Conservatory Outlet Group has marked its first Investors in People award with a vow to add to its 34 apprentices and empower its 312 staff towards aiming for IiP Gold in three years.
Head of HR Karen Starkey, pictured, explained: “The hard work now begins as we aim to hit nine performance indicators and become a gold level company. These include leading and inspiring people, empowering people, rewarding high performance and creating sustainable success.
“It is vitally important that we provide opportunities to our employees to grow and develop in their roles. We gain commitment from them as a result, as they see the value in our training and the opportunities it provides.
“We are proud to have enabled several staff members to further develop and grow. Progression is a key value to future-proofing our organisation, creating genuine careers and a sense of succession planning.”
Conservatory Outlet has utilised the Apprenticeship Levy to take on and develop 34 apprenticeships in career disciplines including Business Admin, Management Team Leading, Bricklaying, Customer Service, HR, Construction Building and Marketing.
The Investors in People official report states that ‘as well as having the right people with the skills and knowledge to support the achievement of the planned growth, you also have a focus on retaining and supporting existing staff to ensure that skilled people reach their potential and to make sure that the workforce is suitably balanced, fair, and diverse.’
The management team were also highlighted for communicating regular company updates, which has helped people understand what is happening during the pandemic and the supply chain disruption that has followed.
Chief executive Greg Kane added: “Training – and the continuous development of people – is one of the fundamental cornerstones of our business. We have examples of young apprentices working on their Admin Level 3 apprenticeship and, once completed, being supported to undertake their AAT qualification at college.
“A skilled, trained and knowledgeable workforce is key to ensuring we provide the best quality product and service to our customer. We also hold best practice events with our network of retailers, which accentuates the sharing of knowledge and expertise.”
