Wag and Company was set up to tackle loneliness among older people, visiting people across the North East at home as well as in care or medical situations, bringing dogs to provide companionship. Diane Morton retired from her role as group HR director for Northumbrian Water Group in 2010 to set up the organisation.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? I was 13 when I started work every Saturday and in the school holidays. Waitressing, 30p an hour plus tips, less breakages! My first proper job was in recruitment consulting specialising in admin and catering jobs, c. £4,000 salary per annum, the beginning of my HR career.
What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? Be yourself. I’ve worked with and for some great people in my career and what I’ve admired most about them is authenticity, hard work, honest communication, and kindness.
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What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? Covid obviously hit us hard both in terms of delivering our physical befriending service and, when that had to stop on March 23, 2020, rapidly needing to develop effective but totally different ways to continue to support our older friends at such a uniquely difficult time for them.
Fundraising came to an almost complete standstill except for grant bodies, including The National Lottery, who supported us through a very challenging period. Competition is at an all-time high for funding, the cost-of-living crisis now presenting new challenges. And finally, our volunteer numbers were badly hit by the pandemic. At end of March 2020, we had 393 volunteers and at the end of October 2022 we had about the same number. We’ve worked hard to essentially stand still. At one point volunteer turnover at over 60%. Now that everyone, including the care and medical establishments, are becoming more used to living with Covid and visiting routines are being re-established we are seeing things starting to stabilise. So, getting back on track financially and in terms of volunteer numbers to meet the significant demand is critical for us.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? We had to adapt our referral process for home placements to enable individuals and their families to refer directly to us and we also had to change our approach and technology to enable remote working for some staff.
We also introduced several new ways for everyone to support us from our website; a lottery, a supporter’s scheme - Friends of Wag, an online shop, in memory giving, regular giving as well a virtual walk event and updated sign up functionality for other physical events including the Great North run places.
To safely support 500 placements, we need to raise about £200,000 a year and the challenge to raise these funds - without ever charging the people who need us most, gets harder all the time!
Who is your role model in business? In the early days of my career, it was Brenda Dean, general secretary of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT). She was the only female head of a large industrial trade union in those unsettled times. I really admired her valiant attempts to bring together violently opposed views in the 80s, seeking consensus when it seemed to me that so many of her contemporaries managed things very differently. She was absolutely pilloried for it, and I thought she managed that well too.
These days, I really admire people who use their skills or influence to help others. Wag Trustees, all in business in the North East, Alison, Sean, Sophie, Rob, Suzanne, Mike and Doug as well as our regional ambassadors including James Ramsbotham, all are people who so generously give their time, advice and expertise to enable our cause. Daily, I am in awe of the commitment and kindness of the Wag volunteers, all simply changing the way others feel about their lives every week of the year.
What would your dream job be? Probably as a journalist writing stories about the powerful impact of dogs on the health and wellbeing of human beings and sharing my lovely dog with older people. Think I might have already found it?!
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Keep tight to your mission and work squarely on outcomes; people are relying on charities like ours for our unique services and others are giving our causes their hard-earned cash. I believe it’s our duty to make sure we meet everyone’s expectations and can accurately and easily describe how we’ve delivered what they’d hoped.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? The North East is a region of dog lovers with one of the highest numbers of dog owning households in the UK. We also have an ageing population and increasing numbers of people who are isolated and alone. There’s a very strong feeling here that North East people look after their own and we believe that long term, as people become aware of Wag & Company and the difference Wag friendships make for their older friends, family members, neighbours, people will chip in to help us to do it.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? I believe it’s an important part of how society works best, whether as an individual or as a business we can all do our bit to make our communities better places. Sounds a bit of a motherhood and apple pie statement doesn’t it, but I really believe it!
Obviously, the collective impact of larger organisations can be transformational, particularly for small regional charities like ours, supporting in many different ways; sponsoring, providing gifts in kind, enabling and advertising volunteering opportunities for big staff groups, fundraising, donating, payroll giving etc etc.
So many North East organisations are already making substantial differences in our communities. Take Northumbrian Water who donate our office in Hexham including all the services, electricity, telephones etc and Arco who provide our volunteers with their uniform, monthly raffle prizes, event t-shirts etc., amazing!
Outside of work, what are you really good at? Backgammon. Ask my husband. It’s the only game I ever beat him at! I wish I could also say writing poetry, horse riding, playing the piano, yoga, pilates and cross-fit, but sadly…
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