Every worker should be aware of their own responsibility in driving CI and should see it as “business as usual”, Laister told delegates at the Cranfield Management Best Factory Awards Conference in Solihull.
In 2007 SMT made their whole staff technically redundant and re-hired them under new terms to incorporate new working practices such as flexi-time. It was then, according to Laister, that they took the opportunity to make official all employees’ responsibility for CI.
“Since then it's part of the terms and conditions of employment, which are spelled out as early as the recruitment process,” he said. “We don't think it's unreasonable to expect everyone to do this. We set those expectations and if people don't like it, they can leave.”
But far from triggering an exodus, this new openness about what is expected of staff has led to a situation where staff turnover is lower than ever, to the point where it may even become a problem in the future, according to Laister.
“Nobody wants to leave,” he said. “We've got good terms and conditions and it's a good working environment. Added to that no one’s retiring because of the changes to regulation, so we're heading to the point where it may become a bit of an issue in the future.”
