Award-winning companies

Last week I was privileged to attend the Chamber Presidents Awards with one of my clients, BCW Enginering. They had been nominated for three awards, and won two of the three!

So it got me thinking, is there a secret to that success?

The answer is no, there is no secret, but often the blinding obvious is hiding in plain sight.

So how do those businesses continue year after year grow and improve their performance? Here are my thoughts.

Passion and belief
The leaders of the business believe that despite setbacks the business will survive and thrive.

BCW is a tier one supplier into the automotive sector and so was directly impacted by the recession, but despite having to make tough decisions they never lost the belief that they would get through and come out stronger.

Commitment
People are not dim, they will know when you say one thing but don’t follow through and they remember, so never say you will unless you are truly committed.

That could mean sacrifices in terms of dedicating resources to what you believe is right.

Nurture talent
External recruitment is essential as the business grows, but make sure that you are developing the skills of existing teams and keep them informed of where the business is going and how they will be a part of that.
Recognition is not just about money.

Often the opportunity to attend a training course or an external meeting to represent the business is a great motivator.

Community
As you grow, your community becomes essential. The internal community is the support mechanisms that allow your people to come to work and feel part of something.

BCW now employs 140 (mainly local) people, and that’s a great responsibility as they all will have different backgrounds and support needs.

The external community is perhaps just as important. Get out there and find a local initiative that fits with your business and your values.

As an engineering business, my client identified a local initiative that took young adults from tough backgrounds and developed them to be job ready in a manufacturing environment, so not only supporting the community but also creating the skills that will be needed going forwards.

Oh, and of course, get the support of a great people development consultant!

Simon Stead
Solutions InStead