Smooth.live, Shinesmith and Academy are well known industry suppliers who have always put the ‘people into the process’. Renowned for their personable style, exceptional attention to detail and sales expertise, they have grown to become a group company known as Rego. The founders of Rego and their Rego Approach as it is known, introduce us to their people-focused and technology-led solutions.
The thrill and experience of live events and bringing people together, has long been a passion and drive for Rego Chair, Claire Washington-Smith. “When you have done it for so long, you have to love the industry and enjoy what you do. We are excited to pioneer into emerging markets and this has been the reason Rego has come to life. The legacy of this business is in our Smooth.live, Shinesmith and Academy. We have always been focused on providing accredited, flexible staffing solutions, expert sales personnel, a superior customer service approach and exceptional coaching programmes. This has been a planned progression of almost two years of transformation and growth”.
“Rego exists to grow, scale and disrupt our own business and constantly evolve. Our team understands that change is a constant and necessary aspect of growth. We are surrounded by like minded people with different skills and diversities but a shared vision and ethos, which is taking us into the next phase of development. We are breaking down barriers and creating new realities”.
Rego is the next generation of a legacy business, brought about from a realisation that industry and customer needs are dramatically and irreversibly changing. Rego is the transformational result of their focus on a global portfolio across a number of industry sectors.
Founder and COO of Rego, Donna Shaw explains the decision to choose the term Rego as their evolved identity.
Rego: From the Latin meaning to Lead, Pioneer, Drive, Enjoin, Steer, Mastermind
“We were looking for a name to encompass all we stand for in a simple translatable form. We decided on Rego to capture our pioneering spirit and direction”.
“Rego is not a rebranding of Smooth.live, Shinesmith or Academy. We are a very different business from the one we started when Claire and I met in 1995. COVID-19 has accelerated trends that we believe would have occurred organically”.
Rego has a central operation that enables them to see, realise and then roll out excellent practises across the business. Significantly it offers a way of thinking consistent with improved performance for their clients and a wider, international market. Rego continues to provide solutions for live and virtual events in every sector and in every geography and use an omni-channel approach to bring together engagement, online trade, networking and education.
Interestingly, according to BIZZABO’s Post Covid-19 Event Outlook Report, in 2020 an astounding 97% of event marketers believe we will see more hybrid events in 2021. “
Rego support this expectation through their agnostic platform approach and CPD certified programmes.
Simon Foster, non-Executive Director of Rego, said, “Launching this evolution to Rego marks a significant chapter in our growth story. More than a new name, this development signifies a new era for the business. It builds on the solid foundation of 20 years of a people-focussed approach to improving sales though expertise, training, and technology for live events, by focusing even more on the way in which we approach client needs, whether that be in office, at live events or with virtual events”.
The evolution of their business model has allowed Rego to take on its own identity, opening Rego Technology in Dubai and truly living up to its pioneering name and purpose. Rego are excited for this global chapter and creating frictionless connections and unprecedented value for its growing market.
Rego Director, Ian Washington-Smith explains the Rego Approach, why it is so vital in 2021 and some key solutions it provides.
“Issues can be seen as problems or tasks to complete. The Rego Approach improves consistency by delivering a better understanding of thinking and collaboration. You can become more conscious of this thinking ability and access the resources to create improved productivity and optimum performance”.
By undergoing this process we overcome unhelpful influences of the mind, maximising goal pursuit, collaboration, organisational and personal performance.
Rego offers a suite of solutions to improve resilience, behaviours and thinking around key factors identified by Rego clients as top priorities in the public and private sectors in 2021.
Team Motivation
Performance and Productivity
Culture including Diversity
Working from Home and Remote Working Issues
Dealing with Uncertainty
Understanding human behaviour is still one of the main challenges for organisations. We often confuse causes with symptoms. The Rego Approach provides an accurate behavioural diagnostic that saves organisations time and allows them to take appropriate action.
Interestingly, leading UK health provider BUPA produced a report in partnership with The Prince’s Responsible Business Network and found that during 2020 41% of employees surveyed were suffering poor mental health due to work and even more alarming is the fact that only 37% of employees believed their CEO offered the right support.
Rego encourage an innovative pro-active approach to mental health. Their programmes in the public sector use The Rego Approach, maximising the ability to achieve the mind’s optimum and promote resilience.
Foster further stated, “I have known the founders and the business for many years, and always been impressed with the results they deliver. In the past year, since I formally joined as a NED, I have been constantly impressed with the passion, innovation and adaptability of the Rego business and its leadership team. They’ve shown time and again a true consideration for keeping their focus on the customer, especially during this period as the needs of the events industry are evolving, and have adapted quickly and effectively with new solutions. I’m delighted to be part of this growth journey and look forward to working with the team as they continue to evolve and expand.”
George Stylianou CEO of Rego, explains the Rego Approach and the universal benefits this practise brings.
“Overcoming the adverse effects of human thinking and behaviour still presents the main challenge to people and organisations in pursuit of efficiency and performance. To do that successfully you have to understand that your behaviour is merely a printout of your consistent thoughts”.
Their approach includes a method of doing just that in practical way, that is not psychology and is easy to understand. Often companies limit options or make poor decisions around people because they do not have a method that allows them to understand responses or the influence of how they themselves are perceiving responses.
“The Rego Approach develops your awareness, helps you adapt and move to a place we call anticipation”.
This new way of thinking makes you more conscious of the fact that you have the ability to do what is effective more consistently.
Astonishingly, according to Deloitte’s January 2020 report, written in collaboration with MIND and entitled, ‘Mental Health and Employers. Refreshing the Case for Investment’,
For every £1 spent by employers on mental wellbeing interventions they get back £5 in reduced absence, presenteeism and staff turnover.
This clearly illustrates the continued case for investing in employee Mental Health, more now than ever.
Whilst this period has been devastating for an industry used to face to face focus and the serendipity this brings, they have remained positive by pushing ahead to look at the needs of their clients both for the immediate times and for the future. Rego have registered their Dubai office during 2020, this work continues with the development of Rego Technology and exciting new external products with partnerships from digital leaders such as Twilio.
2021 for Rego, is a year to embark on new possibilities and create new realities for the industry as a whole.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
