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Veronica Simpson meets a company that’s a familiar sight working at design events, and whose business model committed to social equality has something we can all learn from.

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If the events of late June in the UK (Brexit, followed by Regrexit, and total political party and economic meltdowns) told us anything, it’s that we need new models for how to do things: new models that are generous, inclusive, enlightened, conscious of our impact on each other, on wider society and on the planet.

An ideal moment, then, to examine the Design for Good movement. Although the term is widely used among the thousands of social enterprises that have sprung up in the past decade, most of us outside of the ‘third sector’ rarely come across it – perhaps because many social enterprises operate in areas that are largely invisible to the majority.

Connection Crew is one such social enterprise. You wouldn’t necessarily know of it, but a lot of the design community will have experienced its work. The 110-strong crew is behind the construction (and dismantling) of many leading UK design events, from Clerkenwell Design Week to the D&AD awards. It has also been responsible for the staging of Goodwood’s Festival of Speed, Royal Ascot, the Ideal Home Show and, most recently, London’s Pride event.

Founded in 2005, Connection Crew was set up to provide former homeless people – people in shelters, actively seeking to find a way out of poverty and disenfranchisement – a chance for training and employment.

Initially, it was the brainchild of Jamie Clark, a deputy manager at homeless charity Connection at St Martin’s (CSTM), attached to Covent Garden’s iconic St Martin-in-the-Fields. Charlie Dorman, who took over its running in 2009, says: ‘As a homeless charity… it realised that unless you offer employment you are not going to break that cycle. You have to build up their routes to independence.’

Crewing requires stamina, resourcefulness and an ability to cope with erratic schedules, so there were many aspects of crewing that worked well for those who had spent time on the streets and were leery of office work. But the noble initial vision of a team comprised of 100 per cent former homeless meant there was little opportunity for learning on the job, and quality control suffered. Dorman, who had extensive experience as a music producer, arrived to inject the necessary professional expertise and experience into the team.

Through tweaks and adjustments, Dorman and Clark arrived at the ideal ratio of 25 per cent ex-homeless, in order to best support both new recruits and client expectations. Dorman also brought in some serious training and mentoring methods, took it out of the charity sector (to become a full Community Interest Company) and has recently launched the Crew Academy Training Programme, a three-month immersion that – should its trainees prove successful – leads to full-time recruitment, starting at a full salary. This programme has expanded the talent pool by connecting with several other homeless charities.

Needless to say, there have been some exhilarating ups and gruelling downs experienced by Dorman, Clark and the team over their 10-year gestation, and these are bravely recorded in a legacy document published by the company this summer, as part of its 10-year anniversary. The document is one of the fruits of what sounds like a really positive rebranding collaboration with young design company Baxter and Bailey, under the direction of Connection Crew’s recently appointed marketing director, Margarita Ktoris – fresh from several years’ experience with the Design Council (DC).

One of the Crew help set up for an event at the Truman Brewery

Dorman says: ‘We spent a lot of time thinking about our values, our audience, who we are. It was a really interesting process. We spent three months on our brief. That’s why we are really happy with what we’ve had out of it.’ Initially, Dorman was hoping to increase the impact of the Design for Good work through informing the wider client base. He says: ‘Being able to present and articulate what we do more clearly creates a bit of ownership outside the organisation.’

But the team soon realised that being up front about the trials and tribulations arising from its unique business model could play a key role in establishing its brand's USP. Says Dorman: ‘One of the central themes was authenticity. Creating this [legacy] document – “10 years of social impact” – was difficult, but meant that we could park a lot of our past learnings and then begin our website afresh.

The challenging bit was how far we were going to push the honesty and authenticity; it was a bit warts and all. When we bring that honesty in, we have to do it in a way that doesn’t jeopardise client confidence. It’s about getting the tone of voice right; getting the look and feel right.

‘We didn’t want this to look like another crewing company. We wanted it to stand out. It’s about honesty, which is something our competitors would never consider in a million years – saying where they had messed up.’

Some client feedback sourced as part of the brief development revealed that not only were many of their clients perfectly aware of the unique mix of crew members, and liked the message it sent out, but also felt that it enhanced their relationships with the team.

Says Dorman: ’We are a very service-driven business. The client-facing side of what we do has benefited enormously from the mentoring and support that is built into our structure.

It has changed the culture of the crew. New clients particularly comment that they’ve never seen anything like it, the way our crew works.’ Building on this more inclusive culture, Dorman is now looking to up the ratio of female crew members. ‘We’re very different from the macho male crews the industry is dominated by.’

Having built a strong model and strengthened the brand message, Dorman is working with corporate client partners to expand the range of employment opportunities for those who complete the training – blue-chip companies such as Deloitte, Johnson and Johnson, PWC, Zurich and Santander, are on board. Dorman says: ‘The thinking isn’t “how do we create the next 50,000 social enterprises”, it’s “how do we start integrating this into the mainstream world?”’ Brave new world: bring it on.