General Manager Blog, January
Happy New Year
Even though my year runs from April to March, I will join the January tradition of wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Yesterday saw a return to work after a welcome two-week break, and there is a buzz of energy around the organisation.
My priorities are to ensure that staff are kept informed of their spending against budgets so they can best manage them to the real year end. This includes ensuring that ‘restricted funds’ (i.e. donations or grants given to us for a specific purpose, such as for the Youth Theatre or for creating a writing space) are spent in accordance with requirements. Some funders ask for copies of all the receipts, some want a detailed report, and others do not have the resources to check and are happy to let us get on with just spending the money they kindly gave us. Rest assured that our auditors keep a close eye on these things and ensure we are spending money where it should be going.
As there is building work going on and no public events, I continue to work from home. I’m excited about the new spaces that are being created and can’t wait until we re-open in March so we can start seeing them used.
At the back of my mind is the outcome of our funding application from Creative Scotland, due at the end of January. It was good to hear yesterday that the government budget looks as if it will go through which is reassuring. You may not know but everything we put on here loses money. The box office takings, even for a sold-out event, do not cover the costs of putting it on and so we have to subsidise every single event.
If a musician is playing in the central belt, they can do gigs every night if they want, but to come to Mull requires two days journey, there and back, and at least one overnight on the island. Theatre companies must create their set and lighting so need to bring more than the performers and be here for longer. It is more expensive for any performers to come here and with a lower box office (of which they get a share) we need to be able to offer additional funds to persuade them to come here.
Creative Scotland do have some touring funds for musicians and theatre companies to subsidise their tours, which helps us get acts we could not otherwise afford, and we are excited about some of the possible acts we are booking for next season.
We do not charge entrance for our art exhibitions, but bear the cost of commissioning the work, transporting, displaying and insuring it from our funds. This is an important part of what we do, both bringing quality work here and supporting the artists, and look forward to some exciting exhibitions this year.
General Manager Blog, December
Working from Home
As always in December, we are finalising our accounts and responding to our audit. Fortunately, there were no major issues arising during the audit, with some minor shuffling of grant awards and clarification of procedures, all of which they were happy with. It’s always a relief to get a clean bill of health, and to submit everything in good time to OSCR (charity’s governing body).
One discussion that we had at length was about our future funding. Auditors have an obligation to state if we are a ‘going concern’ moving forward. Like every other regularly funded Scottish arts body, we will not know about our major funding from Creative Scotland until the end of January. Our auditors work with many arts organisations across the country and were well aware of the delays, and we were happy with their conclusions. Our accounts are up on the website if you are interested.
Funnily, I am now working towards getting things in place for our next audit. There is a disparity between the financial information the senior team need to manage their budgets and how it needs to be recorded for our accounts. There is an enormous amount of moving data to different codes at the year end, and this year I am trying to get ahead of myself while I have the peace of my home office.
As we approach the year end everyone is looking closely at their spending and projecting for next year, and I try to support this as much as I can.
Appraisal season is upon us, and they have (almost) all been done and written up. I know I value the opportunity to sit back and look what has been achieved and where we hope to be. Corporate new year resolutions. We now need to pull together all the development requirements so we can ensure the right training is budgeted for and delivered.
I’m spending Christmas on the mainland this year, and taking to opportunity to visit the opticians, dentist, hairdresser and beauticians so expect a new photo soon.
Have a lovely festive period everyone.
General Manager Blog, November
Island Hopping
I’m enjoying coffee and cake in my favourite arts centre in my second favourite town in Scotland, waiting to meet their senior management team to compare notes. Geography keeps An Tobar and Mull Theatre somewhat separate from other arts organisations and I look forward to comparing notes with another island arts centre, especially such a vibrant and busy organisation as An Lanntair.
Based in the bustling town of Stornoway, the modern building hosts music, theatre, poetry and literature, film and art as well as a busy programme of creative learning. Like us, they seek a balance of national and international offerings while being rooted in the culture of their stunning island.
I have tagged along with Andi as part of a joint project using movement to explore mental health wellness and hope to build links to enable more sharing of experiences and projects.
Making the most of Winter
As with many on Mull, the winter gives a chance to regroup, assess how the season went, and build plans for the future.
I’ve signed up for a load of webinars, catching up on actual and proposed changes to HR and of course the budget. Nothing ever stands still, and it’s important to keep on top of legislative changes, as well as new research and recommendations on looking after our people. Pre-covid, these events would have been held in person in the central belt and involved hours of travel and one or more overnights, so the online offering opens up more opportunity to take part and is of course greener.
There’s also planning to be done. Because we will not know about our Creative Scotland funding until late January there needs to be a plan and budget, but also a plan B, a plan C ………. etc.
Working from home, as I am doing until the buildings fully re-open to the public in March, presents challenges as so much of my working life benefits from face-to-face interaction. The upside is there are less distractions to keep me from my precious spreadsheets!
General Manager Blog, October
Welcome to this month’s General Manager Blog, where we share key updates across
various departments, including Human Resources, Finance, and our Café and Shop.
Human Resources
Recruitment is underway for a new Marketing Assistant position, which is partially
funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). We are excited to see this role take
shape as we continue to grow our marketing team.
As the season draws to a close, café staff on temporary contracts will be finishing their
work as the buildings close. We extend a big thank you to all of our team members for
their hard work over the busy season. One team member will continue beyond this
period to take care of Mosshill during the winter months.
We’re also delighted to welcome back a returning volunteer, who’ll be staying at Mosshill for a few
weeks. They’ll lend a hand across various projects and bring valuable experience to support the Mull Youth Theatre – a fantastic addition to our team this season
Finance
In other positive news, the annual audit has been successfully completed, and we are
awaiting the final accounts and audit report. These will be shared as soon as they are
available. We remain vigilant in monitoring and adjusting our budgets, and we look
forward to an early decision from Creative Scotland regarding funding for future years.
Gallery, Café, and Shop
August brought its own set of challenges in the café, with reduced staffing due to holidays and absences. Thanks to the hard work and flexibility of our team members, we managed to keep our doors open and serve our visitors! We also welcomed a student recruit for a few weeks, who provided invaluable support during this bustling period. A big thank-you to everyone who pitched in to keep things running smoothly!
Thank you to all our staff, volunteers, and partners for your continued dedication and support. We look forward to keeping you in the loop as we enter this next chapter!