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^» Hunter Plastics

"As our company ethos demonstrates people are at the heart of our business and very much key to it. In the future we will continue to endeavour to return even greater levels of performance against IiP, and of course actual performance on the ground. IiP has continued to steer us in the right direction and therefore we’ve not been complacent but continued drive forward the company."

Brian Blanchard, Managing Director of Hunter Plastics

^» Introduction

Hunter Plastics was established in 1947 as a trade moulding company by the Edmondson family has since earned its place as a UK leader in the above and below ground gravity drainage market. Hunter Plastic’s success can be attributed to three vital elements: Processes, Products and People. They firmly believe that their customers' needs are all about service.

Hunter Plastics went through a number of changes during the last few years. In 2003 they became part of the worldwide Aliaxis group and in 2005 they undertook an ambitious expansion plan which included the total redevelopment of its London operations. These developments have maintained them as leaders in the market in product quality, meeting or exceeding all relevant UK and European standards. Hunter Plastics has been recognised as an 'Investor in People’ since 1996, highlighting their commitment to achieve their business objectives through effective management and development of their people.

^» The Challenge

Hunter Plastics has held IiP recognition for over 11 years and was keen to continue to benefit from the standard. However they had not undertaken a review since the standard was revised in 2005 when new and more explicit criteria were added. Their forthcoming review would need to encompass all the new elements, therefore it was important to reassess where they were against the revised Standard.

^» The Solution

To prepare for their Review, an on site session was arranged with the IIP Assessor in November 2007 to review previous results and understand the revised changes, specifically relating to Learning and Development and Involvement and Empowerment. They also reviewed their last assessment to revisit what had been a success and look at highlighted areas of improvement. They identified key areas which needed to be worked upon prior to the review which included looking at impact measures within the senior management team and drafting a story board.

^» The Result

For the 12th successive year, Hunter Plastics were awarded IIP Recognition. They achieved level 4 for most of the indicators, which proves that they have continued to maintain a very high of practice across the business. It also demonstrates their commitment to their staff and again underpins their ethos that their people are key to their success. They have a committed workforce that work together and demonstrate strong teamwork throughout the company at all levels.

It was apparent that staff were happy and proud to work for Hunter Plastics and were particularly complimentary about the atmosphere. This is an important factor for any business, as growing and maintaining a good working culture will always help retain staff whilst attracting new employees. The MD and Management Team, coupled with the HR Team, have created a people–oriented place to work with learning and development high on the agenda. Key company objectives are cascaded from the top and integrated to all levels of the business, securing a driven and motivated workforce.

The Management Team continue to strive towards ensuring a coherent message to employees, with initiatives such as Leadership Training, Strategy Days, staff newsletter, quarterly meetings and staff events. The commitment has been made to value the workforce and to operate a very inclusive approach at all levels in the organisation. A fine example of this is the bonus systems, celebratory events, dinners and social events.

Key HR Metrics include:

– Absenteeism – down from 3.5% to 2.7%. Although previously a very low percentage, it demonstrates that even when they have achieved great results there is still an impetus to do better.

– Delivery – where they were achieving 90% complete delivery on time and in full in 2006, they have worked hard to increase that figure to 97% in 2008.

– Increased OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) percentage to 87%.

Jane Dawson, HR Manager, comments “We are delighted with the findings and as a company we will continue to strive wherever possible to improve on what we have already achieved. As is evident we excel in our training and development of employees which we are extremely proud of. We intend to grow this area even more as we have increased our training budget this year and have succession plans to promote from within as much as possible which all helps in retaining our talent.”

The future

The findings were presented to different groups and filtered down through the company. This has encouraged the teams throughout the business to draw on positive and improvement areas. They will have continuous improvement meetings with small groups of around 4–8 people, so it remains in the forefront of everyone’s mind across the company. In addition, all teams will have personal action plans to continue to encourage improvement at every level.  There is a significant investment being made in Leadership Development and this will be rolled out across the teams to ensure that top managers are living the values and demonstrating role model behaviour in all aspects of their position.