The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 5: Autumn 2017 | Page 19

WHAT MAKES A WINNING TEAM?
To complement our Top 100 feature (pages 20-22), we asked
Emma Summers, managing director of leading South West
recruitment company, Juice Recruitment, for her advice on
creating a winning team.
Established in 1998, Juice Recruitment is
now in its 19th year. It started with just two
members of staff in a small office in Bath
and now directly employs 26 members of
staff and over 350 temporary employees
across the South West.
As well as its Bath headquarters, the firm
now has branches in Bristol, Cheltenham,
Trowbridge and their latest addition,
Swindon.
Emma who runs the company alongside
her husband Andrew said: “A CEO of
a very successful business once said to
me- ‘surround yourself with exceptional
people with drive and determination,
just like yourself.’ I believe the key to a
winning team is leadership, a common
goal, a thorough plan and ensuring you
have 100% involvement and inclusion from
everyone in the business.
“In a market where there is such a
candidate shortage, investing in the
retention of your staff is key. I believe
wholeheartedly in looking after my
team, recognising their contribution and
achievement and rewarding their hard
work. At Juice we impress the importance
of staff recognition and reward upon our
clients. It’s an integral part of
creating a successful business.
“At Juice, the team always gets
together sociably, every quarter to
recognise both individual and branch
achievements. Congratulating Juice
members for their great contribution.
This along with annual trips away,
‘wind up Mondays’ over breakfast
and ‘wine down Fridays’ with drinks, is
the real essence to maintaining a fun and
vibrant culture and spirit of
the organisation.”
Placing students in the region’s economy
The University of Bath’s Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences supports around
750 students each year in their professional placement as part of a four year degree.
Students work across diverse sectors - from health students working in elite sports,
to economics students working in investment banking and politics students working
in Westminster, Brussels and Cardiff.
It’s a mutually beneficial relationship –
with employers gaining additional resource
from students who are skilled, versatile
and enthusiastic, and students gaining
experience in a professional, supportive
environment.
Jane McNeil, Human Resources
Manager at the international development
organisation Development Initiatives,
based in Bristol, explains: “Development
Initiatives is proud of the relationship we
have with the University of Bath and in
particular with the placement programme.
We’ve been partners now for at least five
years taking 2-4 students on each year.
Without exception they have been great
ambassadors for the university, have settled
in quickly to the routine of an office and
have provided much needed support to
their teams. It doesn’t take long for them to
become an integral part of the organisation
both on the business side and on the social
and I would highly recommend this scheme
to other organisations wanting keen,
willing and reliable support, young people
who soak up knowledge quickly and who
like to take an active and interested part in
the business.”
Tom Van Raalte has recently completed
a 12-month placement at the Bank of
Ireland in Bristol and found the experience
extremely rewarding: “being in the
regional office meant that I have been
given more responsibility and am able to
experience more areas of the bank…this
has been valuable in terms of building up
a more diverse network of contacts, fully
understanding how my role fits within the
bank and the impact of the