Every year JCW take their whole Management Team out of the business for one day. That might not sound like much but the organisation of this one day and the investment in it shouldn’t be readily dismissed. So, what do we do with this one day? Is it really worth all the effort? Read on to find out more…

The benefit that this one day gives us as a company and our Management Team doesn’t just last this one day, it is something they can take with them, feed through to their own teams and helps theirs and their teams development and internal knowledge of our company and future strategy.

In short, this one day is invaluable.

What do we do with this one day?

In 2018 we decided again to utilise the services and venue of Centreparcs in Woburn Forest. The setting is beautiful, at one with nature and a place our team can freely concentrate without the day to day pressures, so they can feel more relaxed.

The morning session consisted of an over view of the past year. This is so important because JCW has evolved at a rapid pace and it is essential that we give ourselves all time to reflect on our achievements. Also, we can look at what we haven’t achieved, why and how we can address this over the following year.

The company’s strategy was fed through these morning sessions to make sure we remain focussed on our overall goals.

We are a company that knows where we want to go.

What does the next year hold for JCW?

The future for our industry, and many others, is unsettled with the collapse of Carillion, Brexit just around the corner and the retail industry tightening their belts, this all has an impact on our future as a company and how we need to plan ahead.

It is vital that our team know that we are prepared, we continue to plan and most of all we are extremely positive for our future. Our turnover continues to rise, our productivity improves, our project department is growing at a rapid pace and our maintenance services are consolidating across the offices and becoming neatly spread through various industry types, including commercial, leisure, industrial and retail property portfolios.

We are company that has a plan to achieve our future goals, regardless of outside pressures.

What is our value proposition?

As the day to day business runs we don’t always take time to think about who we are and who we compete against, why we are better or where we need to improve. This one day gives us that opportunity. Considering where we sit within the market place is essential when targeting new business and developing existing. Our team now have a clear view of who our competitors are and why they should be confident when pitching against them.

We know the services we want to provide, we know their value, we also know how to bring added value to every contract.

Importance of engaging our staff

With nearly 200 staff across 5 offices, most of whom are mobile engineers, it is hard to ensure that every one person feels part of the wider team. Following our recent Strategy Meeting, one point that was clear was that we needed to focus on our staff engagement and since February we have begun to roll out a programme that we hope will bring our staff more together.

During this one day we talked about the importance of receiving customer feedback, positive and negative. Having just introduced business cards that provide details of how customers can give feedback, after just 2 weeks we have received a huge response and are rated 4.98 out of 5 by our customers. This is all being fed back to our staff individually to ensure that credit is given where it is due.

We know how important our staff are, we know they need to be appreciated and most of all, ongoing communication with each and every one is key.

Time to relax?

Away Days, as much as they seem like fun, the level of concentration and interaction drains those who attend, and it is important to be able to release the pressure. So, this year we arranged a Geo Caching event at the venue. Who would have thought the 4 teams would be so competitive, some more than others perhaps!

We know that everyone needs to have fun at work too.

How was the day?

Although the day was a very enjoyable one, there was a serious message running through the sessions that need to be cascaded through the business. Every member of staff has a right to know the direction JCW will be taking, they need to know that the future really is bright and that we are all one team working to the same end.

To help our Management Team prepare their cascade meetings we invited our HR Consultant, Ken to join the day and he presented the final session. This was a thought provoking one on how our minds work and how we can take the messages we have learnt back to our team and relay as positively as they have been delivered.

JCW recognise that we are only as good as our staff so investing in this one day in our Management Team is just one of many initiatives we use to engage our staff.

Thank you to all who attended and joined in the sessions. We already have lots of ideas for the next Managers Away Day, this is just the beginning of our adventure together…