Our approach
Our aim is to attract and retain talented people, and inspire them to work effectively for our clients. To achieve our aim, we seek to create a stimulating and supportive work environment that celebrates diversity, rewards good performance, encourages collaboration and develops skills.
Training and development
We provide employees with training and development opportunities to help them build their careers. We run a programme of over 20 internal training courses that are open to all, covering a wide range of areas such as facilitation and coaching. In 2008, over 30% of staff took part in these internal training courses. They are run by Directors from across the Chime Group and allow us to share our knowledge and expertise internally. In addition, our intranet, ChimeNet, offers a series of online tutorials on a range of IT subjects.
In 2008 we particularly focused on training to help grow our business. We invested in people from all levels of the business by offering them the opportunity to participate in the JAWS training programme. The programme starts with a three day residential course focused on sales, after which the course progresses through to presenting, proposal writing and negotiating. There is also a leadership and management performance course for managers and a psychological selling course for those wanting to delve deeper into the process.
On our JAWS training programme, Kevin Murray, Chairman of Bell Pottinger, said: “We have continued investing in the development of our leadership, consultative selling and client care skills. We believe these are essential to giving our clients a great service. By introducing these consistently across our operating companies, we are better able to provide a seamless service to clients who need us to give them teams from across our various businesses. The benefit to clients is that we are then able to deliver results-driven solutions which answer their business needs. Our people benefit by acquiring life-long skills which will equip them for their careers.”
Also in 2008 we introduced the Chime 100 Club to expand training and development opportunities to 100 key staff from across the Group. The 100 Club hosts 10 talks a year by our experts and those in our industry in order to knowledge share and grow insight and understanding. Members are encouraged to invite clients and then pass on their learning to colleagues so reaching across the whole Group. Guest speakers to date have included Lord Bell; David Hill; Alex Woolfall; Simon Clift, Chief Marketing Officer at Unliever and James Harding, Editor of The Times.
Chime has been running a successful graduate training programme for over ten years. We accept up to 10 graduates a year on the programme. These places are hotly contested, receiving around 400 applications each year. Of the 33 graduates who have been taken on by Bell Pottinger Group in the last five years, 14 are still within the business.
Read about one of our successful graduate trainees
The graduate training scheme has traditionally been run independently by different parts of the Group. This year we have developed proposals to launch a new combined Chime Communications scheme for 2010/11. The objective of the new scheme will be to attract the “best of the best”, and for the Chime scheme to be regarded as the most desirable within the Marcoms sector. The programme will last for 18 months and each graduate will undertake three six-month placements.
To get the best out of our people it is important that successes are acknowledged. In 2005 we launched the Chime Cymbal Awards, and award ceremonies have since been held each January. The Awards cover ten categories, including Constant Excellence, Bright Young Things and Never Say Never.
The Awards help us to share case histories and ideas that educate, inform and inspire, and to profile thinking and creativity that we can be proud of, can talk about, and that will help us to strive for bigger and better ideas.
One of the newest Cymbal Awards to be introduced is for ‘Climate Change Leader’. The most recent winner was a group of employees at our Curzon Street office. They engaged with companies in the local area to set up green initiatives that would benefit the environment, the customer and boost business. A nearby salad bar offered a free salad item if customers did not take a bag, while a coffee shop offered a free coffee if the office returned accumulated cups each day. A ‘Green Map’ highlighting all the local green initiatives was created and publicised around the office, all with great success.
- 52 people went on the initial round of JAWS Training
- 300 employees went on internal training courses
- 210 young people on internships or work experience placements
- 10 graduates taken on the graduate training scheme
- 1 in 10 attended the monthly Chime 100 Club events
| Employees |
Promote employee development and champion excellence Improve risk assessment process for employees on business trips |
| Graduates and interns |
Launch a new and improved graduate training scheme Develop a more focused programme of internships and work experience |
