Mark Lund CEO, DLKW
"A lot of service businesses are fundamentally to do with the strength of
relationships between people - and that remains true whether we are talking about
Accountancy or Law or Media. And the common bit about that is that you can perform
the technical parts of the business relationship very well, but if the
relationship isn't really working, then however technically excellent you are,
it is unlikely that the relationship will flourish. If you can sort the
personnel and the personal side out, then the technical bit has a chance to
really do well. I think it's one of those things that you think of as insurance,
but when you do it you realise it is a vital part of making the business grow,
and making the business really work.
What we found is that RAM did a terrific job in
terms of uncovering the things that either we didn't hear,
couldn't hear, or didn't want to hear. We found the problems in relationships that we might have
suspected were there, but didn't really know enough about. We've also found where relationships can
be developed, where they can be exploited, and where we can push forward to make more of something.
I would recommend RAM as we have had a very good experience over the last two years. They've been very professional; they've got some very good interviewers and analysts of relations.
They've been very good at fitting in with the peculiarities of our business, the advertising business - but I know they work very well with very different sorts of people-based businesses, and they have been punctual in terms of what they said they would do, and when they would do it.
Most of all, we get the impression - and I think our clients get the impression - that they understand the business we are in, and the relationships we are trying to form. That means that the feedback and analysis they give is extremely high quality, and is actionable - and that, I think, is the most important thing."