From Office Assistant to Ops Director: My Open Media journey

Lauren Williams joined Open Media as Office Assistant in 2019. Six years later, she is Operations Director, spearheading the company’s rapid growth. Here, Lauren details her career journey in her own words.

 

 

In January 2019, I was working in the electrical wholesale industry, but I wanted a new challenge. When a job advertisement for Office Assistant at Open Media appeared on my Twitter feed during my lunch break, I thought it was a brilliant opportunity in a new industry. The culture of the company immediately drew me in.

 

When I joined Open, I was only the eighth permanent member of staff. We were a much smaller business, and it helped me become a real all-rounder. I did everything from answering the phone, to content scheduling and invoicing clients. It was an amazing way to experience the different areas of Open, witnessing first-hand how our various departments work together. It was also an incredibly exciting period as we expanded into the capital with our BOXPARK Wembley site, as well as opening a London office. It was full on but extremely fun!

 

Less than 12 months after arriving, Mike Smith, our CEO and founder, offered me a promotion to Office Manager. Throughout my time at Open Media, Mike’s support has been completely unwavering. He instilled so much trust in me to take on new roles and has total confidence in my abilities. His trust and encouragement enabled me to grow alongside the business. It is something I am forever grateful for.

 

A year later, I identified the need for a focused Operations department, moving into the position of Ops Manager. Since then, we have continuously expanded our team and inventory. The OOH industry is constantly evolving with new technology, data and ideas, and there is an area of interest for everyone. My first few years learning and shadowing other roles were vital to my progression at Open – and still come in handy today.

 

I am incredibly excited to be part of our continued growth at Open Media. It is such an exciting time for OOH! The business has changed so much in six years, developing with the demand of the industry. It is also thrilling to see the continued growth of our wonderful Operations Team. I am so fortunate to have incredible colleagues who put 150% into everything they do for the business. It is a privilege to watch them progress.

 

The biggest lesson I’ve learned at Open Media is to invest in your people, because your people will invest in you in return. There have been times our team has put in extra effort and been happy to do so, because of the investment and care that Open gives them. Mike leads with an ethos of work hard and be nice to people, and it really does trickle through the business.

 

My proudest achievement at Open is our B Corp Certification. It was the result of years’ worth of time, effort and collaboration. We took a real deep dive into our company and identified what we did well and what we could do better. Since then, it has informed so much of how we operate and make decisions, allowing us to change and grow. We have always been a purpose-driven business with people at our heart.