Celebrating RX’s unsung heroes

Behind RX’s success as a global event organiser there is a group of talented professionals whose contributions, though often invisible, are critical to our business. We shine a light on some of these indispensable team members whose talent and quiet dedication fuels growth for RX and our customers.

Hiroko Higuchi – All change at RX Central

Faced with the challenge of relocating RX Japan’s HQ from Shinjuku to newly built offices in midtown Tokyo, project leader Hiroko Higuchi, seized the opportunity to completely reimagine the company’s work environment and culture.

Inspired by RX Japan’s new location directly opposite Japan’s largest railway terminal, Hiroko and her newly appointed team rebranded the new HQ ‘RX Central’ to reflect an organisation which is connected, forward-looking and going places. Reflecting the shift in workplace culture since the pandemic, they put flexibility, collaborative working and employee wellbeing at the heart of RX Central’s new open plan design.

“Instead of working in silos, we can now choose how and where we want to work, resulting in greater interaction and creativity between our departments and teams,” said Hiroko. “With its central location, meeting and social spaces, RX Central is also a hub for business and social gatherings with customers, Embassy officials and industry partners.”

To continue to build more business for our customers, RX needs to attract the best talent in the industry, and RX Central has put RX Japan well and truly on the map. A massive shoutout to Hiroko, Marin, Rio and Momiji for their tremendous efforts in making their vision a reality.

The All Energy Conference team – for the love of learning

The All Energy Australia conference is the largest and most comprehensive in our Australian portfolio, with over 400 speakers across multiple stages over two days. So, when a brand new conference producer and team were assigned to deliver the 2023 event within a very tight timeframe, working across different time zones with RX’s customer support team in Manila, they knew they would need to pull out all the stops.

Managing a dynamic 400+ speaker agenda in real time, including updates, changes, and additions, is no easy feat. But, by prioritising workflow, keeping to deadlines, and using informal tools like Teams, the Sydney and Manila colleagues worked together to ensure that both the website and printed materials remained current. Then, fuelled by a shared mantra of “Yes, we can!”, the team co-ordinated logistics and planning as the event approached, connecting with the on-site tech team, and ensuring all the content was meticulously organised and presented.

Together, they delivered the largest and most comprehensive conference programme to date, helping to ensure that All Energy Australia remains the must-attend event for government officials, CEOs and industry decision-makers. And they are about to do it all again at All Energy 2024 which opens its doors on 23 October at MCEC, Melbourne.

Speaking on behalf of her amazing team, Conference Producer Shahida Sweeney said: “There is nothing more satisfying than seeing hundreds and thousands of delegates sitting in and learning and expanding their knowledge in a conference programme we have spent countless hours putting together. It is the epitome of one of our core NIMBLE goals – Love of Learning!”

Bai Yu – making personnel personal

Behind every happy and motivated team is a personnel director with their finger on the pulse. And for the past 18 years, HR and Admin Manager Bai Yu has been responsible for overseeing talent welfare and development at RX Huabo (China) with exceptional skill and understanding.

Under her leadership, team building has been a major focus, leading to the creation of a staff club in 2009 and the organising of regular sporting and outdoor activities to foster teamwork and boost morale. Employees genuinely respect and help each other, which not only makes work more efficient but also gives everyone a strong sense of belonging and satisfaction. At the same time, her contributions towards creating fair compensation and benefits plans, and determination to provide career development opportunities, have played a key role in attracting talent and keeping employee turnover low.

Bai Yu also plays a vital role in employee welfare and community outreach. Over the last 10 years she has organised numerous charitable activities for Guangdong Heyuan Hemu Primary School, including building sports facilities and distributing scholarships. And during COVID-19, it was Bai Yu who managed RX Huabo’s response to the pandemic, ensuring the health and safety of her colleagues. Every organisation needs a Bai Yu.

Global Sales Enablement Team – driving growth for RX and our customers

This is a shout-out to our Global Sales Enablement Group (GSEG), who work their socks off behind the scenes to drive growth for RX and our customers through value-based selling.

Value-based selling is a customer-centric approach to sales which is about seeking to understand what outcomes your customers are looking for then tailoring solutions that will help them to achieve their goals.

Through a deep discovery, the GSEG train our sales teams to be efficient at asking questions to better understand the customer’s business and value drivers, their industry, the challenges they face, and what success looks like. They have also developed new tools and workshops to help teams drive client satisfaction, and managers to motivate and develop their teams. So good are they at what they do, that their ‘Selling the RX Way’ has achieved a +100 Net Promotor Score from the sales teams attending their training sessions.

“You have the answers to every sales scenario you will ever face within RX’s global knowledge network,” explained Laura Williams, International Sales Manager for the UK. “There is no way I could perform at the standard I have if I couldn’t lean on the different departments, teams and individuals I’m blessed to work with in order to provide an excellent value-based opportunity for each and every one of my clients.”

Reflecting on his role as Director of the Global Sales Enablement Team, Adam Cartledge said: “What’s really cool about my job is working with fellow salespeople and seeing them have those breakthrough moments” he said. “Helping them to succeed, and by extension helping their customers succeed, gets me up in the morning and gives me a real sense of purpose.”

Global Technology Team – making exhibitor registration easier

RX’s global tech team generally beaver away out of the spotlight, but the results of their digital endeavours are transforming every aspect of the trade show experience for the better.

Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in the USA is unusual in having some very large booths, staffed by hundreds of team members. Until recently, all had to be individually registered by the booth manager in a time-consuming process, under pressure of the show’s imminent opening.

In response to a customer’s request for an easier process, our Americas digital team, led by Milton Montaque, Senior Director, Innovation & Development, developed a back-end solution which has not only solved the problem for G2E but is now in use across multiple shows. This allows the exhibitor’s key contact to send around a registration link to their internal team enabling everyone to complete their own registration for the key contact to simply approve.

Having piloted the solution at a smaller event, it was successfully implemented at G2E 2023 ensuring a smooth and easy registration experience. Hours of emails, texts and phone calls were suddenly alleviated for the exhibitor, allowing them to focus on preparing for business ahead of the show. G2E returns to The Venetian, Las Vegas, from 7-10 October 2024.

As event organisers, RXers are used to drawing on all their mental and physical resources to make things happen. But faced with a pandemic or natural disaster, it takes a special kind of commitment and resilience to win through. We celebrate some of our unsung heroes in China, Japan and the USA who went above and beyond in 2022 to support their colleagues, and ensure the show would go on, even in the most difficult of situations.

Door to door care packages

With China living under lockdown for almost all of 2022, our HR and Administration team showed absolute dedication in supporting our people under exceptional circumstances.

Among the first to be impacted by lockdown were 230 RXers in Shanghai and Beijing. Quarantined at home, they were quickly subject to shortages of food and medication. HR and Admin quickly set to work sourcing, purchasing, and delivering care packages door to door to each RXers home, overcoming widespread challenges to secure hard-to-find food, PPE and other daily necessities. Not only were they required to do this three times in Shanghai during 2022, but they were also involved in organising the package delivery to other RELX businesses, including Elsevier, Lexis Nexis and Risk, for a total of 520 extra employees.

The repeated lockdowns in China also gave the HR and Admin team cause for concern about the impact on their colleagues’ mental health. To help ease anxiety and provide practical support, they arranged a programme of online training courses including sessions on the use of meditation to aid sleep; advice on educating your children remotely; psychological insights into how to work efficiently at home; and help re-adjusting to a return to the workplace after the epidemic. Other online activities were arranged to raise spirits and help bring RXers together, including: 

A Cookery Competition, with RXers encouraged to share photos of the dishes they had prepared with the food received in their care packages.
Online ‘A Cappella’ singing lessons, led by Emma Riley, our UK-based Privacy & Compliance Programme Manager – an amazing and joyful experience for all.
An online Dragon Boat Festival, with RXers invited to share their experiences and customs for this traditional annual public holiday and celebration in June.

 Finally, in mid-December, after three postponements caused by new COVID outbreaks, our Shanghai RXers were able to come together, face to face, for a team building exercise at Disneyland Shanghai. Eighty employees celebrated the themes of Magical and Brave – two key elements of our NIMBLE culture code – wrapping up 2022 and looking forward with renewed hope and excitement to 2023.

New space for face to face

At RX, nothing beats the power of face to face for communication and innovation – and that goes for our people as well as our customers. When the pandemic forced our Japanese colleagues to work from home they quickly adapted to the efficiencies of their new regime, despite missing the in-person contact of the office environment. So, when the time came to reopen RX for business, the HR and Operations teams were determined to create an environment that enticed their colleagues back to the office and encouraged them to come together, while also putting a big smile on their faces.

Their solution was to convert 234sqm of office space into the ‘RX Café’, a more casual and relaxed space where colleagues could gather and chat. They also installed a vending machine offering complimentary drinks – but only when two people pushed the button at the same time! The Café has been an enormous success and, by reminding RXers of the power of face to face meeting and working, has played a key role in helping RX Japan to regain its vitality and productivity post-pandemic.

Safety first at JIS

When Hurricane Ian struck the state of Florida on 27 September 2022, just three days ahead of JIS, the team were put on red alert as one of the most powerful storms to hit the United States in recent years caused widespread disruption and sadly loss of life.

The premier event for immediate and seasonal at-show jewellery delivery, JIS was due to open its doors on Friday 30 September at the Miami Beach Convention. The event, operation, and legal teams closely monitored the storm and worked with local authorities and partners at the Miami Beach Convention Center, going above and beyond in their determination to safely proceed with the event if it was at all possible.

“Many retailers rely on the JIS Fall show for the fulfilment of their upcoming holiday inventory needs. Once our partners on the ground confirmed it was safe to do so, we did everything possible to provide the JIS community with best-in-class buying, education and networking opportunities,” said JIS Marketing Director, Lauren van Rensburg. 

“Whilst Hurricane Ian ended up avoiding Miami Beach, where JIS was being held, many participants were making their way there for the show. Aware of the hurricane’s wider and ongoing effects, our focus was on the safety of our exhibitors, attendees, and staff,” explained Sara McDonough, JIS Event Director. “We decided to delay the opening from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, providing participants with a complimentary brunch and networking opportunity during that time. This ensured a safe completion of event setup and provided more flexibility with attendee travel delays. We also extended our show hours on Sunday, typically our busiest day, closing at 8pm instead of 6pm, allowing our exhibitors and retailers to make the most of their time at the show.”

As organisers of live events, RXers sometimes find ourselves in situations beyond our control, which require us to change our plans with little notice. Our paramount priority is always to support our customers and our people in the way that best ensures their safety whilst also, wherever possible, ensuring our events remain open for business. Hats off to our JIS team for doing just that!