Agilio Value Award Winner Interview Series
Chris Rhodes, Videographer and Creative Designer – Agilio Software Group
Continuously Improving by Constantly Measuring Award Winner
In light of our recent Agilio Value Awards, we sat down with the winners to chat about their awards, their roles, and what it’s like to work at Agilio. Here we speak with Chris Rhodes, Videographer and Creative Designer at Agilio and joint-winner of the Continuously Improving by Constantly Measuring Value Award.
Chris has great ideas and is always looking at how we can improve and work more efficiently to fit everything in. He was key to developing the strategy of proofing graphic slides before starting video production, which has significantly cut production time. Described as a team player, who articulates his ideas well – nothing is ever too much trouble.
Please, could you tell us a little bit about your role at Agilio and what it entails?
I am a Videographer and Creative Designer, which means I make creative content for the whole Agilio group, including shooting and editing videos, designing graphics, creating social media images and much more. For me, I have come from a varied creative background; in my previous role to this, I worked in publishing, and before that, I worked in an advertising agency. So, this role has taken my creative in a completely different direction and I’m enjoying the ride, learning the sector-specific detail that I need. It has added another string to my creative bow, which has positively impacted many of my supplementary skills. I really like that I have the freedom to streamline our operations and to help things run more smoothly rather than having more hurdles.
What’s your favourite part of the job and why?
In terms of the best bits of the role, I have the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes look at what is going on in the sectors that we operate in. I get to see the processes in decontamination rooms at major hospitals and get to experience what happens outside of the treatment room in dental surgeries – nobody usually gets to see that kind of thing. Experiences like these are great; they give me a much greater appreciation of what goes on in these places and enable me to do my job to a much higher standard, as I can really capture what people want to see. When it comes to video content, however, we have to make sure that it looks correct but also that it is compliant. So, having an enhanced knowledge base and a wider pool of experiences to work with means I can be very detail orientated and get things right the first time; not only do I find these experiences fascinating, but they also have a noticeable impact on the quality of my work.
Do you have a mentor at Agilio, or someone who you think is a good role model?
Without a doubt, my studio manager, Howard. He’s been doing graphic design for a long time now, and he’s a great manager to have. Howard has been in the company much longer than I have, so he understands the nuances of how we operate. He understands what support we will need at various stages and also delegates work very effectively. Coming from a small team like ours, where there are only three designers and Howard, he understands where everyone’s strengths lie and what capacity each of us has available and then delegates tasks to the right team member at the right time.
He is a creative like me, and eventually, I would like to grow into his role and manage a team in a similar way. Having Howard as a positive example and having his support when first learning the dental market has been really valuable for me. It allowed me the time and freedom to work out how to shape my skillset for the industry and pick up the sector-specific knowledge that ensures my creative solutions are always correct.
What is the best thing about working at Agilio?
It’s definitely learning and understanding the healthcare system as I mentioned before. Visiting hospitals, dental, and GP practices and seeing the things that, as a visitor, you don’t usually get to see is great. As we are continuously growing, I know already that we plan to expand into more healthcare sectors. So, having the knowledge that in the coming years, I will be, once again, learning the intricacies of a new industry and getting another behind-the-scenes education on a different way of working is very exciting for me. I am massively motivated by learning new things, and I’ve already got ideas for how certain courses can be tweaked and altered in small ways in order to be useful for other sectors.
So, in short, the best thing about working at Agilio is the constant growth trajectory. A new market is always being expanded into, or a new business is being acquired. So, I know that there is always a new challenge just around the corner – it keeps things interesting.
Thank you for your time, Chris. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Just that I didn’t know that I was going to be winning this award. I had no idea that the work I was doing was being regarded in such a way, I was just doing my job to the best of my ability. It has been very touching to know that people were taking as much notice as they have been, it validates that I’m doing a good job. It also adds a bit of healthy pressure for me to keep performing and keep looking for ways to improve. There are still four more Value awards out there, can I collect them all?
So, my biggest takeaway is that I have been recognised for doing a good job.