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his firm had successfully added “well over 20% increased headcount in the past 4-5 years”, but gaining enough talented recruits remained a growth-limiting factor.


. . . and the challenge of creating a winning culture?


“The biggest constraint most Thames Valley businesses face is getting the right people, and keeping them motivated,” stated Hutchinson.


managed very carefully, and achieving it will differ company to company.”


Retaining staff by sharing the rewards of performance


FISco has set aside 10% equity for staff ownership, said Dhillon. “By contributing to our performance, they share in our rewards, and our good people don’t want to leave.”


Pickering’s franchise division has a profit share scheme, and he often advised clients to do the same. With the millennial mindset keen to support social and charitable causes, astute businesses were now also sharing their financial success within caring community projects proposed by their staff.


PBA operates a profit-related salary scheme, Witchalls revealed, as a staff motivation. “We are open about the business and its numbers, have weekly and monthly team talks, and discuss our progress. We make sure the staff know what our business is about and the direction it is going.


John Hutchinson


Money was not always enough, Pickering agreed. “There are more jobs than good people to fill them nowadays, and above a certain level money is no longer the biggest motivator.” Building a common culture, a clear supported corporate vision, creating the right environment and purpose for everyone involved was key to attracting and retaining people.


Poole: “And, while hoping that your culture, brand-strength and work engagement will retain talented people, being brave enough to train them knowing that they might be offered larger salaries by competitors.”


Recruitment specialist Sarah Stevenson of Hays highlighted the need for retention. “It’s no good getting talented people through the door if you cannot keep them, and today it’s often about appealing to different generations – older workers and young millennials. You need a culture with entrepreneurial drive in which all individuals can contribute.”


Pickering suggested a shared culture and company vision should ideally be established by the business founders through top-down involvement. Creating a fresh culture within an existing business or following M&A was a greater challenge. “If you say this is the type of business we want to be, and these are the people we need, a percentage of your staff may not be your type of person. The transition needs to be


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2016


“As an LLP we have a limited number of people who own the business, but we are looking at ways of providing equity for staff.” While PBA has the private- ownership advantages of quick decision- making and flexibility, it also ensures staff have wide skillsets, broad sector discipline understanding, potential career paths, and is broadening its customerbase to de-risk its future growth.


Education and business: close the gap


While the region arguably hosts the finest UK value-add per head of population, upgrading its talent is its ongoing major challenge, said Barnes. More relevant education, simpler things like communication and preparing young people for work were “... key areas that the business sector has to participate in far more than we do at present. If we all did, we would have the talent that we need to succeed.”


He urged greater engagement through apprenticeship and work familiarisation schemes. “Young people are not daft, they just don’t understand what they need to be good at.”


Pickering agreed: “We need to close the huge gap between businesses complaining about the lack of appropriate education and the educationalists saying ‘Work with us’ – there is no interaction.” Where are the work experience schemes, the in-school talks from business representatives, the business-school collaborations of days past, he queried.


Leonard Sim


“Kids today have only one career route – university. They have no idea of what working in a business is like.”


Witchalls remarked that PBA is a founding sponsor of UTC Reading, and helps set its curriculum and project work. “When we need resource at school-leaver level we are massively over-subscribed for every job or apprenticeship. For the past five years we have been investing in educational links, and it’s been very successful.”


Dhillon highlighted the lack of a career path into his facilities management sector, despite it being a £220b UK industry.


Hutchinson: “Challenges such as building bespoke career paths are all going to increase, particularly with the type of talent pool coming through today that doesn’t want a traditional career.”


Growth: Is organic best?


Smith said Redwood Technologies, had become successful very largely through


Owen George


www.businessmag.co.uk Continued overleaf ...


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