INDUSTRY
S T R AT E G Y I N T E R V I E W
Let’s build forward better With the worst of the pandemic in the past, Brother UK’s managing director, PHIL JONES, is looking forward with optimism, and conscious of how it has changed businesses for good
W
ith COVID restrictions repealed,
normalised, so you need to make your office a destination
businesses across the land are focusing
where people think, ‘It was worth my effort coming here
on growth once again, and Brother is
today. I love the new lounges, I have great energy and I see
no exception - but rather than ‘building
people I enjoy working with. I can make hybrid Team calls,
back better’, as the Prime Minister
the wifi is good, I have great coffee.’
is fond of saying, Phil Jones would rather ‘build forward
“It’s about making sure the business is fit-for-purpose
better’.Let him explain. “None of our businesses are the
for today - that we have the right systems, that the culture
same; the economy isn’t the same, the working culture
is digital first, that we understand that the role of the office
isn’t the same, so the way the industry operates isn’t
has changed and that the people who work for you have
going to be the same. Let’s build forward, learning from
changed expectations about their relationship with you
our experiences through the pandemic, and be better
and what they want from you as an employer.
businesses and employers now, with happier workforces.” For Brother UK, this process began internally. As well as implementing a hybrid working policy, the company has invested in recent months on modernising its operations.
“Businesses that haven’t changed their working environments, or introduced hybrid working, are going to be in trouble as people will leave because of that. “Our organisational value proposition has been refreshed deliberately to keep up-to-date with the market.
“We totally redecorated, introduced new working
These are all learnings from the pandemic. If you listen to
areas, lounges and hybrid meeting environments because
your people, you pick all this up – they should be telling
the commute has to be worth it now,” says Phil. “The
you what they expect of you as an employer. The key thing
commute is now a pain for people, whereas it used to be
is to make some movement as fast as you can.”
[10] MARCH 2022
www.dealersupport.co.uk
