Relationships with clients - Building and maintaining

Since working with OperaUpClose, I have seen (on multiple occasions) why it is so important to build / maintain relationships with clients and suppliers. By clients or suppliers I mean the people we work with outside of the company who help us make our productions possible, ie the artists, funders/ donors, venues etc.

When starting to work here I obviously had to rely on first impressions, making sure to go that extra step so it was visible that I was (and am) a trustworthy, reliable team member. As an example, once I began to make consistent communication between myself and artists, I found that we could approach one another on more formal and friendlier terms (whilst keeping the professionalism to a high standard). However, if relationships are not nourished and maintained, they can easily become damaged ultimately making not only yourself look bad but the company you work for also.

Miscommunication has been one of the big things that I have found to damage relationships, especially with artists, as you are constantly communicating mainly via email. For an example, there was a situation in which my colleague and I were approached with where one artist came to us only a few weeks before rehearsals, stating she couldn't make a few of the days as she had an exciting teaching opportunity. As much as we expressed our happiness for this individual, we unfortunately stated that this would breach her contract between herself and the company and we could therefore not condone it if she were to work on the project with us. After communication back and forth, she decided to stick with this opportunity and leave the production. However, issues arose when her friends (who were still working on the production with us) found out about this situation, and they came to me with a multitude of questions and concerns within our contracts. At first their messages came across to be quite abrupt and concerning, however after approaching the calmly and professionally, I was able to validate their concerns and reassure them on the information that we had. I kept communication with the two of them and made sure they felt comfortable and that they understood all the answers I gave to their questions.

By going through the process of nurturing and developing on our relationship between artists and the company, we are able to maintain these relationships where we can hopefully work with and recommend these people in the future. The little things (like miscommunication) can become very easily snowballed into a larger issue then what it really is, this is why I make sure that all my statements, updates and contracts are written clearly and in a professional yet friendly manner - ensuring they feel seen as an individual and are able to voice their concerns, and additionally to avoid unnecessary conflict that may occur.

By treating all the artists the same despite their specialty, it also solidifies the point of seeing each person as an individual and as equal to one another, which is extremely important when considered the working equal rights act on discrimination and EDI. If not taken into consideration, this is something that could easily damage relationships with clients and suppliers, especially those who are working for you.

As someone who has always seen themselves as an open-minded and equally forward person, I haven't found any troubles when it comes to discrimination either towards me or anyone in the workplace, however for some people this may be quite an easily mistakable matter. Although you may not be necessarily meaning to offend another individual, it is so important to consider all of the factors around gender, race, age, sexual orientation and religion to ensure that you are not making anyone feel uncomfortable in any scenarios. For an example, when introducing ourselves to people in person (usually in larger groups) we make sure to introduce ourselves as an organisation by stating our names and pronouns and ask that people would do the same (if they feel comfortable to). We also make sure in medical files and documents for artists and individuals we work for, that we ask 'what gender orientation are you' along with a list of options and 'other', followed by 'what gender were you assigned at birth'.

By making these statements clear in a professional and open-minded manner, we are giving the people we work with the opportunity to be themselves and feel comfortable in who they are. This is a massive factor especially when building and maintaining relationships, as we present ourselves as an organisation as accepting and welcoming to everyone (despite race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or religion). Overall, by working hard to keep these relationships with client and suppliers strong, it shows we value the people we work with and show respect and honesty to each individual - ultimately helping with the companies network and the productions we produce.