Tea break Q&A with Simon….
1. Tell us a little about yourself. Favourite band, sport, hobbies or interests?
I’m married to my wife Claerwyn and have two kids Oscar and Tabitha. I’m a qualified sailing instructor and a rugby coach. I am currently the Youth Chairman of my rugby club Tunbridge Wells RFC. In lockdown I decided to knock my house down and rebuild it myself from the ground up – let’s hope the foundations are stable!!
2. What inspired you to join Geobear, and what excites you most about being a part of this team?
The opportunity for the business to be a positive disruptor to the industry. The foundations (pardon the pun) are in place, there are some fantastic clever and committed people and if we can get everyone working together the company will fly!! It’s a bit like the engine of a car – All the mechanics are in place, and the processes work – we just need to make sure the right lubricating oil is in place to make everything run smoother, quicker and with more long-term performance!
3. What are your top priorities for enhancing our company culture and fostering a positive work environment?
Our People – Without our people we don’t have a business. Everyone has some value to add, and I see it as the key part of my to help people find it and for us as a business to maximise it. I intend to do that by using 4 key principles 1. Listen – to everyone, and hear their views, ideas, concerns and needs. 2. Promote talking, not whispering – If you want to know something, ask – I’m pretty sure we don;t have any qualified mind readers in the business!!!! 3. Ownership of the challenge – I hate the email culture that just hands the responsibility to someone else. “Well, I sent them an email” is one of the best ways to wind me up! 4 Respect the unexpected – There is always more than one way of doing things, be open to learning from others’ experiences, and respect what they have to say.
4. How do you plan to promote professional growth and development among the employees to ensure everyone feels supported in their career aspirations?
I am a huge believer in continuous development, whether that be in work or your personal life – be curious and seek to understand new concepts. I would like to start to introduce a programme of mentoring across the company and remind people that anything is possible – just come and ask me – if we can support your development needs we will.
5. Are there any specific initiatives or programs you envision implementing to strengthen teamwork and collaboration within the organisation?
Over the course of the next 3-year plan we will be looking very closely at our customer journey – how we can integrate and collaborate across all that we do to ensure a seamless customer journey and a first-class customer experience. An integrated customer journey will drive integration and collaboration across our teams
6. How will you ensure transparent communication and an open-door policy to make employees feel heard and valued?
Aside from driving integration through the customer journey, and promoting a culture of respecting people’s views. It’s about being authentic – we all have bad days, and we all have other distractions. I try to be open and honest about myself and encourage everyone else to do the same.
7. Could you share your vision for the company’s growth and direction over the next five years?
All will be revealed in the next few months with the new 3 year plan – but the headlines would be a company that has achieved positive disruption of the industry, with positively curious and happy people, delivering excellent quality, that, whilst staying humble, is always striving to be better
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