CEO of Places Leisure Paul McPartlan tells us about shifting to digital services and making a difference in local communities
DIGITAL HEALTH
CEO of Places Leisure Paul McPartlan tells us about shifting to digital services and making a difference in local communities
WRITTEN BY : LEILA HAWKINS
Paul McPartlan is the Chief Executive at Places Leisure , a provider of leisure and fitness facilities in England and Wales that works with local authorities to deliver services that benefit local communities . " We ' re on the social enterprise side of things " McPartlan explains . " Our main aim is to create what we describe as non-intimidating , localised family activities . We cater for the entire family , and we want facilities to be accessible ."
The company ' s leisure centres had to close their doors for nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic , but fortunately Places Leisure had already begun a shift to providing services digitally . " Like many others will say , COVID accelerated that journey for us , so what would have taken us five years , we did in five - 12 months " McPartlan says . " There was always a strategic focus on engagement outside of the physical setting .
" What ' s interesting is that If you did anything virtual prior to the pandemic , it was seen as a cost-cutting exercise . Virtual classes for example were seen as an inferior product . But certainly since the initial lockdown people are consuming their content in a different way , and now they want it either physically on the site , at home , or sometimes even on the move . We needed a digital platform that gave us ease of use , speed , and the flexibility to be able to do those three different things , as well as
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