Scott Hudson reflects on the success of 2022

Scott Hudson reflects on the success of 2022

Scott Hudson
Operations Director, Stadium Support Services

Congratulations on what has obviously been a great year for SSS. What do you see as your biggest achievement for 2022?

Thanks! We couldn’t have asked for a better 12 months, especially during the pandemic recovery. For me, the real highlights have been watching the team grow and develop throughout 2022, which has directly impacted our top and bottom line. As we close out our end of the year, we have succeeded in more than doubling our turnover from 2021, which is just astounding and I’m so proud of the progress that’s been made.

That’s fantastic, what do you think has been the main contributor to this success?

Of course, it’s been a tough couple of years, but it’s often at these challenging times that the talent you have recruited and nurtured, really leans in to make a difference. As a leadership team, we have really focused on identifying and attracting the right skills and specialisms to support new divisions and facilitate our growing contracts. Our people are quite simply the most important part of our business and are integral to our success.

Which areas of the business are seeing the most growth? Is this in line with your expectations of the market?

The growth has come through a variety of routes, but our desire to drive the business geographically has been very successful. In particular, our Midlands division, led by Dave Whiting, has seen accelerated growth. This has kickstarted expansion in the North of England too, supported by one of our newest hires – Steven Mehta.

Ensuring we are supporting clients in achieving sustainability ambitions is a huge focus for us too, which of course is top of many decision-makers priority lists across multiple industries. In 2022 we expanded our service offerings to drive energy and cost-saving benefits for our customers, through smart systems such as LED fit-outs and water-saving devices such as taps and toilets. These products can have a huge impact on water and energy consumption within building infrastructures. They can significantly improve water efficiency and decrease water bills in general, while helping with the environmental issues that go hand in hand with overconsumption.

Finally, we pride ourselves in the way that our teams nurture our client relationships. We are proud to have the opportunity to work alongside clients again and again, which naturally creates a strong foundation for the business to grow. Fundamentally, our teams are responsible for the continued strength of our customer partnerships, and we look forward to this approach producing further growth and expansion in the future.

Typically, labour turnover is high within Facilities Management, often meaning it can be difficult to ensure client service consistency, is this true of Stadium Support Services?

I’m very happy to say that this is not the case for our team. A fundamental part of my job is to nurture our people as well as the business. We focus on talent retention and work closely with all employees to ensure they have a clear path of progression, tailored for them and always have a high level of job satisfaction. As I’ve mentioned, this is also so important for our customers to have continuity with team members that they know and trust to deliver excellent service.

Even though our company footprint and scale are large, we are a family-led business at heart. We promote the importance of work/life balance and ultimately trust our teams to work in ways that allow them to bring their best to work every day.

Creating an environment that encourages people to grow and feel confident, is an incredibly fulfilling part of my job. It is incredibly important that each team member understands how important their role is to the continued success of the business.

So what is next for Stadium Support Services?

2022 was a pivotal year for the business that saw great achievements, outstanding successes and company growth. While I am so proud of what has been achieved over the last year, we are laser-focused on continuing to build on that success. Growth, challenges, highs, and lows will all be welcomed, as we continue to learn and adapt as a team. Delivering for our customers continues to be of the utmost priority, whilst we also work to unlock opportunities for diversification and new revenue streams. We are looking forward to supporting our customers with their innovative venue initiatives and projects in 2023.