunity to work (and live) in a completely different country, spend quality in-person time with my colleagues and as the Digital & Virtual Partner (UKE) at Steps, the possibility of further developing our Media offering in the different regions, were all factors that led me to apply for this secondment and ultimately be lucky enough to be selected.

With our US business at an exciting point of growth, exploring scalability of our approach in this region really appealed to me – and I requested to split my time between LA and New York to maximise my exposure to both the East and West Coast – and to meet and spend time with all my colleagues across the US.

I started my Secondment in LA, starting with a 7am weekly check-in meeting with the global team (which is usually held at 3pm for those of us based in London).  That came as a bit of a shock – and experiencing how the time difference impacts my international colleagues made me appreciate that Melissa and Shweta have to do this every week! When you’re in the UK, you can comprehend that it is an early start, but being in LA allowed me to experience first-hand how it impacts your working day.

As Melissa, Shweta and I had all travelled to LA and were looking to meet with different production contacts, it opened up opportunities to have in-person meetings. We met Shelby, a producer, for breakfast – and for lunch, we met with an associate of Steps; Nate.  We had really insightful and interesting conversations with them both and to be able to meet them with Shweta and Melissa face-to-face, rather than online was special – it’s a small thing to go and have a breakfast or lunch meeting, but feels like more of a rarity these days and it’s one of the moments that has stayed with me.

After our meeting with Nate, he invited us to go with him to see an improvisation show that evening, at the Groundling’s Theatre. Shweta and Melissa were travelling back home that afternoon and couldn’t attend, and though I was hesitant at first about going by myself, having never seen an improvisation show before – I knew I’d really love it. I did go, and I did absolutely love it!  Pushing myself out of my comfort zone was always going to be a part of this secondment and it resulted in one of my favourite evening experiences.  It was also so lovely to find out more about Nate’s passions outside of work – and experience the creative arts scene in LA.

I was then in New York for two weeks, and spent time co-working with my colleagues, meeting with production contacts, going to a client’s office with Jess to support filming a promo video for an upcoming session and when I wasn’t out and about meeting people, trying to find creative working spaces that were outside of my apartment.

Shane, Colleen, and I met at Brookfield Place, I found a co-working space in my apartment building, and I stumbled upon a beautiful working spot with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge – which really brought to life the work from anywhere lifestyle we’ve embraced at Steps. This view by South Street Sea Port became my favourite evening walk and after work I’d get an ice cream (or a cocktail!) and just enjoy being by the waterfront.

One interaction that I remember is when I found an evening bakeshop and I was walking back to the apartment with my cookies when a man walked past and commented that they were the best cookies!   I had to do a double take to make sure that he was talking to me, because this kind of interaction would rarely happen in the UK. I replied to him, and it really made me smile that people were so friendly and, for me, it was a real snapshot moment of a experiencing a different culture first hand.

It was interesting getting an understanding of how the working day differs for those colleagues in the US, especially in relation to the time difference from the UK. I’d wake up knowing that I would have an influx of emails from those in the UKE because they’d already be half-way through their working day, and it was a challenge not to feel like you needed to check your emails when you first woke up. It also completely changed my working pattern – in the UK I have the flexibility of having meetings spread across the morning and the afternoon but when working in the US, all my meetings happened in the morning, leaving tasks for the afternoon. I prefer getting tasks done in the morning, so this meant that I had to shift how I would normally work. You can appreciate the time difference in the UK, but you don’t fully understand how it can impact your ways of working and how it can dictate your working day when the majority of your colleagues are based elsewhere.  The experience has definitely made me more conscious of scheduling, as well as how workflow impacts my global colleagues.

Through this secondment, I was given the opportunity to professionally develop by stretching myself to independently talk about Steps and our Digital & Virtual offering and to explore potential for future growth in the US region and beyond. I connected with colleagues whom I don’t regularly work alongside and spent quality time together. I lived and worked in a different country by myself for the first time, experiencing a different cultural way of living and getting to immerse myself in the sights of LA and New York.  I would honestly do it again, and I’d recommend this opportunity to all of my colleagues.

Lastly, thank you to the whole of the US team. I’m sure it wasn’t easy being the first region to host the secondment, but the support, guidance, recommendations, and care I had from my colleagues whilst I was there really helped make my experience the most memorable and fulfilling time that I could have hoped for – so thank you!