INDUSTRY NEWS
THE WINNING FORMULA FOR PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTIVITY
When Howard Trotter arrived at Shelforce just over 10 years ago , it ’ s fair to say the business was failing – and it was a sad time for a business established in 1839 . One of his first jobs was to oversee the workforce reduction from 106 people down to 18 ; reducing the staff numbers so drastically was the only chance of trying to save the business . In the years that followed , Howard stayed on as Business Manager to attempt to turn it around .
Cut to 2024 , and Shelforce is one of Birmingham City Council ’ s go-to suppliers for social housing projects and the first choice of household names in the new-build and education sectors . Howard and his team are stalwarts at local and national business and industry awards . The business has become a benchmark for inclusivity and diversity in the workplace , and Shelforce received The King ’ s Award in a special event marking King Charles III 75th birthday celebrations .
How did Shelforce turn its failure into success ? And how did Howard and his team strike a balance between the bottom line and a thriving workforce ; award-winning business culture and a production efficiency increase of 759 %; firm family values and pastoral care with becoming a specialist in government and local authority tenders .
The answer Howard says , is rugby coach Andy Farrell .
“ At Shelforce we recognise everyone ’ s individual talent and the attributes that make them great . Our business is great because of that ,” says Howard . “ Shelforce is not a charity . It is a thriving business built on resilience . The individual resilience of every team member , and our collective strength based on honesty , openness , teamwork , support and respect .
“ I ’ m a rugby fan and Andy Farrell – the Ireland coach – is known for the pastoral care of his players . I ’ ve tried to bring the ethos of me being ‘ coach ’ to the shopfloor . Lots of our staff love football and this understanding and respect of sport levels the playing field . So , for instance , there was a time I had to talk to the team about a challenging job and I said to them afterwards , “ if this was half time and we were down , what would you expect me to say ?” I wanted to show them that we ’ re all in this together . I wasn ’ t telling them off , I wanted to know how we could ’ ve done better – from them .
“ They understood where I was coming from . That ’ s because I understand where they ’ re coming from . Taking the time to get to know your staff means you can use it for the better of your business . Then you are really making the most of the people around you , their skills , knowledge and potential . Knowing the inherent qualities and personal traits in your team means you ’ re not only ready to take opportunities as and when they arise but you can start to create new opportunities too , based on your team ’ s strengths .
“ But , just like sport you can have the best team spirit in the world , but if you ’ re not producing results , you aren ’ t going to be seen as successful . Front and centre of what we do at Shelforce is high quality products – life saving products when it comes to our fire doors – that are delivered in quantity , on time to very discerning customers . The fact we are now a supplier of choice for Birmingham City Council proves those credentials .”
After the football analogy , it seems fitting that there ’ s a trophy cabinet to talk about too . They ’ re on display for the team that won them – and while it ’ s not all about that , it ’ s a brilliant reward to the work they want to do . Many of these awards have been received for diversity and inclusivity in the workplace and Shelforce is well known and respected in the industry and beyond for just this .
“ The success of Shelforce really is its people . They ’ ve set the standard we ’ re known for . But we ’ re not a business that lets culture take over the quality of our production . In fact , it ’ s the opposite . The culture we ’ ve created in our business has fuelled the success of our products and productivity .”
www . shelforce . com
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM NOVEMBER 2024
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