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IT
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CSR
part in a new world record bid. He is going
to ride his road bike up and down a hill
non-stop for 72 hours in order to beat the
current world record which stands at 48
hours.
Focus on people
“Principle before profit is primarily about
people – our staff and our customers in
all areas of the business,” Brocklehurst
explained. The policy covers four areas:
People, Customers, Environment and
Community/Charity. “On all four counts,
we absolutely walk the walk. It’s not just
about putting your hand in your pocket
and giving to charity, it’s about engaging
with our customers, getting our people
involved and with the environment in
particular, ensuring we’re sustainable in all
that we do,” he added.
Brocklehurst insists that getting
customers on-side is crucial for any
business and the best way to do that is
to keep them informed and to share the
benefits. “It is also wise to keep your
customers fully up-to-date with your
charitable activities because most will
really appreciate your actions.”
Eco-friendly initiatives
When it comes down to looking after the
planet, Sharples has a compelling story
to tell. It was a founder signatory to the
Warrington Climate Change Declaration
and is always vocal in environmental
debates.
As a Toshiba reseller it has been a
Carbon Zero accredited company since
September 2014 and is always looking at
ways to reduce its carbon footprint. “For us
it’s key to be able to demonstrate how we
behave and we have a catalogue of things
that illustrate what we do,” Brocklehurst
said.
He added: “To offset the carbon
emissions we can’t avoid, we donate £50
for every device we supply. This initiative
provides a free energy-efficient stove to
families in Kenya that halves the amount of
wood which would otherwise be needed.
We have now provided funding for 712
stoves and other clean water projects.”
On the home front, Brocklehurst said
that coaching customers on best practice
and helping them to reduce print wherever
possible is a front and centre. “We do this
by education and through implementing
solutions such as rules-based software
which encourages users to think before
they print. We have also supplied two free
eco-friendly copiers to local primary schools
that allow the toner to be erased so the
paper can be reused again and again; this
engages our young people with a sound
ecological viewpoint at a pivotal age.
“In addition we supply free recycling
boxes to all our customers that allows
toner cartridges etc. to be recycled,” he
added.
People first
The company is also recognised for
channelling its efforts into its people so
they can become the best they can be.
“We strongly believe that if we look after
our team they in turn will look after our
customers,” Brocklehurst said. “Many of our
people have got to the point where further
promotion isn’t possible due to the nature of
the fact that we are a relatively small team,
but across the team we’ve got an average
12.5 years employment – we believe they
endorse our culture with their loyalty.”
In a bid to encourage healthy
wellbeing, the company subsidises sporting
events and last year had 12 team members
compete in their first ever triathlon.
Receiving the High Sheriff of Cheshire’s 2016 Award for Responsible Business Practice
earlier this year at Chester Racecourse.
Investment for growth
The company is investing a quarter of a million
pounds on the expansion of its offices and warehouse
space to meet increasing demand for its range of
products. Sales Director David Griffiths said the
popularity and reputation of Sharples’ products and
services had grown so significantly that there was no
question about the need to create additional office
space.
“We are preparing the documentation for a planning
application which, if accepted, would provide us with a third
more floor space than we currently have. If our application
gets the go-ahead we could start work on the expansion work
in the New Year,” he explained.
“The new space will be designed sympathetically with
the existing lay-out and will be a positive improvement from
the point of view of staff and customers,” he added. “This
new investment is a move to facilitate further growth. The
additional space will allow us to deal with an increasing
number of clients in the positive and professional manner that
our customers expect.”
Griffiths is one of the first to graduate from the Toshiba
Masters programme, an initiative launched two years ago that
provides the OEM’s channel partners with the opportunity
to offer academic recognition to their sales leaders and
salespeople for their sales experience and excellence in a work
environment. The programme is totally focused on sales roles
and based on proven practices for performance improvement
and real-world learning.
“The Toshiba Masters experience has been really
worthwhile both for me personally and for the business,” he
said. “As a company, it’s really helped us to define who we are
and how we want to do business. We’ve been able to refine
our leadership style and drive the business forward, and more
importantly, it’s enabled us to articulate our values and ethics
to our own people and our customers.”
The programme which combined academic rigour with
workplace learning supported Sharples in effecting change
within the business. “We looked at things in different and
fresh ways and were able to make subtle changes without
disrupting the business. We’ve been able to innovate, improve
how we collaborate internally and the way we behave as a
business, and all of that has been good for our customers,”
Griffiths added.
Griffiths was among thirteen sales professionals who
embarked on the inaugural course which kicked off mid-
January 2014 and he graduated with a Masters in Leading
Sales Transformation in June this year.
