HR Media Case study

Providing structure for growth

Courtesy of Raising The Standard published through UK Commission for Employment and Skills

HR Media Ltd is one of Yorkshire’s top PR companies but it relies on Investors in People to guide its growth

Background

Small start-up businesses face two major challenges. The first is to survive beyond the first couple of years. The second, for those with ambition, is to take the step up from having a handful of staff to become a medium-sized organisation with a corporate life of its own.

Sheffield-based HR Media had no trouble in overcoming the first obstacle. Founded in the late 1990s by two former journalists from the local newspaper The Star the company got off to a flying start by attracting as their first client Westfield Health, a major operator in the health insurance sector.

Success bred success but by around 2002 the founders realised that they needed proper structures and processes if they were to be able to grow in a sustainable way. Significantly it was Westfield which pointed them towards Investors in People. “When you receive advice from a client whom you greatly respect then of course you take it seriously,” said Managing Director Martin Ross. “Westfield, was a great example of where we wanted to be - they opened our eyes to the potential of Investors in People. And when I expressed some initial nervousness about the possible amount of bureaucracy Westfield reassured us that there was nothing to fear!

Firm structures

Martin Ross and his colleagues had recognised that in order to achieve growth they needed stronger foundations and firmer structures.

“Even within the few years since we had set up the business the world had changed significantly because of digital technology,” he said. “We needed to be able to embrace these developments and take advantage of them. The potential was there but we needed a structure.”

By making reference to Investors in People, Ross and his senior management team began to look afresh at how they communicated to the employees where the business was going and their role in this.

The company also started to develop teams based around specific sectors or target areas. And it then began to create development programmes so that individuals had the necessary skills to implement the company’s strategy for growth.

“We wanted to respond to the challenges and opportunities ahead of us by delivering a super service,” said Martin Ross. “Investors in People gave us the framework to do this.”

Benefits of assessment

HR Media was first assessed for Investors in People in 2004 and Martin Ross plays tribute to the benefits of the assessment process – and the skills of the assessor – both then and subsequently.

“Our assessor, Peter Taylor, has developed a very good rapport with our business,” comments Martin Ross. “He has won the confidence of our team and demonstrated a deep understanding of our needs. He has really understood the way we work and what we are trying to do. His style has always been very encouraging and he has always given us relevant feedback. The whole process has been very powerful in enabling us to decide how to go forward.”

So influential has Investors in People proved, continues Martin Ross, that the effect of the most recent assessment was “to change completely the way we work.” Peter Taylor’s contribution, he adds, has proved to be “fundamental to HR Media’s growth” while according to Eve Worthington, HR Media’s Director of Performance Management, Investors in People has enabled HR Media to become “More effective and productive with better internal communications.”

The benefits of all this are as clear as the financial figures. The company, which now also has a sister company OnTrack PR based in Doncaster, has grown organically from a turnover of less than £100K to more than £1.2m. It now has over 20 employees with a real framework for career development. Moreover, it can boast of ‘outstanding staff loyalty’ with a very low turn-over rate.