BUSINESS PROFILE
ALTHOUGH WE ’ RE THE OLDEST INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM , WE CONSIDER OURSELVES TO BE A CHALLENGER BRAND , AIMING TO TAKE ON THE BIG PLAYERS , THROUGH OUR PEOPLE-FIRST APPROACH .
Which market do you provide services for ?
Zen is primarily focused at providing services for residential customers and the private sector on the business side .
However , now more than ever , connectivity is such a huge part of our lives that it resonates across all sectors and in every part of our lives . In particular though , we ’ ve seen increased appetite from retail and construction companies , as well as health and social care in recent years .
How do you equip your staff with skills and knowledge ?
At Zen we have a massive focus on development for our staff , which includes an active and dedicated People Development team . We regularly conduct inductions providing training that can help staff enhance their skills on all aspects , such as customer service .
We also actively encourage our people to sign up to the Living Leader programme to help them achieve their leadership potential . Just over a third ( 35 %) of our people have been through the programme , with 83 % of these in managerial positions . We have opened it up to our entire workforce with the intention that everyone in the business will have the opportunity to experience it .
How do you work with other executives within the C-suite to make sure your voice is heard ?
As Founder and Chairman , it ’ s my role to govern our executive board , providing constructive criticism and insight based on my 25 plus years in the company .
However , as Chairman , I have to remember to step back and let them get on with running the business . It ’ s this balance between governance and a more hands off approach that ’ s ultimately the trickiest part of my role .
How do you ensure different teams in your organisation work together ?
It ’ s all about creating the right culture within a company . Our ethos of happy staff , happy customers , happy suppliers is embedded in everything we do . This means that everyone buys into the idea of teamwork .
It ’ s important not to have a blame culture too and encourage staff to share knowledge and mistakes openly and learn from them . Ultimately everyone is learning and it ’ s about showing our people that we ’ re on this journey together and no one is the finished article .
To make all of this possible though , you need strong leadership . It asks more of our leaders and pushes them to focus on people as individuals , working with them to get the best out of them , for the benefit of wider teams and the business .
Businesses also need to ensure that everyone feels included and represented within the company . This is why we ’ ve set up a number of diversity support groups , there ’ s Pride , Women in Tech , BAME , Faith and Pause .
By encouraging and promoting diversity throughout , it helps to develop bonds between people in different teams that ultimately bring them closer together . x
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