How are Kettleby Foods' employees motivated?

With 640 staff, human resources management is an important issue for the firm. The Samworth Brothers belief that its people are at the heart of the business's success, which is exemplified by the PQP 'mantra' - people, quality, profit.

The work on the shop floor is not glamorous and the conditions can be challenging. The emphasis on hygiene, the necessity of maintaining appropriate temperatures for food production, the noise of the machines and the routine nature of the work mean that recruiting and retaining staff is not always easy.

Image: Motivation of the workforce is important, especially when work can be repetitive and tedious. Workers prepare dumplings for cooking.

The first 13 weeks for a new employee are considered to be crucial; within that time the turnover ratio can be anything from 20 to 40%. Staff who do last beyond the 13 weeks get a personalised overall, a small motivation but one that can be surprisingly powerful in that people wish to feel part of the team and the organisation and the provision of their own overalls helps to confirm that position.

The standard grade of worker is paid at a rate well in excess of the minimum wage per hour. The rate increases by 10% for shift work, 30% for overnight work and 100% for sundays and bank holiday work. Team leaders, shift managers and so on up the hierarchy get paid at different rates in relation to their responsibilities and their share of the profit also rises in proportion.

Motivation strategy: the staff 'weekly brief' newsletter

For the staff, maintaining high quality is important because it affects them directly. The company have a profit sharing scheme and the 'weekly brief' newsletter gives every worker details about what their current share is. Of the net profit, a fixed percentage goes into a pot, which is shared amongst all the workers in relation to the level of their earnings.

This is an important part of the motivation strategy for the business; staff get to see regularly where the problems might lie in the business and what the impact is on their share of the profit. It gives people an overview of the whole operation, something they may not be able to get through the normal work they carry out. The newsletter also gives information about the number of complaints, production targets and wastage.

For many staff, their share of the profit may well go some way towards paying for their family holiday or buying presents at Christmas. It is a powerful motivational tool, therefore. However, it can have some disadvantages as well. One of the key benefits of the scheme is that staff are encouraged to reduce waste as much as possible. This can backfire if staff are tempted to use substandard ingredients or pick up spilt items from the floor! The management of the staff, therefore, in ensuring that the correct balance is maintained is vitally important.

After working at the business for a year, staff are offered private medical insurance with Norwich Union Health Care. This is a significant benefit for the staff in that it entitles them to treatment at a private hospital if necessary. It does represent a cost to the business and so has to be calculated as part of the labour costs. Such fringe benefits are good examples of how a remuneration package can be enhanced by a business without merely offering more money to the worker.

In addition, all staff are entitled to qualify for a final salary pension scheme. This means that the pension the worker will receive on retirement will be related to the final salary they were on. For most workers, their final salary is much higher than their starting salaries and such schemes are widely supported by trade unions and groups representing workers. Again, they are expensive for a firm to provide, as the firm has to ensure that the amount it is investing into the pension fund for its staff is sufficient to cover the liabilities under the scheme. When the stock market does not perform as well, as has happened in the past few years, the firm could be faced with having to top up the scheme by a large amount to ensure workers get the pension they expected. Many firms are moving away from such schemes because of the potential cost so firms that continue to operate such schemes demonstrate a real belief in their workforce.

The staff are able to relax and eat in a purpose built restaurant facility that serves hot and cold meals and drinks at subsidised rates.

In addition to these benefits, the company also provide extensive training opportunities. The factory houses the Samworth Academy, a purpose built education centre for in-house training, which also provides staff with the opportunity to pursue a range of education courses in their own time. Work-related courses linked to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and City and Guilds, and links with Loughborough College and, most recently, Loughborough University to provide degree courses in food manufacturing as well as accreditation with the Investors In People (IIP) scheme serve to emphasise the importance placed on the quality of the workforce.

On the shop floor, staff move around to carry out different tasks (job rotation) which helps to break up the routine nature of some of the jobs, improves concentration, thus reducing mistakes and helps to improve the flexibility of each unit as people are able to cover for colleagues in different roles if necessary.

To help develop the feeling of involvement in the Group as a whole, Samworth Brothers produce the 'Samworth Standard' - a quarterly newspaper giving information about all aspects of the Group's business activities. The newspaper highlights the successes of the Group as a whole and the contributions made by the staff in that success.

Staff are involved in some of the decision-making processes at the plant especially where their working experiences may help to benefit the firm. Staff who stay at the firm for five years join the 'Five Year Club' and get their name on the 'wall of achievement' notice board and a free lunch served by their managers. Those with over 10 years service, and every five years after, are invited to a race evening to celebrate their long service.

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