I’ve just read an article that made me want to weep.
Firstly, to weep tears of joy for the people fortunate to work for James Timpson…and secondly for the people not fortunate enough to work for an organisation that goes above and beyond to support their staff.
If you have a Sunday Times subscription you can read the article here.
James Timpson is the CEO of The Timpson Group, a family-owned company that was founded in 1865 by William Timpson and his brother-in-law Walter Joyce. You can find more about the family and their initiatives here.
What triggered my reaction to weep?
Every month James Timpson gets a confidential report titled Colleagues of Concern…already the title gives you an insight to the way this guy thinks.
The report covers 3 areas…mental health, physical health and money problems. They reach out to every person highlighted in the report offering support. When they are taken up on their offer James has what he calls 3 secret weapons…Elaine, Marion and Janet.
Elaine is a trained counsellor, Marion is their financial health first aider and Janet is their director of happiness who seems to focus on everything else like helping a colleague organise a funeral for their mum, getting a home for an ex-offender and more.
In the Sunday Times article, he goes into some detail about the support they provided which goes way beyond anything I’ve come across in the corporate sector.
He also shares how taking care of his people ensures that they are happy, are motivated to do a good job and that they continue to grow despite retail having had some a tough time in recent years.
What can we take from this approach?
- Taking care of your people should be your top priority
- When people feel taken care of your business success will follow
- Look out for the people in your team that need support…this takes laser-focused sensory acuity and regular observation
- Support them to get the help they need
<br>People can’t show up as their best self when they are struggling with the challenges that life has a habit of handing us.
Turning a blind eye because you are uncomfortable to have the conversation is reneging on your responsibility as a Sales Leader, going for the easy option and leaving your salesperson stranded.
Without the support they need, your struggling salesperson will likely start to underperform and who knows where that could lead.
You don’t have to implement everything that James Timpson has done but you can do the right thing!
Until next time
