Expanding local company nominates Coach of the Year runner up in regional business awards

23rd June 2011

Derby-based Office Care Limited, a family-run company providing office and commercial cleaning services to businesses in Derbyshire and beyond, has been given a helping hand to grow by an award winning coach Anne Kennedy as part of a regional business support programme called Coaching for High Growth. 

The company, which currently employs 270 from its Pride Park headquarters, has over the last 12 months taken part in the Coaching for High Growth scheme, which aims to help ambitious businesses in the East Midlands to expand their bottom line through a tailored package of intensive coaching. The initiative is majority funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by Melton-Mowbray-based innovation and support organisation Pera.

Between 2005 and 2009 the coaching programme has helped more than 240 companies to achieve and sustain growth, creating or safeguarding more than 1000 jobs across the region and has boosted the East Midlands economy by more than £66m (Gross Value Added).

Office Care was so impressed by the support they have received by Pera’s coach Anne Kennedy to help them realise their growth prospects that they nominated her for the Coach of the Year award in a competition run as part of the scheme. The entry beat off stiff competition from a total of 27 others, with Anne recognised as the runner up in the award category, proving she made one of the greatest contributions to a participating company and its action plan during its year on the programme.

Anne received her Coach of the Year award from Sumeet Kanwar, emda’s business support team manager, Pera’s regional programmes manager Martin Coats and Office Care’s MD David Booth and business development director Martin Booth, in front of staff at the company’s office.

Coaching for High Growth’s Pera’s Coach, Anne Kennedy said: “It is a huge professional achievement to be named Coaching for High Growth awards’ Runner Up Coach of the Year. I would like to thank the team at Office Care for nominating me and for all their hard work implementing the action plans we agreed. They really are a company going places and have already used the coaching support to help them set achievable targets, communicate better with their staff and define specific roles for the directors within the business to help take it forward.”

David Booth, MD of Office Care said: “I would like to congratulate Anne on her award and thank her for all her help. I would never have believed that one person could have made such an unbelievable difference to our company over the last 12 months – she has been truly amazing. Her specialist knowledge has already gone a long way in helping us develop a clear strategy in order to increase our sales from existing and new contracts and therefore to help our business expand. We’re now on track to realise our ambition of increasing our turnover by over £200,000 during 2011-12 and we aim to expand our business by 20 percent year on year, which will mean taking on significant numbers of new staff locally.”

Sumeet Kanwar, emda’s business support team manager added: “Office Care is blossoming with the help of our business support programme. It is clearly an innovative company which shows huge potential for growth – which can only be good news for the local and East Midlands economy and job market. I’m sure Office Care along with the other companies taking part this year will continue to do their bit to contribute to the £66m which has already been added to the regional economy through Coaching for High Growth to date.”

Richard Grice, MD of the training and consulting division at Pera said: “Pera has managed the Coaching for High Growth programme for the last six years, and it continues to go from strength to strength as can be seen by the success of Anne and Office Care in our awards, along with that of the other participants. It proves that strong businesses can buck the trend and continue to flourish and grow, despite the challenges of the current economic climate. The concept is a simple one – to match Pera’s specialised growth coaches to participating companies based on their area of expertise and learning style. All this adds up to highly effective, targeted training for each of the 50 organisations participating in the 2010-11 programme.”

For further information, award presentation photography or to request interviews please contact Jo Travis at Fizz PR on m: 07979 800 897

or by email: jo@fizzpr.co.uk

Coaching for High Growth awards Pera Coach of the Year runner up Anne Kennedy receiving her award from nominating company Office Care. Pictured left to right: Office Care’s MD David Booth, emda’s business support team manager Sumeet Kanwar, Pera’s MD of the training and consulting division Richard Grice with coach Anne Kennedy.

Notes to editors

About Coaching for High Growth

Coaching for High Growth is an intensive package of support to help ambitious and forward thinking businesses to unlock and sustain their high growth potential and to improve their bottom line. Since 2005 it has helped over 240 companies to achieve and sustain growth. Businesses have created or safeguarded over 1000 jobs and produced in excess of £66 million of GVA (gross value added i.e. net profit and salary costs and depreciation) between them.

Successful participants in previous emda high growth support programmes have ranged from companies employing between five and 250 employees, and have been from sectors as diverse as engineering, manufacturing, food and drink, electronics and IT, professional services, medical services, retail, packaging, logistics and children’s nurseries.

For more detail about Coaching for High Growth log on to: www.emda.org.uk/coaching

The Coaching for High Growth Awards 2010-11 included the following categories:

Business of the Year

Awarded to the business that has made most progress during its year on the programme. Before joining the programme Pera conducts a detailed diagnostic of the growth-related challenges facing each participating company which results in a series of actions by Pera’s allocated coach and participating company to tackle them. This award goes to the business that has made the best progress in this.

Winner – Hardstaff Group in Kingston-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire

Runner up – Synergy Logistics in Loughborough, Leicestershire

The One to Watch

Awarded to the business which has greatest growth potential for the future – it may be that they have not made as much progress during the year, but it’s felt they will do great things in the future.

Winner – Synergy Logistics in Loughborough, Leicestershire

Runner up – Tandem Solutions in Bourne, Lincolnshire

Pera Coach of the Year

Awarded to the Pera coach who has made the greatest contribution to the company and its action plans during the year.

Winner – Nick Kitchin, nominated by Pyrotect in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire

Runner up – Anne Kennedy, nominated by Office Care in Derby

About Pera

Pera is one of Europe’s most successful innovation and business support organisations, trading in eight European countries with a global network of specialists.

A valued partner to clients across all sectors, we inspire and enable organisations to grow and to transform their products, people and processes beyond their competitors’ reach through:

Technology – generating ideas for new products and services, bringing together technology and investment partners for successful commercialisation and implementing innovation as a robust business tool.

Consulting – securing immediate improvements in product strategy, business intelligence, operational efficiency, workforce restructuring, programme management and procurement.

Training – strengthening quality systems, business improvement techniques and productivity and innovation and leadership skills, working in partnership with government agencies to share the costs.

For more detail log on to: www.pera.com

About emda

 East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.

Independent evaluation shows that emda has:

• Had a significant impact on the region’s economy
• Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs
• Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends
• Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year
• A wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.

The Coalition Government announced in June 2010 that RDAs will cease to exist beyond March 2012 and that economic development and regeneration will be led by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), where locally-elected leaders will work with businesses. 

emda is working closely with Government and partners in the region to manage the transition of its responsibilities and ensure that business has a voice in new arrangements as they develop. During this transition period, our main task remains to support economic recovery and future growth in the East Midlands.

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk

About Office Care

Office Care was founded in 1988, employs approx 270 people in the East Midlands and provides a comprehensive, commercial cleaning service to companies with just one office, to car showrooms and 34,000 seater football stadiums. The company boasts a 92 percent client retention rate, thanks to its commitment to providing the highest levels of service and working in partnership style arrangement with its clients to provide a flexible service that meets their own specific requirements.

For more information contact them free on tel: 01332 332 331 or visit: www.officecare.uk.com

About Kennedy-Little Associates Ltd

Kennedy-Little Associates Ltd was established in 1999 to support the development and growth of organisations and their people. The company focus on organisational development, facilitation of learning and the growth of leaders, through coaching and mentoring.

Kennedy-Little Associates Ltd work with SME’s and public sector organisations. Delivering services in both the Midlands and the Middle East.

Anne is one of their insightful trainers and executive coach, who uses her intuitiveness to deliver effective learning which is enjoyable, interactive, and a satisfying experience. Anne has over 20 years of facilitating leadership and business development, which is memorable, delivers impact and the desired results for the organisation.

For more details log on to: www.kennedy-little.co.uk