As we start to wind down a little & for most of us prepare for a festive break; we take some time to reflect & look back over this year.
From supporting key client Dolphin N2 with all of its business support needs, to developing relationships with new clients & expanding the Virtually Smart Ltd team; 2022 has been the busiest & most dynamic year so far for Helena Parrott & Virtually Smart Ltd.
Onsite visits & setting up new offices
With the Virtually Smart Ltd team being based remotely around the country, sometimes it is necessary for some of them to attend onsite for important meetings, for logistical reasons or events.
One of projects supported by Helena & Virtually Smart Ltd was the onsite support for Dolphin N2 at their new offices in Shoreham. Having two years of restrictions due to Covid19, it has been a refreshing change for the Virtually Smart Ltd team to be able to support onsite when needed.
With the offices having to be set up from scratch, Helena & key members of the Virtually Smart Ltd team have spent some of this year back & forth between the South Coast & their respective homes around the UK, providing valuable onsite support to the Dolphin N2 senior leadership team.
When the new offices were set up at Jet Space, Shoreham, it was an opportunity for Helena to get involved in the physical move from the Ricardo building out to independent offices, which she has been involved with from the very start.
Alongside ensuring all of the office furniture was in place, the IT systems were set up, access codes & health & safety systems were in place; there was also the task of ensuring the phone system & internet access was installed & that staff had access to remote server access. All of these tasks were undertaken by Virtually Smart Ltd.
Having been instrumental in setting up the Dolphin N2 offices based at UTAC (formerly Millbrook Proving Ground), Bedford in 2021; the Virtually Smart Ltd team are also able to offer in house & onsite support when requested by the senior leadership team.
Online Business Management
Alongside office moves, there have been extensive projects being undertaken by the Virtually Smart Ltd team as the Dolphin N2 team has grown considerably & with it the scope of the Dolphin N2 Recuperated Split Cycle Engine.
The Online Business Management capacity offered by Virtually Smart Ltd enables a team of expert business specialists & Online Business Managers to be able to support the Virtually Smart Ltd client base. This includes (this list is not exhaustive) supporting clients with all of their executive support needs for the CEO & SLT, accounting, marketing, IT infrastructure, project management, event planning, travel, diary & inbox coordination, social media & content, internal policies & HR, liaising with Government agencies & extensive expert business administration across all areas of business.
Events
In between office moves, vital policy work, HR needs & all of the vast amount of administration & executive support being given to Dolphin N2 & the other Virtually Smart Ltd clients; Virtually Smart Ltd have also been involved in ensuring the key events in the Dolphin N2 calendar have run smoothly.
LCV2022 & FPC2022 were particularly important as the Dolphin N2 team were able to showcase their physical Recuperated Split Cycle demonstrator engine at each event. Virtually Smart Ltd were therefore not only responsible for booking the event, ensuring the relevant delegates were assigned to the event, that the promotional stand artwork, text & imagery were accurate & ordered in time & hotels booked for Dolphin N2 attendees; but they also had to organise the logistics of moving a full-size demonstrator engine to & from the events.
Most recently (November 2022) Virtually Smart Ltd organised a team day for the Dolphin N2 team, something which has not been able to happen in person since 2019.
The event was planned to not only bring the Dolphin N2 team together for an internal update, but to allow outside speakers to address the team about the changes in the heavy-duty transport sector & how Hydrogen is influencing this. Therefore, the setting had to reflect the relevant sector & the ethos Dolphin N2 represent.
With this in mind it was decided to approach the Advanced Propulsion Centre based at the University of Warwick, to request the use of their new exhibition space, the National Propulsion Showcase.
Virtually Smart Ltd team
Balancing the needs of the team, the needs of newcomers & ensuring all of the hundreds of other tasks involved in the running of developing SME’s is no easy task & that is why it has been so important for the Virtually Smart Ltd team to welcome more team members, who all bring their own unique skills set.
Helena Parrott – Director & Online Business Manager
With over 20 years executive support experience, Helena has a track record of supporting senior leaders & providing operational support to ensure efficient delivery of business activities within a range of sectors including engineering, technical consultancies, local government & finance.
Katy-Jane Mason – Content Manager
With a background in Secondary School English teaching & having always been a keen writer with an excellent grasp of language & grammar; Katy-Jane now supports companies with their media dissemination, blogging, content & business support needs.
Jane Seldon – Administration Support
Jane’s key strengths include: attention to detail, the ability to research, plan & book complex travel –especially multi-destination trips, extensive knowledge of global visa requirements & works hard to ensure budgets are met.
Consistent & logical in her approach to any task Jane seeks to add value wherever possible.
Anna Stonehouse – Online Business Manager
Anna has worked in Business Administration at a high level for over 30 years, across many different industries, from Corporate to small family run businesses. Anna has excellent business knowledge & is able to work across a number of departments in those businesses. Anna has experience in accounting, marketing, IT, project management, event planning & administration.
Carina Rutter – Online Business Manager
Carina is an Online Business Manager for Virtually Smart Ltd & brings over 35 years’ experience within various administration & PA roles in business sectors ranging from recruitment, education, finance, people development, training & engineering.
Owen Newton – Design & Social Media Coordinator
Owen’s main responsibilities include Instagram content creation & engagement management, design & branding packs (e.g. Email signatures, Social media banners, posters etc.) & various administration tasks in-between.
Gina Charmaine-Gibbs – Administration Support
Gina has worked in Travel for over 25 years (American Express/Thomas Cook/Mott Macdonald ) in various roles from Business Travel Manager, Aviation Manager & Customer Relations Manager & now provides Administration support for various projects with Virtually Smart Ltd.
Joe Churchill – Administration Support
Joe has been working for Helena since February 2021. Joe graduated from his Masters Degree in Ecology & Conservation in Autumn 2020 & was pursuing a job in his field.
Joe supports Dolphin N2 with back-office administration which mainly involves setting up Sharepoint websites, creating system processes for holiday requests & expense claims etc. Joe has also been assisting with the design of the Virtually Smart Ltd new website.
A new year, a new challenge
As we approach another new year, eager to uncover the challenges it brings, we take a moment to look back on just how far Virtually Smart Ltd has come in a few short years.
Speaking in March 2018 Helena Parrott – Director of Virtually Smart Ltd said “I want Virtually Smart to be a successful brand, offering support to varied clients, perhaps with a team of Virtual Assistants offering a wider range of skills.”
With an expanding team & a vision to offer more entrepreneurs & SME’s the vast array of support & skills in the Virtually Smart Ltd repertoire, who knows what doors will open for Virtually Smart Ltd in 2023!
Written by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.
