The Office Heroes scheme identifies the UK’s small business ‘unsung heroes’. We spoke all of the finalists - and got some insider tips on retaining and motivating top performers
Over the past few months, we’ve been working alongside Brother to ask the UK’s entrepreneurs to reveal the hidden gems behind the UK’s small, fast-growth businesses. When a judging panel that included serial entrepreneur Ben Way, Glasses Direct founder Jamie Murray Wells and Brother’s sales and marketing director Phil Jones met to choose 20 finalists and one winner for the Office Heroes scheme, they were looking for people who had:
- Repeatedly gone the extra mile
- Contributed to their company’s success above and beyond their job description
- Led outstanding growth or improvement of a department
Here, you can read profiles of all the finalists – and get some useful tips on retaining and motivating your own top performers.
Overall winner - Roxanne Lupton, bulk logistic co-ordinator, Green-tech
If you give your staff the opportunity to grow with you, you’re likely to have a happy and motivated workforce. Entrepreneurial companies are often well placed to offer quick progression for talented staff, and overall winner Roxanne Lupton is a fine example. Green-tech co-founder Rachel Kay says Lupton started in the warehouse at the landscaping and construction supplier and was brought into the office “kicking and screaming”. Now, she coordinates 6,000 vehicle movements a year on her own, as well as handling a huge volume of calls from customers and suppliers.
“The company is quite small, so we’re constantly evolving and nothing really stands still for that long,” says Lupton. “It gives us the opportunity to further ourselves as individuals and as a team as well. My role is relatively new and it changes all the time so I’m growing as the role progresses. Hopefully it will keep changing,” she adds.
Kay says the company is growing quickly, with plans to hit £10m turnover by 2011, and it’s on target for £7m this year. “We’ve identified areas that will be growth, static and receding areas. That £10m is easily achievable and hopefully we might get stuck into a few more acquisitions along the way.”
So how do existing star performers such as Lupton fit into such ambitious plans? “Along as you keep on top of things like Personal Development Plans (PDPs), you’re aware of the skill sets that you’ve got and how they may be utilised. You can also identify the skills sets you might be lacking to go forward, so you know what you need,” Kay responds.
Her advice for other entrepreneurs hoping to enjoy the kind of loyalty she benefits from at Green-tech is simple. “You need clear leadership and motivation, all roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined with measurable performance targets, keep your communication channels open, conduct regular reviews with your staff, offer training and respect, reward, praise and encourage them,” she says.
Lupton agrees, and emphasises the importance of simple support and encouragement. “Saying thank you doesn’t cost anything and it really does make you feel appreciated.
Productivity and loyalty come from enjoying your job and being encouraged and supported by your employers,” she says. Lupton has been rewarded for her Office Heroes victory with a five-star luxury spa break in Venice, for five nights.
Gareth Horseman – operations director, Concert Live
Small companies sometimes require their employees to go beyond the call of duty, but Concert Live co-founder James Perkins says his nominee, Gareth Horseman, has an ability to “meet impossible deadlines and sort out impossible problems”.
When a supplier let the company, which sells CDs and downloads of live music recordings, down, it found itself needing to deliver 2,000 CDs to Finland within 18 hours, or face losing £20,000 rather than making the same amount.
“It seemed an impossible situation and after much deliberation we resigned ourselves to the fact that we’d lost this one and went home,” recalls Perkins.
Horseman, the company’s operations director, had other ideas, coming up with the tenuous plan of looking for a lorry driver going in the general direction of Finland.
“Off he went to a service station on the M25, stock in van, and waited. Then along came Joni, a Swedish lorry driver on his way home. The stock arrived at the border in time. The rest is history, we cleaned up that day and it only cost us £500 to make it happen,” says Perkins.
“Gareth is committed to making things happen and coming out on top in the face of adversity. If he can’t make it happen, don’t even bother trying.”
Horseman says he enjoys his role at Concert Live more than previous jobs he’s had specifically because he’s working for an entrepreneurial company. “I’m enjoying being able to shape the direction the business is going in,” he says.
“We’ve really tried to instil an entrepreneurial type ethic into everyone who works with us,” confirms Perkins. “Rather than having a clear, clinical, process driven role, we like it to be adaptable.”
Kerrie Clifton - customer service manager, P4D
When Stephen Abel founded his parcel courier business three years ago, he couldn’t have made a better decision when hiring his first employee. Clifton was hired as a data entry clerk, but soon showed the talent and dedication that would have Abel rewarding her with increasing responsibility. “Now, she manages the entire customer service side of my business with enthusiasm and professionalism,” says Abel.
“As a managing director, I always want to lead my company from the front with confidence and strength. Kerrie allows me to do that.”
Abel isn’t overly concerned about large rivals swooping for P4D’s star employees, and notes the job satisfaction that comes with the chances for progression that small, entrepreneurial firms can offer.
“Employees know that if they do something particularly impressive, it will make a significant contribution to the business and be appreciated. Because the business is quite young, they have a strong affinity to it and regard it as their baby as well,” he says.
As the company’s customer service manager, Clifton already oversees a small team, and Abel’s ambitious growth plans for the business mean her role won’t be static for long. He says the company will soon be dealing with a different kind of work: very large clients, spending a lot of money and sending larger volumes of parcels. “The business has grown and her responsibilities will change again, but in a good way,” says Abel.
Clifton is excited by the prospect of developing her role further, and is delighted that her work is noted and has a tangible effect on the business. “It’s nice to have a challenge and move onto something different,” she says.
“From experience, I’ve found that you’re acknowledged for the work that you do. You’re not just a number. Your commitment is recognised and you feel more valued.”
Emma Hatfield – area manager, Tossed
Life at a start-up can be manic at the best of times, but when you’re launching a chain of salad bars in a crowded London marketplace, there’s always plenty to be done. In just three years, Vincent McKevitt’s Tossed has gone from scratch to a £2.3m turnover and employs more than 70 staff across six sites. It’s a mini-empire large enough to require a talented area manager, so McKevitt is fortunate that he has Emma Hatfield.
Tasked with managing all of the company’s sites, updating systems, helping with store setups and heading up product development for the chain’s menus, Hatfield’s competence is remarkable, especially since she has no formal training beyond a chef’s qualification. Originally joining as an hourly paid salad maker, Hatfield has impressed enough to rise to number two in the company and is McKevitt’s “right hand woman”.
When the company opened three new stores in a five week period last year, resources were stretched to breaking point, but Hatfield came through with flying colours.
“She gives the kind of love and hard work that you usually only get from owner-operators, and that is very hard to find,” says McKevitt.
Wasn’t he worried about throwing someone without extensive experience into the deep end? “I am a big fan of internal development, as it means you engage the team and develop people that are passionate about the brand,” he responds. “It’s easier to teach someone new systems and skills than to teach someone passion. The team see that people within the company can develop and they all want to be part of it.”
Hatfield, who says she was “completely surprised” at her nomination, says that in spite of ambitious growth plans, a lot of time and effort has been spent on maintaining a ‘small company’ feeling at Tossed. “We have regular team drinks, feedback sessions and impromptu dinners.
“This ‘small company’ mentality, along with being encouraged to submit ideas and being directly involved with the development of new methods, products and systems is very rewarding. It’s great when you see a suggestion you made evolve into a day to day system.”
Shivani Gurtu-Louth – operations manager, Devono
Stepping back from the nuts and bolts of the business is a trick that many entrepreneurs take years to learn and a lifetime to adjust to. Devono Property founder Robert Leigh was smart enough to employ someone to focus on the practical elements of running his commercial office finding company almost immediately. He was also smart enough to choose this person very carefully: Shivani Gurtu-Louth, his operations manager, has been with the company for four of its five years and has helped shape its success.
“Shivani has single-handedly established, grown and implemented the company infrastructure, and as a result we have been able to grow from two people to 12 since she joined,” says Leigh, who is free to focus on securing new business and plotting the company’s future course.
“Shivani fills in the gaps and knows what we ought to be thinking before it’s thought,” he adds.
As operations manager, her role involves managing key client liaison, payroll, all marketing and PR activities, website management and maintenance, dealing with and managing suppliers, office management and line-managing staff. She has also recently created a project management team which complements the company’s existing products. “I’m afraid her title does no justice to the areas Shivani covers,” says Leigh.
A common feature among the all of the nominees was an acknowledgement of support from management, something that’s easy to get right but so often overlooked.
Shivani is no exception. “Encouragement and appreciation is given when due,” she confirms. “This comes very naturally to Robert. Having worked in companies where this was not a feature of day to day work I really do appreciate it.”
She’s also enjoying the diversity of her role. “By giving me the flexibility to get involved in new projects, I’m allowed to acquire new skills, so I am constantly developing my skill base. My role is so diverse I’m able to maintain a healthy balance of routine and new challenging projects.”
She also finds working with an entrepreneur is a great motivating factor. “There is an energy and excitement that comes with the territory that I never really felt in a corporate company,” she says. “Also, the fact that you can make a more obvious difference in the development of the company is a great bonus.”
