Quality standard improves engagement at Paul
Article Type: HR at work From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 9, Issue 3
Short case studies and research papers that demonstrate best practice in HR
Paul UK is a well-established French bakery and patisserie that was founded in 1889. It launched in the UK in 2001 and has since expanded to include 401 staff and over 20 shops, with plans to open more new shops each year. It is still a family owned company, which proudly retains its links to its history and French heritage. Paul people are bread and patisserie lovers who are passionate about customer service and never compromise on quality.
Paul’s French president recognized how prestigious the Investors in People quality standard for people management was perceived to be, and therefore wanted to pursue the standard for his business in the UK, firstly, and then in France. He believes it demonstrates care for employees and commitment to working towards the best environment for them to work in. This belief is reflected in the following key achievements since the company started to work towards the Investors in People standard, which it gained in February 2009:
Paul UK won five HR industry awards and was highly commended in another in 2008.
Staff retention has improved from 29.1 percent in 2006 to 37.8 percent in 2007 to 48 percent at the end of 2008.
An annual staff culture survey has shown improvements year-on-year.
The need for a framework
As a relatively small growing business, Paul UK faced challenges with high staff turnover and only basic training that was not aligned to career development or pay. This was something it wanted to address and believed that the Investors in People framework could assist it in doing so. Being a small company it had put in place HR systems from an internal perspective only, with no external input. It wanted to make sure that it had a strong enough proposition in place to make the business and its people strong and dynamic.
This meant understanding the current proposition and how it could be improved. There were many questions internally as to why the organization was looking at these issues and it needed to get everyone signed up to participate and understand the benefits so that they outweighed any doubts. There was a real apprehension and almost suspicion as to why so many questions needed to be answered. Deconstructing the language and educating the general management team was the starting point for cascading this understanding through the organization.
A coherent effort
With the backing of the CEO, in Autumn 2007 Esther O’Halloran, Paul UK’s HR director, gave presentations company wide and went across to France in Spring 2008. Due to her previous experience, she was tuned into the benefits of cultural change as well as the working benefits that Investors in People could achieve. She conveyed a strong message to all, emphasizing how it made common and business sense to participate as the more content employees are the more they care about, and work harder for, the business. Particularly during a recession, companies need to perform to their most efficient.
The company certainly warmed to the idea of working towards being, and being recognized as, an Investors in People organization, which is facilitated by CQL. It was felt that working with the standard would enable and inspire the business to be continuously positive and pro-active. The senior management team realized that not only does Investors in People make the organization more attractive to those on the outside, but also to those working within.
Reaping the rewards
Since starting on its work towards Investors in People, significant benefits have been realized across the business and the organization feels that it has achieved a favorable return on investment. Its HR strategy is now aligned to the Investors in People principals, which are:
Strategic planning – linking overall business, L&D, people management and leadership strategies to achieve the overall objectives.
Taking action to improve the performance of the organization –improving management effectiveness through appraisals, linking reward and recognition, encouraging involvement and empowerment in decision making and improving the way people learn and develop effectively.
Evaluating the impact on the performance of the organization – through investing in performance management and continuous improvements to the way people are managed and developed.
It has also adopted some of the key headlines from the standard directly into its strategic planning, resulting in a more focused approach.
Previously, the training provided was basic and not aligned to any career path development or pay and there were insufficient tools to support managers with training. Key performance indicators have been introduced for teams and individuals and clear career paths have been created, with appropriate training at each level that is accessible to all. A new succession planning process has resulted in 38 percent of current shop management coming from internal promotions, while 100 percent of supervisors have also developed internally. This is improving employees’ perception of the business and resulting in an“I can do it too” ethos. Other achievements include:
Increased staff retention to 48 percent from 37 percent.
Staff turnover reduced 30 percent through redefined recruitment processes and improved benefits, including discounted gym membership, free employee assistance program, introduction of discretionary full company sick pay,enhanced above statutory maternity and paternity pay, long service awards and celebration birthday cakes.
Reduced sickness/absence to below 2 percent as a result of raised awareness and improved overall morale and motivation – as measured by satisfaction surveys – through career development, leadership, communication and involvement.
The surveys show that 90 percent of team members feel they are trained to do their job well, 80 percent of managers feel there are opportunities to develop and 100 percent of staff are proud to work at Paul.
There have been other advantages from working with the standard. There is an increased motivation from graduated “Rising Stars,” an internal management development program to take supervisors to assistant management level, and an appreciation of improved benefits. Employees have a clear published career path available to all, showing equal pay rates aligned to development. This ensures employees are fully aware of opportunities and requirements for progression, and has led to an increase in requests to progress. A training calendar is produced annually, and updated monthly, which means more people are aware of what is available to improve their skills.
The organization first started the Investors in People journey in late 2007 and working towards the standard has helped achieve the positive metrics outlined above. It would now like to work towards achieving the same accreditation at Paul France. It has a benchmark to understand the great work environment that it has put in place and this will underpin its HR and business strategies moving forward.
Esther O’Halloran is based at Paul UK.
About the author
Esther O’Halloran joined Paul UK in September 2006 as HR Director and set up a full HR function from scratch. She has more than ten years’ HR professional experience gained from working in a variety of organizations and in varied roles, such as head of HR for luxury beauty retailer SpaceNK, head of people for EAT Ltd sandwich retailer and head of recruitment for Pret a Manger. Her initial career started in retail fashion as a general manager before moving to area operations manager within hospitality, where she later specialized in HR in a resourcing role after completing her MAPD. Esther O’Halloran can be contacted at: eohalloran@paul-uk.com
