Manufacturing Magazine April 2015 | Page 37

MANUFACTURING that applies as equally to its staff as it does the environment , and this paradigm has enabled the company to foster a loyal and aspirational workforce . Hartwig warmly informed us , “ We have a few people that have been with us for over 20 years , some travelling probably for an hour each way … some people even drive past a competitor of ours on their way here , which tells you something !” Alongside a happy and motivated workforce , loyalty to this degree enables a company to retain employees that are experts in the industry , and who have experienced the growth of the business first hand . The company is keen to invest in the development of its employees , overseeing it all with an expansive computerised HR system that Hartwig and the rest of management use to , “ see what skills are around us .” Furthermore , he stated , “ Management are basically talent scouts . We have a low turnover of staff … if you look at employees past history , we have seen people go from shop floor to director level .” In line with the firm ’ s operational goal of becoming a zero carbon company , Firstan is keen to see that best practice begins at the top , with managers becoming role models for the rest of the company ; this is headed by a dedicated training initiative that helps management comply with the strict standards of the ISO14001 accreditation .
Putting the talent to work Utilising cutting edge developments in
Firstan uses the HR software to manage its talent

“ Management are basically talent scouts . We have a low turnover of staff … if you look at employees past history , we have seen people go from shop floor to director level .”

Paul Hartwig , Production Director
www . firstan . co . uk 37