World Dealer Awards

We talk a lot about our team at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and in our regional offices. But these amazing people, more than 2,000 of them, are in fact only part of the wider Rolls-Royce family. That family extends right around the world, with members in more than 130 dealerships across five continents. It is an extraordinarily diverse, inclusive and cosmopolitan community: at Goodwood alone, we have over 50 nationalities represented.

For me, one of the highlights of the year comes when we bring everyone together at our annual World Dealer Conference. It’s a huge event, held in a different venue each year, with hundreds of guests flying in for a packed programme of business and social events. In other words, exactly the kind of thing you can’t and shouldn’t do in the midst of a global pandemic.

So this year, we arranged a series of virtual events, one for each of our five regions. This gave people a chance to catch up with colleagues, share experiences and insights, hear from senior staff and establish and strengthen relationships, albeit at a distance. We also presented our annual Dealer Awards, recognising and celebrating outstanding performances across categories reflecting a range of business metrics and achievements.

I have always been convinced that this notion of ‘family’ is a key contributor to our success. We work incredibly hard to build a sense of cohesion, shared vision and joint enterprise across our business. Whatever their role and location, everyone understands that they are vitally important; not just for what they do, but for who they are and what they bring to our community. That we regularly present Long Service Awards to people who have been with us for 10 years and more is proof that this sense of belonging, being part of something bigger than oneself, is truly meaningful.

It matters on a practical level, too. We invest enormously in our brand, and we rely on the people in our dealerships to bring it to life, every single day. That is no small challenge. Our brand is unique: rich, nuanced and multi-layered, with deep creative, intellectual, technical and historical foundations. Our dealership teams have to live it, embody it and present it to our customers. I believe they can do that effectively only if they feel Rolls-Royce truly belongs to them – and they to it.

Obviously, we would have preferred to hold our World Dealer Conference as usual this year. But what I saw at the five virtual events gave me great encouragement. It was clear to me that distance and separation are no object: we remain united in spirit, pursue a common purpose, live and work according to the values we share. We are family still. I am looking forward to the day when we can all be together again. Let us hope it comes soon.