Ready, Steady, Bake!

The LDP leadership group was back in action last week – this time to lead the launch of our awesome company common room, ‘The Hub’.

The leaders were presented with the task of planning, baking and presenting a special morning tea for all the Bristol based staff of SmithCorp.

Under the tuition and guidance of award winning baker Steve Tucker (Head Baker from Bakesmiths – the local supplier of our daily breads and pastries to ‘The Hub’), Paul, Tony. Andy, Hannah, Adam, Ben and Dom were soon ‘hands deep’ in dough, flour and spices baking delicious Chelsea Buns, Pain Au Raisins, Nutella Danishes and Savoury Twists.

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It was then a case of event thinking, planning and rehearsing as the leaders prepared all aspects of the presentation to ensure an informative and memorable ‘Welcome to The Hub’ event for approximately 75 employees.

All went smoothly as each of the three groups experienced the various culinary delights, followed by a tour of the many features within the outstanding communal area.

Well done to the LDP group! The proof was not only in the pudding as upon reflection each leader then identified key leadership learnings to implement to ensure the ongoing success of their own team and business area.

The LDP guys would also like to thank all the attendees. It was a great event and we look forward to seeing everyone each day … eating, relaxing and enjoying the many spoils within our ‘Hub’.

What’s all the Hubbub?

We are delighted to announce that “The Hub” opened today, Wednesday 19th April at Clifton Heights. 

The development of this space is part of a program of continuous improvement to enhance the SmithCorp working environment. Our intention is to broaden the experience of working for SmithCorp through improving work life balance and offering the opportunity for you to develop new skills. It has been designed as a place where employees can relax, eat, play and generally enjoy non-work related activity when in Bristol.

Complimentary breakfast will be provided daily and drinks machines have been installed to provide a selection of hot and cold drinks on tap.

Outside of working hours we expect it to host a variety of evening classes, seminars, charity and social events. Importantly the space will also provide a new home for our Bushido training academy and become the place where all Bristol group interviews take place.

Well done to Tim Robey who won a competition to name the new space.  We chose “The Hub” as we felt it best captured its essence (at the centre, shared by brands, a place for meeting, relaxing, learning and self improvement). Also a big thank you to Jo Glover, Kerry Fowler, Jody Nile, the IT guys and the team at Berkeley Place for their work in getting it up and running. We expect “The Hub” will quickly become a well used, well loved part of the business.

SmithCorp Charity Ball

On Saturday 19th November SmithCorp Charitable Trust held it’s annual black tie dinner and ball at Cadbury House Hotel & Country Club. The 204 guests made up of staff, partners and selected charities enjoyed a champagne reception, 3 course dinner, DJ, live music and our headline raffle draw.

As well as being a great social occasion, the event provided the opportunity to raise further funds for our chosen charities and projects for 2017. On the night we managed to raise a staggering £62,100! 

The evening was also a chance to reflect on the important work carried out by SCCT throughout this year and most notably to share the stories and experiences of our trip to Nepal where 8 members of staff volunteered to help the relief efforts after the devastating earthquakes in 2015. The film of the trip brought to life the hardship, but also the hard work and effort that has gone in to re-building schools and classrooms so the children can receive an education.  

SCCT also announced it’s support of an additional charity, based in Redruth, Cornwall - The Dreadnought Centre.  They work with children and young people facing emotional and behavioural problems to provide them with support and help them integrate into society where they might otherwise struggle or not have the opportunity to do so due to an underprivileged background. The Centre has been established for 40 years and focuses on improving social skills, trying new things, building self esteem and putting positive adults in children’s lives. The Centre are overjoyed at our decision to support them and the help we will be able to provide.

The highlight for many was the raffle draw where some amazing prizes were won ranging from 2 tickets for a weekend at the British Grand Prix, a designer handbag or shoes to a luxury 5* Caribbean holiday for 2. At the end of the raffle we also revealed an extra prize to raffle off there and then - a Northern Lights weekend for 2! This alone raised a spectacular £6,610 of the grand total.

A huge thank you to all that attended and most importantly to everyone who generously donated by purchasing raffle tickets and providing the fantastic prizes.

We've Been Awarded Investors In People Silver Status

We are delighted to announce that SmithCorp has been awarded silver status Investors in People accreditation.

Investors in People is an internationally recognised standard for people management. It reflects the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to be a truly top performing business. As an organisation, IIP operates internationally in over 70 countries. In the UK there are now over 25,000 businesses that have received this accolade, but less than 3% have been awarded silver standard, so we are really proud of our achievement.

Investors In People’s strap line is ‘because good people make a great business’, and here at SmithCorp we passionately believe this as ultimately we are as only as good as our people. 

This award is recognition for everything we have achieved to date. It shows how the business has grown organically and continues to progress as we evolve from a start-up to a mature SME company. It demonstrates that our core values around people, passion & progress are alive and very much at the heart of our business. 

Progress does not stop here though. We will not be resting on our newly received laurels but will be striving for excellence in everything we do to ensure we deliver continued high performance.

Leadership ... In The Brecons

It was ‘put on your boots and roll up your sleeves’ last month as eleven of our senior business leaders participated in an Outdoor Leadership Course in the Brecon Beacon National Park in Wales.

John, Jay, Mike, Dee, Pete, Amy, Nick, Steve, Sam, James and Craig packed their bags and travelled to the Brecons for a 4 day Outdoor Leadership Course facilitated by Hawk Associates.

The course was held at the Glynmeddig Residential Training Centre and included learning approaches and leadership exercises most of which were held in the outdoors. The use of the outdoors was an excellent way or means to experience personal leadership and team development and it wasn’t long before we were put into situations that required immediate planning, communication, decisions and actions. The activities were great and provided very real challenges that we never believed we could do, both as individuals and as a team.

The days were long yet were packed with powerful experiences and learnings which included a variety of problem solving activities, rock climbing, a night gorge walk, river crossings, night caving, abseiling, mountain walking and trekking in a pitch black tunnel.

The leadership and business theory was incorporated into each day and all eleven of us certainly came away with many follow up memories, take-aways and actions to ensure the on-going leadership and progression of our team, brand and company.

A great course ... all to improve our people, passion and progress!

Nepal – Phulchowki School Building Project

Earlier this month eight of our staff volunteered to travel to Nepal to help with the disaster relief project following the earthquake in April of 2015. The building project was to prepare the foundations for 3 classrooms at Phulchowki Primary School.

The team was based in Kathmandu Valley, a busy town of bustling crowds with many of the locals trying to make a living among the many streets and shops. The aftermath of the earthquake was clearly visible with people’s homes, shops and temples either in a state of disrepair or precariously being supported by wooden posts desperately trying to stop them from toppling to the ground.

Phulchowki Primary School is situated in a rural and quieter village of Kathmandu Village yet was no less affected by the earthquake. The trace of mud slides and piles of bricks and debris told the same story. The children and local people however were extremely welcoming, generous and very happy to meet and see us wherever we went.

Work on site was challenging, extremely tiring but immensely satisfying. There was lots of digging, carrying heavy loads, demolishing and mixing concrete – all to set the foundations for 3 classrooms at the school.

The days were also filled with spending time and interacting with the children and visiting an orphanage to play and read with the children. We were amazed at how happy and positive the children and local people were and how they continued with their life despite their vast difficulties and devastation.

The money raised and donated to the school will enable the classrooms to be finished and have new desks and chairs and a set of brand new uniforms for all the children. Most importantly the school is now being rebuilt to withstand the effects of an earthquake, making it a much safer environment for the children and teachers.

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The team of Chris, Kerry, Eli, Dan, Emma, Nathan, Steph and Will made a significant contribution to the people of Kathmandu Village, yet more-so arrived home with memorable experiences to ponder and share. As Team Leader Chris said, ‘It was an amazing trip, the children and people were so positive and generous. How they live and get on with life was so inspiring. We don’t know how lucky and fortunate we really are’.

The team is currently preparing a video of their trip and experiences which will be presented at our annual Charity Ball in November.

Namaste!

People, Passion, Progress

We have captured the essence of our business and summed up what we do with one simple promise; People, Passion, Progress.

On our new website we have provided an insight as to what it is really like to work here – our people, our values and our culture, as well as articulate our vision and where the business is heading in the future.

We have developed our own unique creative style that is professional and confident but also friendly and hard working just like us! Our new visual identity includes infographics, new logos, as well as a suite of icons to help with communication.

Throughout the site we have used photos of our people to make it as real and authentic as possible. The website is fully responsive and has easy CV upload functionality so if you like what you see and want to join our winning team, please do get in touch.