SLT Spotlight: Rachel Mcelroy, Marketing Director

We are spotlighting our Senior leadership team, meet Rachel Mcelroy, our Marketing Director.

Rachel embodies creativity, adaptability, and supportive leadership. Her vision and contributions are key to Axiologik's success and growth, making her journey a beacon of hope for our future.

Curious about the brains behind our marketing magic?

Why did you join Axiologik?

I joined Axiologik because I was really impressed by the impactful work they have delivered , and continue to do particularly in the public sector which has a lasting impact on everyone. Programmes like the COVID-19 vaccinations booking service andthe CSMS cancer screening programme are just a few of note.

I was the first woman to join the new senior leadership team and having worked in the digital sector for over a decade I was excited to develop our brand proposition as well as build a new marekting function as the business grows.

As Marketing Director, what strategies do you employ to encourage innovation and creativity in your team?

I am firm believer that a relatively flat hiearchical structure means everyone has a voice and can come to the table with ideas with psychological safety is good. No idea is too crazy because from the mad ideas there is always a good idea, and marketing is all about ideas! I always encourage others to grow their personal brand as in a marketing role you are often the first point of contact a potential client or employee will have of your organisation, always brace a continuous learning culturebecausenobody knows everything, and things evolve at pace in the industry. Put yourself forward for training, speaking and events to grow and keep an open curious mindset.

What do you believe you bring to the SLT at Axiologik?

In our recent 360 feedback the fellow SLT members said that I bring creativity, an abundance of ideas, focus, energy, tenacity and passion and a lot of resilience. Marketing tends to always be under heavy focus so there is a need to be focused to keep moving forward and be true to the vision and value of our brand.

In your opinion, what matters most in leadership?

I think it's important to understand your stakeholders and adapt your approach so you can satisfy their different needs. I don’t believe in micromanaging as if you don’t have the best people, you probably shouldn't be employing them in the first place. Understanding what motivates your people and putting yourself in their shoes helps to get the best out of them, for them, but also in a way that delivers for the businesses goals too.

Describe a situation where you had to influence others to achieve a common goal..

In marketing you are constantly having to influence others. Marketing and its ROI is not always the most tangible thing and results can take time and be convoluted. Bringing people on the journey so they can understand the data points, the start and end points and how it all interlinks is really critical. You are asking people to take a bit of a leap of faith with you as you can predict results,but until you actually take action and start a campaign you don’t know for sure it will work. There is a lot of tweaking and iteration so again stakeholder management is key as is data, and resilience.

What do you see for the future of Axiologik?

The SLT has been in place for just over a year, and we have made considerable changes to the organisation's structure and worked hard to be a cohesive unit with the organisation's best interests at the heart of what we do. We have done a lot of work on brand, social value and employee experience and have completed some great pieces of work with many new clients. I see continued growth, which is true to our values and is important to us as an organisation.