Presentation from the APM Project Management Conference Manchester on Thursday 8 December. Adrian Mills is the general manager for BBC North.

1. Building the BBC in
the North
Adrian Mills, BBC North
Southampton Solent University
September 2013
Building a BBC for the future
Adrian Mills, General Manager, BBC North
APM Conference, Manchester, December 2016

2. Scotland 5m
Northern Ireland 2m
Wales 3m
South 11m
London 11m
Midlands 13m
North 16m
The BBC underperforms in the North
Reach
Share
Approval
Investment
The audience challenge

3. The digital challenge

4. 4
Broadcasting House
Television Centre MediaCityUK
1934 1960 2012
The building challenge

5. 5
The cultural challenge

6. • New ways of working
• New culture
BBC North
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7. • Better serving audiences in the North of England
• Deliver a “creative dividend” to the BBC
• Deliver benefits to the region
• Realise financial benefits for the BBC
BBC North – Objectives
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8. 8
BBC move announced

9. 9
BBC in the North of England
Marketing
Audiences
Communications

10. 10
BBC at MediaCityUK – 3 leased buildings
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1
2
3

11. 11
MediaCityUK - designed to inspire
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12. 12
Creative, flexible spaces
66

13. 13
Creative, flexible spaces
66

14. 14
Creative, flexible spaces
6

15. 15
State of the art technology
7

16. 16
State of the art technology
7

17. 17
State of the art technology
7

18. 18
• Open plan
• No offices/owned space
• Mix of departments/genres
• Wireless
• Clear desk policy
• 75% reduction in storage
• More collaboration areas
• Fewer meeting rooms
New ways of working

19. 19
• Free desk
• Laptop
• Screen, keyboard &
mouse
• Mobile phone
• Fixed desk
• Tower
computer
• Fixed phone
75% 25%
New ways of working

20. 20
20
Talent and Recruitment
48%
from
North
West
52%
from
rest of
UK
55% in-scope
staff said “yes”
Building a workforce for the future – diverse, representative, able to adapt to
work with new technologies, fit our culture & values
2011 The BBC’s biggest ever migration - 800 new staff recruited in one year

21. 21
TRUST is the foundation of the BBC; we are independent, impartial and honest
BBC Values
We RESPECT each other and celebrate our diversity so everyone can give their best
21
AUDIENCES are at the heart of everything we do
We take pride in delivering QUALITY and value for money
CREATIVITY is the lifeblood of our organisation
We are one BBC; great things happen when we WORK TOGETHER

22. 22
A centre for
CREATIVE
EXCELLENCE in
the North
Highly
CONNECTED to
our audiences
& externally
Recognised for
HIGH
PERFORMANCE
teams &
culture
• Audience-centric
• Innovator
• Distinctive
• Exciting for people
• High Quality
• World Class Talent:
next generation talent
factory
• Technology leader
• Northern voices
• Strength in diversity
• Audiences: pan-UK
and especially in
North
• Community across
North
• Partners & Indies in
the North
• Institutions
• Rest of BBC in the
North of England
• Open, transparent
• Common purpose
• High performance
culture
• Fulfilling careers and
potential
• Personal
responsibility,
collective
achievement
• On-going
improvement
The most
FLEXIBLE &
COLLABORATIVE
part of the BBC
• Unconstrained
careers for our
people – BBC and
beyond
• Highest mobility of
workforce in BBC
• Highest level of cross-
departmental
collaborations, & with
other parts of BBC
The most
EFFICIENT,
EFFECTIVE &
SUSTAINABLE
part of the BBC
• Relentless focus on
simplicity and value
for licence fee payer
• Maximum utilisation
of assets & people
• Best ROI (‘bang for
buck’) in BBC
• More than fair share
of commissions won
• Greenest production
site in BBC
BBC North aspires to be...
BBC North - 5 aspirations
...pioneering on behalf of UK audiences and as a pilot for rest of BBC
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23. 23
Staff Engagement - North Leadership Group
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To create coherent and cohesive leadership across the site
c200 senior staff at BBC North meet 3 times a year to:
•Understand and contribute to the BBC North strategy
•Lead on creation of new culture and behaviours
•Promote collaboration to enhance creativity
•Explore how to get the best from BBC North
•Share BBC content and best practice
•Leadership development and networking opportunities
•Look outside the BBC for inspiration and collaboration

24. Staff Engagement
Career Me
• Inductions
• Mentoring
• Job shadowing
• Leadership training
• Hot Shoes
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Creative Me
• Audience insights
• City insight days
• Stepping Out
• Master classes
• Creative brainstorms
• Production skills training
Social Me
A range of activity
clubs, led by staff
- eg music, sports,
learning a language,
beer & pub club

25. Staff Engagement – comms campaigns
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26. 26
2615
BBC North culture is different, tangible – creative, collaborative, audience-focussed
New drama, comedy, documentary, lifestyle lead to reduction in North television share gap
Fall in North radio share gap
Over 200,000 attended an event or watched a show at MediaCityUK; over 700,000
attended one of our broadcast events across the region
Gross Value Added attributable to the BBC in the North (expenditure £203m/GVA
£391m) increased by 19% between 2009/10 and 2011/12
Staff survey results consistently higher than the rest of the BBC
Sustaining levels of network activity
Hiring and retaining highly skilled digital talent
Successes and challenges

27. Key levers for success
1. Clear vision, values, behaviours, objectives
2. Leadership
3. Communications & staff engagement
4. Foster/reinforce/reward new behaviours
5. Lessons learned
6. Project management, KPIs, performance monitoring, staff
appraisals
7. Celebrate achievement
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