Anthony Brown, Divisional Director at Excellerate Services UK & Ireland, reflects on an intense and rewarding week delivering two major mobilisations across the UK and Ireland.
It’s not every week you get to stop and properly think about what’s just happened.
This past week has been one of those – a week that truly tests capability. Two mobilisations landing within days of each other. Both high-profile. Both very different.
One involved what is widely considered the largest corporate estate in the UK. The other, a high-end shopping and entertainment environment for a globally recognised retailer, where expectations are exceptionally high.
In the moment, you don’t always take in the magnitude of what you’re doing. It just feels busy. Very busy. But exciting nonetheless.
The highs
We welcomed more than 600 new colleagues into the business across the UK and Ireland – from Thurso down to Plymouth, across to the Isle of Wight and over to Dublin. That’s a lot of conversations, a lot of first impressions, and a huge responsibility to ensure everything is right when we go live.
There were thousands of pieces of kit, uniforms and welcome packs to distribute. Vans arriving, boxes being unpacked, last-minute checks happening everywhere you looked. It was fast-paced, hands-on, and full of energy – all focused on delivering the best possible experience for both transferring colleagues and our clients.
Then there were the teams. Colleagues from HR, operations, finance, communications and business development were on site from as early as 4am in some locations. Not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be there – welcoming people, settling nerves and answering questions.
That’s what I’m most proud of: how people showed up. For themselves, for each other, for our clients and for the business.
The reality
Mobilisations are never perfect. Anyone who says they are probably hasn’t done many.
There are always last-minute changes. Things you thought were sorted suddenly aren’t. Small details turn out not to be so small.
The difference is how you respond.
It’s about being prepared for those moments and having the right team in place to deal with them quickly, while maintaining clear and consistent communication with all stakeholders.
This week, what stood out was how quickly people responded. No fuss, no drama – just a focus on solving the problem and moving forward.
That comes from experience, but also from people genuinely caring about getting it right.
The lessons
If this week reinforced anything, it’s that planning matters.
Having a clear plan, knowing who is responsible for what, and keeping communication simple makes a real difference when things get busy.
But plans only take you so far.
You also need people who can think on their feet, make decisions and support each other when things inevitably shift.
And they did.
It’s also important to take a moment to enjoy it.
During a mobilisation, it’s easy to move straight on to the next issue, the next site, the next task. I’m as guilty of that as anyone.
But when you step back, there’s something special about these moments – bringing new teams together, seeing people start something new, and watching everything begin to take shape.
There’s a real energy to it.
A week worth remembering
It’s been a long week, but a good one.
And sometimes, it’s important to pause, have a laugh with the team, and take it all in.
Because weeks like this don’t come around often. And mobilisations of this scale and importance really demonstrate what we mean when we say: Where Better Begins.
