PERTEMPS LEADS UK IN VISION

Tim Watts at Vision

Pertemps has been named as one of this country’s most visionary companies in an index of forward-thinking public and private sector organisations.

BT and Cranfield School of Management compiled the list which recognise 100 organisations which have proven unique and exceptional vision in one of six key areas, ranging from leadership to customer management.

Pertemps’ chairman Tim Watts took over the family-run business from his mother in the 1970s and has expanded it from three branches in 1976 to 167 branches across the country today. The business is worth £270 million. It employs over 1500 permanent personnel and payrolls in excess of 25,000 flexible workers per week.

The company believes in empowering its employees, through training and education, to share in the growth of the business. Its vision was to create a business with a market value of £50million by the end of the century, to issue shares to staff and form a trust to benefit future employees. However this figure has been exceeded many times over.

The Employee Benefit Trust currently holds 12.5 per cent of the company and this is set to increase to 25 per cent by 2004. Pertemps achieved its market value objective in 1998 and, by the end of the century, it had exceeded its original target by 83 per cent in terms of turnover.

Pertemps’ vision includes being involved in the Government’s New Deal programme, which helps the long-term unemployed. Other projects have included helping to offset skill shortages in various sectors by introducing training initiatives, including basic computer skills and NVQ qualifications, for staff placed via Pertemps. The company has also recognised the value of e-commerce and allows customers to make contact via email and the Web.

"Our greatest asset is our people. Their information and intelligence are vital resources. It has been important to cultivate, encourage and generate innovative and creative thinking to exceed our customers expectations in providing them with solutions to their needs," said Pertemps’ quality manager, Tracy Evans.

"Pertemps has always believed that the strength of the company is its people. This ‘family’ culture is the backbone of the company. It inspires people and instills commitment and loyalty."

The visionary organisations were graded by a panel of judges including Sir Peter Bonfield, CEO, BT; Peter Murray, Cranfield School of Management and Mark Goyder, Director of the Centre for Tomorrow's Company.

Pertemps Designer Recruitment Ltd, a division of the country’s leading recruitment agency Pertemps, has continued its sponsorship of Tamworth Progressive Football Club with a donation of £2000.

It is the third season that Pertemps has supported the side, which plays its matches at Anchor Valley Football Ground in the Tamworth Sunday League.

Pertemps Designer moved to new premises in Tamworth on October 16th and is now located in The White House, Church Street after leaving Amber Close Village. The team’s manager, Roy Lagoe, is based in Meriden, where he works for the Pertemps’ maintenance department.

Over the last two seasons, Pertemps has donated a full football strip and tracksuits to the team. This year’s sponsorship will help the club meet the costs of insurance, match fees, new footballs and training equipment.

"Progressive is a young team and we are working hard to develop football within the community," said Roy Lagoe. "Pertemps has been very generous and the sponsorship deal makes life much easier for us. We can now concentrate on training hard and winning matches."

Katrina Cole, Branch Manager of Pertemps Designer, said: "Pertemps is very active within the community and we are thrilled to be able to support the team. We’ve just moved to new premises on Church Street. These are exciting times for us – hopefully things will go just as well for Progressive."

1000th person helped into employment

John O’Keefe had been a butcher most of his working life and when the family business that employed him closed down he lost his appetite for butchery.

John, 42 and single, who had worked in the trade in his native Birmingham for 15 years said: "When the supermarkets opened and people started shopping there, one by one the family firms closed down. I tried to get work in some of the big supermarkets but they wanted me to start at the bottom again and work up and they would not pay the wages my experience merited."

As unemployment affected his confidence, John became one of Birmingham’s long-term unemployed. He was convinced that he would never get back into work until he was put in touch with Birmingham’s Employment Action Zone, an innovative scheme run by Pertemps Employment Alliance to tackle long term unemployment. The Birmingham Zone is the largest of 15 nationwide projects set up to help people aged over 25 who have been unemployed for more than 12 months. Although initiated by the Government, it has been put into practise by a subsidiary of Pertemps.

Pertemps aims to provide job opportunities for people who have difficulties finding work due to location, background or social exclusion in disadvantaged areas of the labour market. Now just 10 months after the scheme was set up, John O’Keefe has become the 1000th person to find work. He is employed as a jigger and packer by local engineering company, Honeyglen.

"My confidence and self-esteem was at an all time low," said John. "I was convinced that at my age there was no chance I’d get back to work. All I wanted was the chance to prove I could do a good job for someone." He added: "I didn’t obtain work in four years whilst I was with the Job Centre, but after only seven weeks with the Alliance, I was put forward for this job. I am enjoying the work and am learning something new every day."