| Name: | Faraday Printed Circuits Ltd |
| Size: | 51 - 100 |
| Sector: | Building and Engineering |
| Location: | North East |
| Theme: | Increased Productivity |
| Recruitment and Retention |
|  Faraday Printed Circuits Ltd |
The Organisation
Faraday produces low volumes of bespoke printed circuit boards and supplies larger volumes of printed circuit boards, which it commissions from partners in the Far East. The niche market low volume, quick turnaround work is produced in Washington however, and on average 600 different products per month are manufactured.
The company is succeeding and has grown in a fast moving market. It was founded in May 1987, and has grown from an initial 4 employees to an establishment of 60. It has been able to grow physically by taking on adjoining factory space, growing from one unit in 1987 to four units in 2002 on an industrial park.
The Challenge
While Faraday was a successful company and recognised as an Investor in People, the HR manager felt that some aspects of understanding the employee as a resource of the company could be improved. There was a real commitment to training and development, but a question as to whether the full benefits of that activity were being realised by the company. In particular, he was concerned about the skills base of the workers, and so introduced Skills for Life to Faraday. He arranged for all the employees at Faraday to undertake Skills for Life tests, the results of which are shown below.
Among production staff:
- 32% were below level 1 in Numeracy (14 staff)
- 34% below level 1 in Literacy (15 staff)
National estimates are:
- 47% of adults with numeracy skills below level 1
- 16%[1] of working age adults with literacy skills below level 1
This meant that the levels of literacy were below national norms while the numeracy levels were rather higher. However from Faraday’s perspective, job sheets needed to be read, completed accurately, understood and checked, raising concerns over the potential impact of poor literacy skills. The issues on numeracy were also concerning, with some operators required to measure quantities of chemicals for the production process. While there had not been a health and safety issue in the past, the numeracy tests identified a risk to be addressed.
The Strategy
The Investors in People Standard has been adopted by the company as a whole and implemented openly with the assistance of employees. A key step taken in 1997, inspired by working with the Investors in People Standard, was to introduce skills matrices, which identified the skills required at each stage of the production process, people who had those skills, and any skills gaps that needed to be addressed. In addition, they formalised the appraisal process, to bring it in closer alignment with the business plan.
The culture at Faraday is one of openness, reinforced by the communications elements of the
Standard. This means that assessment reports
are freely available for all staff to read and to query progress and ideas for the future.
This commitment to open communication is further demonstrated with production targets and achievements available for all to see, along with progress towards annual turnover targets. This clarity of goals contributes to the team spirit in the company and the willingness of employees to go the extra mile to ensure that they are achieved.
The Results
Ten years after their first commitment toInvestors in People, management are confident that the productivity improvements required to achieve their turnover targets will come from a concentration on skills and employees, both core elements of Investors in People.
The first Investors in People recognition cycle justified the desire for a more formal and professional approach to management. The skills matrices were valuable in defining where training needed to take place, and are now being further developed to fit with IT systems. Subsequent re-recognitions have reinforced quality management practices, but it was not until the most recent round in 2006 that formal measures were put in place to define required employee related improvements.
Business performance measures
Voluntary staff turnover:
- Year to February 2006 – 32%
- Year to February 2007 – 15%
This is a 53% reduction in this measure.
Now employ HR & Training Manager, but with savings from HR and Investors in People initiatives including reduced voluntary staff turnover and improved recruitment practices, this cost is neutral.
(savings estimated at £60,000)
Delivery time benchmarks
- current standard delivery time 15 days
- quick turnaround in 5 days
- target to reduce standard delivery time by 2 to 3 days during 2007
Productivity targets based on turnover/staff
- 2004 - £57k
- 2006 - £60k
- 2007 - aim to increase to £67k