roundtable


The Hilton hotel at the Ageas Bowl, home of Hampshire Country Cricket Club, hosted The Business Magazine roundtable on workplace culture with views shared on what it means and how it impacts everything from recruitment to performance. Tim Wickham reports on …


Workplace culture Participants


Paul Anthony: Partner, RSM Debbie Beaven: Finance director, Simplyhealth


Justin Brooking: Managing and finance director, Simplex-Turbulo Group


Hannah Clipston: Partner, Irwin Mitchell


Mark Gawthorne: CFO, Serocor Group


Mike Lashmar: Group FD, Ageas Bowl


The Roundtable team


Roger Loveless: Operations and HR director, Import Services


Anthony Reed: Area director, Hampshire and Dorset corporate banking, HSBC


Key questions tackled in the roundtable included how businesses define their workplace culture, to what extent employees are involved in determining that culture, and how a positive culture helps recruitment. A strong culture isn’t just about having a happy workplace; it should also motivate employees. And, increasingly, tackling workplace stress and wellbeing is seen as integral to a successful culture.


Does your culture define your business’ personality?


Mark Gawthorne kicked off the discussion by describing the negative effect on workplace culture when the Serocor Group underwent a major restructuring. “Before, we had a strong, focused culture. It was the DNA of our business, with everyone pulling in the same direction. During our growth we separated into


sponsors


different brands, which ended up diluting the culture and our performance suffered as a result. We’ve got back to where we want now and have learned a lot, particularly that everyone has to live and breathe the culture – top down and bottom up.”


Import Services has around 100 full-time employees, but this figure can triple with agency staff during busy periods, and that presents challenges instilling the company’s values in its workforce. Roger Loveless said: “We have a broad age range – from 19 to 70 – and a lot of non- UK nationals. I agree with Mark’s points about culture being part of your DNA. Our culture is led from the top and is one of the most consistent things in a constantly evolving work environment.”


Technology company Clearvision is continuously learning important lessons about workplace culture, said Simon Wood. “Like a lot of tech companies, we have a relaxed approach to what people wear, no set breaks or hours (outside the core requirement). We’ve got pool tables and games systems to play on. We do this to encourage young talent, although we’re not entirely sure all these initiatives work for everyone.


70 businessmag.co.uk


Andy Tucker: General manager, Naturetrek


Simon Wood: Director, Clearvision


David Murray: Founder and publisher of The Business Magazine, chaired the discussion


“We are roughly doubling our size year-on-year and that presents cultural challenges. We are outnumbered by newer recruits who might not ‘get’ our culture and DNA. We went back to basics on fully explaining our culture to new joiners and that seems to be working.”


Changing Simplex-Turbulo’s workplace culture was a challenge for Justin Brooking when he became managing director. “Historically, we are an autocratically-led entrepreneurial business. The need to change our culture is important to me, but I am surprised that many staff preferred the traditional, autocratic environment. I’m trying to create more autonomy by giving people decision-making ability, but not everyone always wants that.”


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – JULY/AUGUST 2018


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