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In the second in our series of 'Unlocking growth in Food and Beverage' we look at how a business can realise its strategic ambitions through growth strategies including innovation, expansion and acquisition. The UK is often seen as one of the more innovative countries in the F&B industry, with a significant part of that innovation based on bringing in new products from other jurisdictions, which is why innovation often goes hand in hand with an acquisition strategy. Find out more and how we can help - http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/en/Sectors/Consumer-Markets/Food--Beverage/
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Unlocking growth in Food and BeverageWin the talent battleA successful growth strategy needs the right management team behind it. According to our global study ‘Hunger for growth – Food and beverage looks to the future’, growth is back at the top of the corporate agenda and so getting the right people in place to design, implement and oversee the various interdependent components of the strategy is vital.
To meet these objectives you need to ask whether your organisation has the right people in the right place to meet current challenges and deliver against future objectives. Also, are your current reward and benefits structures right for your business and your employees?
In addition to these specific issues,
there are also broader issues to consider in the drive to attract and retain the best talent. These include management style and attitudes towards flexible working.
Rethinking paternalistic management stylesTwo decades ago many employees still expected to enter a job, be told what to do and to get on with it, in return for which their employer would provide a job for life. Large-scale redundancies over successive economic cycles have undermined expectations of jobs for life, but equally employees now expect more from their jobs. As a younger generation of workers has
become better educated and labour mobility has increased, employees expect more from their careers and are looking for greater variety, a sense of challenge and fun.
Companies spend a lot of time on the external perception of their brand,
but far less on how the brand is perceived internally. Certain social media companies, such as Google and Facebook are often held up as good examples of companies, which have developed their brand internally as well as externally. With the younger generation set to make up more than 50% of the workforce within five years, more companies will have to take an approach that caters to the changing requirements of their workforce and think in terms of policies that are relevant to ‘our organisation’, ‘our people’ and ‘our vision’.
By and large, however, management attitudes remain stuck in an outdated paternalistic leadership style, which reflects the background
TOP TALENT TIPS
“The divergence between changing employee expectations and a leadership style that has not altered is beginning to create discord. Where the management style remains narrowly task-focused and micro managed, companies are increasingly suffering turnover of high quality talent.”
Mel WombwellNational Director of Talent, Head of Leadership and Culture Practice, Grant Thornton UK
The best approach to tackling the talent issue is very dependent on the starting point of the organisation, but there are several key questions that companies can ask:• Face up to the truth. What are we good
at, but also what do we do that makes our employees leave?
• Given our heritage, what does ‘good’ look like? What will resonate with the objectives of our business?
• How wide is the gap between where we are now and where we want to be?
• How do we start to close the gap?
of the majority of managers: white, male and middle class. The current generation of leaders was also promoted to their current positions by managers from similar socio-economic groups, perpetuating the unchanging approach to leadership.
To win the talent battle, companies need to sculpt their management style to become a magnet for talent. There is recognition of the need for change among companies, but few are actively pursuing a strategy that views leadership as an opportunity to be innovative and more efficient.
One of the reasons for this lack of change is that leadership is seen as a secondary role to being a subject matter expert in a particular field. For example, a head of procurement will be skilled at procuring and the company
will tend to invest time and money in making the manager technically better at their job rather than a better leader. Many businesses have yet to grasp that leadership is an opportunity that requires vision and inspiration.
Taking flexible working to a new levelPeople are retiring later. Over the next decade, as people work longer, the workforce will become more diversified. Companies will need to address how to attract and retain the most talented people from this more diversified pool of labour.
An important aspect is a company’s attitude towards flexible working. Historically, flexible working was perceived as appealing to mothers with young children. However, all
age groups and both genders can be interested in a more flexible working arrangement. Both young and old workers may want time off to travel, or to continue their development by acquiring new qualifications or skills. Others may be prepared to travel if the job is right, but not in peak rush hour periods, so flexibility in hours is another consideration.
There is an opportunity for companies to take flexible working to a new level so that talent, which typically steps off the career ladder when they cannot balance home and work demands, can progress further. Most organisations, however, are not currently optimising the potential of flexible working.
In part this may reflect the limitations of the manufacturing
“FDF is working with some of the UK’s best loved brands to create a pipeline of employment-ready engineers, guaranteeing the future competitiveness of our industry. In partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and the National Skills Academy for food and drink, we are developing the UK’s first accredited degree at Master’s level, dedicated entirely to the needs of food and drink manufacturing. Featuring guaranteed competitively paid industry placements throughout the four year course, the MEng Food Engineering will create the next generation of advanced engineers and leaders for our industry.”Angela ColeshillDirector, Employment, Skills and Corporate Services, Food and Drink Federation.
Building the talent poolAttracting, retaining and developing high quality employees are critical factors in a successful growth strategy. But the food and beverage industry also needs access to a pool of available talent that is large enough and has the appropriate skill set.
With these goals in mind the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is involved in the development of the UK’s first engineering degree for food and drink manufacturing, in conjunction with the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and Sheffield Hallam University. Co-investment is being provided by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through the Employer Investment Fund.
The course has been developed in collaboration with some of the UK’s biggest food and drink manufacturing companies to devise a cutting-edge course curriculum in-line with the needs of the industry.
All students beginning the course in 2014 will receive a FDF bursary of £2,500 to help support them during their first year of study. The MEng Food Engineering will provide students with everything they need to graduate as a sought-after specialist with expertise in mechanical engineering, food manufacture efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Iceland has enjoyed a revival in its fortunes since 2005, following the return of founder Malcolm Walker as chief executive. The business is growing and successful and the key to the turnaround has been simplification, with the retailer refocusing on its traditional strengths in innovative, value-for-money frozen food. The same principles have been applied to the way the company works, ensuring a clear focus on the things that really matter like service and quality.
Iceland describes itself as a speedboat among the supertankers of UK food retailing: always keen to keep moving forward and to make the most of every opportunity. That makes for a lively and fast-paced working environment, in an organisation that is open to new ideas and suggestions and willing to try them out.
Employees are given clear objectives and expectations, but at the same time, are allowed more freedom for individual initiative than at most other retailers. Although the company employs more than 23,000 people, its staff agree that working for Iceland feels like being part of a family. All staff are on first name terms with each other and share a strong sense of pride and common purpose. Employees are expected to stand on their own two feet, but can also expect to be treated with respect by their colleagues, and to be part of a team where everyone is willing to help out when support is required.
Iceland takes pride in training and development and rewards its staff well. Over the first six years after Malcolm Walker returned to the business, Iceland increased its hourly pay rate for store staff by 33.7% and for home delivery drivers by 49.8%, making the Iceland team among the very best paid on the British high street.
The success Iceland has achieved in meeting the talent challenge is reflected in the opinions of its employees. The annual Sunday Times Best Companies survey ranked Iceland the Number One Best Big Company to Work For in the UK in 2012, and Number Two in 2013, with high scores achieved for staff wellbeing and pay and conditions.
Case study:IcelandA great place to work
process. In the food and beverage industry a significant proportion of the workforce has to be on site where the products are made. In this situation the employer faces a different challenge – making the career path attractive. Innovation in working practices may be very helpful in this respect.
There are a number of functions, however, even in manufacturing businesses, where greater use could be made of flexible working, but management attitudes create obstacles. Trust, for example, can be a significant concern. Can employees working at
home be trusted to work when not supervised? This concern often goes hand in hand with a paternalistic management style. A second issue is the ‘price of entry’. In the past certain positions may have required long hours and a lack of flexibility and the present incumbents are not prepared to let their successors take over without making similar sacrifices.
Attitudes need to change, because many companies struggle to find really talented people. A broader approach is needed, that goes beyond pay and bonuses to expand the tools available
to improve attraction and retention. For example, companies should consider putting in place development programmes that enable high potential people to invest in themselves, whilst working on organisational strategy and problems. Investing both time and energy into genuinely listening and staying connected to all areas of the organisation will also reap rewards.
KEY QUESTIONS• Are the right people in the
right place to meet current challenges and deliver against future objectives?
• Are your current reward and benefits structures right for your business and your staff?
© 2014 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. ‘Grant Thornton’ means Grant Thornton UK LLP, a limited liability partnership. Grant Thornton UK LLP is a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd (‘Grant Thornton International’). Grant Thornton International and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms independently. This publication has been prepared only as a guide. No responsibility can be accepted by us for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material in this publication.
grant-thornton.co.uk
V23760 F&Btalent
To unlock potential and help you win the talent battle, Grant Thornton can provide advice in key areas including:Cultural change and cultural alignment• Cultural change consultancy, design and facilitation programmes• Board/senior level facilitation on vision, strategy and culture• Accredited coach development programmes• Cultural audits• Strategic talent reviews, integration and organisational design
Sales performance development• Business to business selling consultancy• NLP for business
Leadership development• Executive and Board level coaching• Holistic leadership development programmes focused
on personal, team and organisational development for existing and high potential leaders
• High potential assessment and development programmes• Board effectiveness reviews
The corporate world is a dynamic one, with the forces in play today driving more powerful and deep-rooted change than we have seen before. More than ever, already lean organisations need to look to their people for growth, innovation and pace.
We believe the time has come to reframe culture as something to actively manage, invest in and hard-wire into the success of the organisation. In short, our objective is to help ambitious food and beverage businesses build a culture that unlocks the true potential of your strategies and help accelerate growth.
Contact us
Trefor GriffithPartner, Head of Food and BeverageT 020 7728 2537E [email protected]
Mel WombwellNational Director of Talent, Head of Leadership and Culture PracticeT 020 7728 2528E [email protected]
Charles GreenBusiness Development Manager, Food and BeverageT 020 7184 4611E [email protected]
Stuart James Associate Director,Leadership and Culture PracticeT 020 7728 3038 E [email protected]
Karen Brice Associate Director,Leadership and Culture PracticeT 020 7728 3318 E [email protected]
“It has been widely documented that the sector faces a skills shortage due to the ageing workforce and pressures to get young people to consider a career in the food sector. I think that initiatives like the MEng Food Engineering course are a great opportunity for forging a successful career in the sector and hope that this and the FDF’s wider efforts in this area are successful. At Grant Thornton we have invested significantly in our people and in our external people offering and both are leading to great results.”
Trefor GriffithHead of Food and Beverage, Grant Thornton UK
