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High Performing HomeServe: Great Career Advice From Their Top Rated CEO, Martin Bennett
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 21 Jun 2017
Glassdoor caught up with HomeServe’s Martin Bennett to discuss what it means to be a Highest Rated CEO in the UK (and one of only two British CEOs to be recognised three years in a row). We asked him how to drive culture and purpose with a workforce of thousands, how he manages his schedule, and what putting his employees first taught him about being the best possible leader.
Glassdoor: What was your first job?
Martin Bennett: My very first job was in a food factory, I was a packer on the end of a production line. I learned a lot about real life - particularly from the largely female population on the line with me and also from the rest of the guys who enjoyed frequenting the local bookmakers at lunchtime!
My first real job was with Arthur Andersen the accounting firm - working at the HQ in Chicago
Glassdoor: What is your typical morning routine?
Martin Bennett: 6am alarm - breakfast with the kids - leave for work about 7am - in office around 7.45. Clear through emails and prepare for the day's meetings - before the day starts.
Meetings with business owners to understand performance and the key opportunities to action.
Glassdoor: What does “leadership” mean to you?
Martin Bennett: Going first. Setting the tone and tempo by which the business needs to operate. My job is to ensure that the whole business understands the strategic direction, and recruit/retain and motivate the best team.
Glassdoor: What has been your most rewarding moment as CEO? And your most challenging?
Martin Bennett: Making the choice to put our people first and seeing that decision transform the culture of our business.
The most challenging part of the job has been driving the engagement agenda - it is exhausting.
Glassdoor: What do you do to foster employee trust and engagement?
Martin Bennett: I am a firm believer that investing in regular communication with your employees can really pay dividends in terms of engagement, empowerment, trust and advocacy.
We build our brand from the inside out, and know our people are our strongest asset. If you take the time to create a culture that is open and transparent, with a clear strategy that your people feel they understand and know how they can contribute to where we are heading as a business, you create a really special workplace with high levels of engagement.
Examples of our engagement activity ranges from annual cascades to every employee, Yammer conversations where over 270,000 messages have been posted since launch, engagement surveys and a live broadcast every two weeks, “the Big Red Sofa”, all of which give us the opportunity to update and engage with our people.
Glassdoor: Your employees love working here as we see the strong rating on Glassdoor - How do you make this a great place to work day in and day out?
Martin Bennett: We work tirelessly to put our people first as we know if we do this, they will take care of our customers and the rest will take care of itself.
This means creating a culture where people genuinely enjoy coming to work every day because they feel engaged and feel what they do really makes a difference in our customers’ lives.
Work is such a big part of our lives so, how we feel when we are at work and what we feel about work when we are at home really matters. Our daily working life should have a real purpose and be enjoyable, which means fun should be a seamless part of it.
But it is really our people who make HomeServe such a great place to work. They have really embraced our culture and hold each other accountable to our values, and have made HomeServe a really special and unique place to be.
Best of all, it is a place where every single person in our company is proud to be a part of.
Glassdoor: Good leadership is not just one person - How do you work with your leaders and management teams to make sure employees have great leadership here?
Martin Bennett: There’s no doubt that what makes HomeServe so special is our people.
What we do is encourage all of our leaders to empower their teams – whether it be to do the right thing for a customer through our CustomerFirst initiative, to make suggestions to improve our business, or even converse openly with an Exec Board member on Yammer. This in turn creates a unique culture, where leadership becomes personal and we all feel part of it.
In keeping with our open and transparent culture, we do not have offices in HomeServe and all leaders are approachable to all people. It’s really an essential part of who we are as a business.
We also invest in the development of our leaders - I don't believe it is an accident that people become great leaders, you learn from experience but also by training and seeing what good looks like.
Glassdoor: Any advice for leaders of other companies?
Martin Bennett: Be brave and tell your people that they come first. Once you tell them, you have to do it for real.
Glassdoor: Why do you think you get such high approval from your own employees?
Martin Bennett: I really am humbled by this and see it as recognition for all of the HomeServe family who work very hard to make our culture so special, and it is them who keep the momentum that we’ve built going at full pace.
Glassdoor: It’s clear you inspire many of your own employees - who inspires you?
Martin Bennett: I get inspired by people who have made things happen or disrupted the norm. Whilst Uber are often criticised, they took a basic industry and transformed it by giving the customer what they really wanted. I am so impressed by Tim Cook at Apple - how do you take on the mantle from Steve Jobs with such success and personal impact. Eddie Jones (England Rugby coach) has an incredible ability to motivate, I want to find out how he gets 110% out of his players.
Glassdoor: What type of people do you like to hire and why?
Martin Bennett: Regardless of your role in the company, the type of people we seek to join us are those who not only have the skills and experience for a specific job but also those who can drive our culture forward and innovate at the same time.
A happy, engaged workforce who are vocal about their workplace will naturally help attract talent – we actively encourage employee reviews on Glassdoor for example.
As a business, we are focused on providing effortless service for our customers and helping to make their lives easier so we seek people who share our values, and we are open to hearing from people from diverse backgrounds and experiences who will all add to the special culture we have here.
Glassdoor: If you weren’t a CEO, what would you be (in terms of a job or career)?
Martin Bennett: HR director - they have the opportunity to make the biggest difference in any business.
Does Martin sound like someone you’d like to work for? Apply for jobs at HomeServe.
Glassdoor Team
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Tags:Top CEOs
