ASK THE EXPERT:
FLEXIBLE WORKING
by Gemma Haigh Project manager, Business Health Matters
STILL IN THE RUNNING
“Patience and perseverance”. Joe Foster is explaining the attributes that helped him turn a family business based in the North West into a multi-billion dollar multinational giant and household name.
To illustrate that point, the co-founder of the iconic sports shoe brand Reebok, adds: “It took eleven years to get a distributor in America. We had six failed attempts, but we kept on going.”
Cracking the US market was vital for the growth of the business, which began life in Bolton. The 88-year-old says: “There were 330 million Americans, and 35 million of them were running. But getting in there was tough.”
The turning point was designing a range of shoes, including the iconic Aztec, that were given five-star ratings in the US-based Runner’s World magazine, the Bible for those taking part in the growing activity.
The rise of aerobics in the US proved another massive opportunity that the business was quick to take advantage of, designing shoes for women. Joe says: “When Jane Fonda went out and bought a pair to wear in her fitness videos sales exploded!”
The biggest problem facing the growing business was now keeping up with demand. Joe says of business: “You need a bit of luck at times, but it is also about being prepared when the opportunity arises.”
The Reebok story was born out of frustration, Joe and his brother Jeff deciding to strike out on their own after failing to persuade their father and uncle that change was urgently needed in the family’s traditional sports shoe business.
Both in their twenties, they founded the business that was to become Reebok in 1958 and learned more about making shoes at Rossendale College as they took their own first steps into the world of sports footwear.
The brothers called their fledgling brand Mercury but were forced to change it when it was discovered that name was already patented. Reebok, meaning a light-coloured antelope, was picked out of the dictionary.
Joe speaks with sadness when it comes to his brother and business partner, who didn’t live to see the firm’s remarkable success story, dying of stomach cancer just as Reebok was set to hit its stride.
Joe stepped back from the business in 1989 and today he describes himself and wife Julie as “digital nomads”. A US trip beckons. He also written a book ‘Shoe Maker’ chronicling the Reebok story and watches with interest the work new owner ABG is undertaking to regrow the brand after buying it from Adidas.
Joe is also in demand for public speaking, recounting his experiences at a North West Creators Meetup event in Whalley, hosted by Lancashire shoe company Lanx.
His advice for budding entrepreneurs is simple. “Have fun,” he says. “We had a lot of fun and that, as far as I’m concerned, drives a business.”
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
The Business Health Matters programme was created to help improve the overall health and wellbeing of employees in Lancashire. Businesses tell us that the health and wellbeing conversation can be overwhelming and that knowing where to start is notoriously difficult.
In this regular column, we answer your workplace health questions and help you find the support you need in your organisation.
What does the EU Directive regarding flexible working mean for my business?
From the 2nd August 2022, EU member states implemented the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, which includes new rights for carers and working parents, with the aim of bringing more women into the labour market and helping to fight child poverty.
Amongst a range of rules that set out minimum standards for paternity, parental and carers’ leave, the directive states that some workers now have the right to request flexible working arrangements.
“All working parents with children of up to at least eight years old and all carers have the right to request reduced working hours, flexible working hours, and flexibility in the place of work.” (European Commission, 2022)
Post-Brexit, the UK is not required to implement these rules but has promised to match the rights for carers and is expected to adopt some of the directive’s steer on flexible working.
Many Lancashire businesses have already adopted a more flexible approach, as we see an increase in flexible working hours, hybrid working arrangements or additional wellbeing time offered.
This is increasingly important to employees, with a recent survey by Lewis Silkin (2021) on post-Covid employment policies, stating that 63 per cent of respondents said that flexibility is of more importance than work location when incentivising staff, with 33 per cent considering it as important as salary.
And this isn’t bad news for businesses. If implemented correctly, flexible working practices can increase productivity and lead to a much healthier and happier team.
Presenteeism, where employees force themselves into work when they are unwell or doing extra hours to prove their productivity, results in UK businesses losing up to 35 days per employee, per year (Financial Times, 2019).
By allowing your team to work more flexibly and take the time they need to ‘top up their tank’ before it runs on empty, your business will benefit from a more productive and healthier workforce that is made up of happier staff who want to stay around.
For advice on how to implement flexible working arrangements head to our ‘Flexible Working & Family Rights’ blog on
www.businesshealthmatters.org.uk. If you have your own question for the next issue, or you would like to find out more about how we can help you, email businesshealthmatters@
activelancashire.org.uk or call 01772 299838.
11
IN VIEW
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 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
