|  Be Your Employees’ Biggest Fan: Keeping Culture Alive at Thomas Franks, with Holly Norrington
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Be Your Employees’ Biggest Fan: Keeping Culture Alive at Thomas Franks, with Holly Norrington

How do you keep a family business culture alive as you grow past 3,500 people?

Lisa LLoyd is joined by Holly Norrington, Group People and Training Director at Thomas Franks, after hearing her speak at the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce People, Productivity and Purpose Forum.

Thomas Franks began with founders Frank and Emma setting out their values at the kitchen table. Holly explains why culture has to be treated as a living thing that grows and changes with the business, and why it is built from small everyday moments. Those moments include a cup of tea made for you at head office, leaders shaking everyone’s hand when they visit a location, and talking about partnerships and locations, never contracts and sites.

Lisa and Holly also discuss:

  • Why you will never build a relationship through email alone
  • One-to-one check-ins three times a year, and the saucepan that shows why they matter
  • The question every leader is asked: how will you continue to build the culture within your team?
  • A chef’s idea for mental health posters, now on the back of every toilet door in the business
  • The Being Me groups, and the decision to make every course neurodiverse friendly
  • “Yes and How”, a culture of possibility, and career paths that work like a spider web
  • Looking for the intention behind behaviour, and having honest, respectful conversations when someone is out of step

Holly’s key takeaway is to keep it simple. Pick three things, whether that’s language, a habit or the way you run a meeting. Talk about them openly and be consistent. And be your employees’ biggest fan.

More about Holly

Holly Norrington is Group People and Training Director at Thomas Franks, where she has worked for more than 13 years. She leads the HR section of the monthly managers’ induction, and she uses it to make every new manager an ambassador for the culture.

Resources & References

  • What being an Employer of Choice Really Means in Today’s World – Robin Rogers, Oxfordshire County Council
  • Young Workers in a Hybrid World: What Leaders Keep Missing – Sylwia Ciuk & Kay Galpin

Contact details for Lisa

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