7 minute read
What a happy workplace looks like
What does a happy workforce look like
An hour’s chat with Marc Rowley of H.I.T Leadership can change your entire mindset on how essential a happy, fulfilled and loyal workforce is for a company in today’s climate. And he says it’s more important
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than ever right now WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
Pioneering leadership management company H.I.T Leadership do things differently, and frankly, with the world of work having changed so dramatically in the last couple of years, something different is needed. Marc Rowley of H.I.T Leadership explains: “Essentially, I want to make a business sticky.” Confused, I ask “What on earth do you mean?”
“It’s a way of creating a business culture that retains and develops its existing team, as opposed to them leaving and taking their skillset elsewhere.”
OK, got it. Of course, I am keen to explore this further and his enthusiasm and positivity is infectious. Having worked in leadership roles for over 26 years with a masters in leadership management under his belt, there isn’t much he doesn’t know about leading a team properly in an environment that is ever changing.
“For the generation of graduates and young workers, the job has to be serving them in a way which is fulfilling, challenging and supportive – if it’s not, they’ll simply leave and take the skills you hired them for and developed with them elsewhere, they really don’t hang around waiting for it to change,” Marc warns.
Feels pretty cut-throat to me, especially when I have been loyal to my same employer for the last 12 years. When I tell him this, he responds: “Well, it’s likely that you have been treated right, then – Jenny has created a sticky environment at Cross!”
When you add into the mix the pandemic and the effects that had on people’s attitudes towards their working life, you have quite the human resources cocktail. “The pandemic had an undeniable effect on working life for most of us. What we want from it, what we give to it as well as new attitudes to wellness in the workplace. It’s not a negative thing in my view, it’s more of a vital consideration now and not just as part of a tick box.”
It strikes me that not much is negative with Marc. During our conversation, he shares his inspirational speakers with me, his affinity for all things mindfulness and his approachability that has so far proven a winning formula for the companies he works with.
After a ‘discovery day’ with Marc in which he interviews team members on their exact honest and real feedback on all aspects of their working life, he then proposes the methods of change to improve the culture for the team that will create a ‘stickier’ company.
“Lots of companies say they have asked their team for anonymous feedback, but when they go to get it, the responses are unlikely, to be honest – they know they are being ‘watched’ in a way.
“It’s different when I ask – they tell me the truth, as they
in 2022? Increased: - Productivity - Efficiency - Profits - Growth - Stability
know I will help them by changing what’s wrong.”
What happens if an employer isn’t happy? “Well, quite a lot! If the employee isn’t engaged, if they aren’t happy where they are, for example, they become part of a triangle of dissatisfaction – it spreads to the customers and then the employers and leaders.”
What happens if your leadership isn’t happy? “They are all related, that’s the triangle! They won’t give their best to their team, the other employees and fellow leaders. If your employees and leadership team are disengaged it will trickle down to your customers. It’s a knock-on effect that can cause huge damage to both your business and your profit margins.”
The cost associated with training and then losing staff is huge, not to mention the profit loss when customers become dissatisfied too. Changing the culture seems a far more logical and costeffective way of growing and saving money in the long term. “Oh it absolutely is, I would say that I know. But it’s also a fact that, retaining your existing staff is always going to be better for the profit margins.”
Why wouldn’t anyone hire someone like Marc to improve their employee retention then? “For want of a better way of putting it, some leaders may be resisting change, they may also not want to hear the truth!” I add in here that ego may be a factor, to which Marc agrees, without too much negativity of course.
It’s not only Marc’s experience and education that puts him in the right seat for this kind of work, but also his ability to understand people, a skill he tells me was developed from a young age.
“I am an empath – I find it fascinating to be able to understand where someone is coming from, and what might be needed to help them thrive. What’s more, I love to help, it’s just part of who I am.”
I can feel that; I can also tell that he goes about all he does with honesty, integrity and with a transparency that feels contemporary and really rather innovative in the business world, and when I tell him as such he replies: “I am glad you feel that, it’s the kind of feedback I have from clients. They seem to like my friendly but pragmatic approach to their processes and policies. “I’m not going into businesses listing all the things they are doing wrong – only showing them honestly where they could do better than right, where they could thrive.” Not one to overcomplicate things, Marc tells me that once tweaks are made in the workplace through intense listening, communication and workshops which positively affect the employees, the results are fast and infectious. “We’re all a product of our environment aren’t we? Business is no different. The environment needs to be optimum for your people to thrive and company to grow.” Marc is offering a free discovery day experience to the first three Niche readers. Readers can contact him on 07976 183 625 and quote ‘Niche Top 3’ to see if they qualify. If you would like to know more visit the website at hitleadership.co.uk.
Leadership
Employee Engagement
Customer Engagement
9 YEARS OF TEAM ER The ER Recruitment team have been connecting people, business and opportunities across the East Midlands for nine years. In the last year alone, the recruitment market has seen vast changes, and as they head into year nine the consultancy discuss their predictions for the year ahead...
The economy has a notable impact on recruitment and in the last year alone we’ve seen the effect of rising inflation, supply chain issues and skill shortages massively impacting businesses globally.
With this in mind, it’s almost expected that top talent has been difficult for businesses to attract due to lack of market movement and competitiveness. However, this doesn’t mean that businesses have placed recruitment and growth on hold, they’ve simply adjusted their processes and candidate offering to promote themselves as an employer of choice in order to seek out talent. At ER Recruitment, we invested in our service offerings to clients to provide a ‘DNA health check’ to review how they can be setting themselves apart from competition to attract and retain quality candidates. As the market continues to move at a fast rate, we expect that it will remain candidate driven. Therefore, in honour of our birthday celebrations and to ensure your business is hiring the best people, our experienced specialists have shared their three top tips on how to secure a superstar that becomes #PartOfYourDNA:
D on’t delay the process, if you find a candidate you want – move fast. N ever neglect the transferable skillset; sometimes will outweighs skill. A nalyse what makes you a desirable company and shout about it.
To find out more about attracting and retaining or to find a candidate that matches your DNA, get in touch.
www.eileenrichards.co.uk
