40 roundtable: TVBMA ... continued from previous page
that shared thought ‘Ecomagination’ – making products with environmental aspects in mind.”
Doyle led the establishment of an ‘Ecomagination’ culture within her business site by empowering staff, and creating a passionate team of volunteers. “All I really did was light the touch-paper, stand back, and watch the fireworks. If you can encourage people to do things because they want to do it, rather than telling them to do it, then it can change working culture.”
to do charity challenges. The latest: ‘Retail Marketing loves …’ is focusing on a variety of staff inspired topics. “It’s exciting to do innovative things with your people to drive company culture.”
Christopher Pratt of ScentAir UK (SME of the Year runner up) supports employee share ownership schemes. ScentAir UK has a scheme to encourage share ownership for employees who demonstrate commitment, passion, hard work and excel in their role and who significantly contribute to the overall growth of the business. ScentAir UK has grown rapidly and has achieved growth of 40% year on year over the past three years. With 17 staff, the business is on budget to achieve revenues of £1.7 million this year. Creating the right culture is vital to this growth. “We encourage our employees to think and act like business owners, and we aim to instil that attitude throughout the business. This in turn ensures high levels of customer service and superb customer retention and continued sales growth.
Kate Liddle
At the other end of the company staffing levels is Erica Adams with 33 people at PHABRIX (Best Company to Work For: under 100 employees). “We try hard to make an environment where, regardless of pay-scale or job role, everyone is respected and feels good about working for the company.”
PHABRIX focuses on quality performance and maintaining the same company ethos throughout the business, particularly with new recruits such as apprentices.
Warren Richmond of Retail Marketing (Best Company to Work For: over 100 employees) also stressed the importance of staff engagement. Begun nine years ago “with some imagination, from a back bedroom”, the company now employs 715 people.
“The first business markers tend to focus on maintaining stability, establishing a solid management team and obtaining good contracts with regular cashflow, but when you get to that sustainable stage you can then develop your working culture. Our view is that making money will allow us to do what we want to do. We don’t operate just to make money.
“Life’s too short not to be doing something that you love doing. You can put your business culture before your commercial plan.” With that in mind, Retail Marketing is delighted to have been awarded a silver award from Investors In People.
Trying to keep the energy, culture and business objectives focused is a constant battle, Richmond admits, and Retail Marketing regularly adopts staff incentives that provide personal rewards, such as funding for piano lessons, trips to dream destinations, or time-off
www.businessmag.co.uk Erica Adams
Kate Liddle of Style Acre (Charity of the Year Award) admitted business was all about people for her, but sadly also about sourcing money for her charity, particularly with local authorities cutting back on their support. Her business aspiration was to give adults with learning disabilities “the chance to live the lives we all aim for.”
Style Acre currently employs 240 staff with 50 volunteer helpers, and Liddle says she
"Selling scent to businesses is the company’s objective and ScentAir’s workstyle is competitive but fun and informal. We have a London underground-style map with each employee's name embossed around the salesroom wall. Each employee has a ‘workstation’ which changes colour to green when they achieve a sale. Everyone’s aim is to turn the sale to green and reach their sale completion destination at Turnham Green”
“We all set the tone, have a relatively flat reporting structure, we’re flexible, have regular staff social events, and incentivise the sales team with extremely generous commission structures. The admin team too have quarterly bonuses and every employee will receive an annual £2k bonus on achieving the annual budget and up to £5k per person on surpassing this.”
Christopher Avery
People first, business second
David Murray queried if 2014 would herald a ‘People First’ culture, following the austere recession years for employees with job uncertainty, pay freezes and less comfortable working environments. ‘”Is this the year when people, not money, will be the main focus?”
Mehran Yadegari said both winners of the Hays sponsored awards (Retail Marketing and PHABRIX) had showed that business focus and an attractive working environment for employees can successfully go hand in hand.
“A lot of companies will say ‘Business first, People second’, but if you get the right people and give them the right business platform they will actually make your business the priority and can deliver tremendous results.”
The importance of developing the correct employee-business balance was proved by the objectives achieved by award-winning businesses during the year. He noted other businesses were now putting people first, and empowering their employees.
Retaining business-passionate people within one’s business was an ongoing challenge, however.
“As recruiters we get asked all the time” ‘What are the secrets and tricks for finding and retaining brilliant people? The truth is there aren’t any.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2014
personally meets every newcomer on their first day. “If you can enthuse recruits and get them to understand they are doing one of the most important jobs in the world, then that will be reinforced afterwards by the work and passion of other staff.
“Our work is all about the people we support, and for that support to be the best – which I keep telling people it is – the challenge is making sure that every person who works for us wants to be the best.”
Keeping aspiration and levels of quality high is endangered by Style Acre’s anticipated business growth this year of approximately 25% from its current £5.5m turnover.
“The challenge will be to bring sufficient people in who are willing to do fairly lowly paid work because they recognise it is important and feel people appreciate what they do.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60