Our People

We have a three stage recruitment process that involves

• ½ day before joining to soak up the culture
• Recruit for "attitude" - don"t look at CV
• Welcome card, balloon, invitation to lunch with MD
• 60 second interview and formal recognition to the whole company
• Management system and manual as a company reference
• Induction training
• Out of work social gatherings
• £51,366 on training last year alone

Empowerment is not something you can give people, it is something they must feel and have the confidence to do. This is more than a management statement - it has to be part of the chemistry within the business.

At Direct Response we engage and create an empowered culture from day one.

	Few leadership teams draw and seek to practice the inverted pyramid - DRL is a good example of how it can be done. At heart the leadership team believe in the people and it shows.
	MT Unisys Service Excellence Awards 2005. Benchmarking / Best Practice Report
	Access to provide ideas to management on how the business could improve Access to express yourself box if there is anything that they are happy with and wish to recognise people for good work, or express any grievances they have. Regular one - ones Team meetings Company and individual incentives Awards for people voted by the people - democratic vote by members of the staff who wish to recognise people who have gone the extra mile Lead from the front and live by our company values Nutteries, we have social and charitable nutteries which are groups set up and run by staff that are given budgets and freedom to do what they feel represents the company values and achieves the nutteries objectives. Leadership, at Direct Response none of the founders would ask any member of staff to do something we have not done ourselves. The leadership styles is neither hands on nor hands off but involved. Communication is paramount, all of the staff are updated on board decisions and involved in the formation of business ideas and innovations Monthly 1-2-1 coaching from an external specialist who helps staff develop their personal behaviours and capabilities to achieve a strong work / personal life blend

It was decided by our staff that we wanted to focus our efforts on a UK based charity that helped children that were less fortunate than us, whilst also assisting other worthy causes.

Phoenix Futures is the leading UK network of drug and alcohol treatment specialists, providing a highly effective range of services in communities, prisons and residential centres that each year help thousands of people transform their lives. We also work with Parkinsons Disease Society and Asthma UK.

This year we are well on target to raise over £10,000 for charity as well as donating 15 days of company time to spend time in the field for Phoenix Futures for our “make a difference day”. 

Phoenix Futures	http://www.phoenix-futures.org.uk
Parkinsons disease Society	http://www.parkinsons.org.uk
Asthma UK	www.asthma.org.uk
Cerebral Palsy Care	www.cerebralpalsycare.co.uk
Breast Cancer Care	www.breastcancercare.org.uk
Red Nose Day	www.rednoseday.com/
Anthony Robbins Foundation	http://www.anthonyrobbinsfoundation.org/
Action for the Blind	http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/

• Three Peaks Challenge www.threepeakschallenge.org.uk

FUN

“If you love the job you do, you never work a day in your life” Confucius

At Direct Response we love what we do! We strongly believe that by enjoying what we do and by being empowered to do it we can deliver great service to our customers.

AGILITY

“Insanity is doing the same thing every time and expecting a different result” Albert Einstein

Our business, like our customers’ needs to evolve to stay ahead of the competition which is why we are so committed to being one step ahead of the market place and offer innovative approaches to new and existing business issues.

At Direct Response we are also aware that doing ordinary things extraordinarily well produces extraordinary results.

To deliver these kinds of results an organisation has to be agile. We use a simple quality model called PDCA (Plan Do Check and Act) to assist us in driving service and change and improvement for our customers and for ourselves.

BEING THE BEST

“Winning is not a moment, it is a way of life” Daley Thompson

We believe that the key component in being the best is having the right people and the right team. Also key is also how an organisation defines its goals, builds systems and achieves them and most importantly the people and organisation must have and enjoy a strong cultural principle of being the best. There are a number of key areas that define how we measure being the best. These are:

• Quality
• People
• Service
• Technology
• Growth

At Direct Response we have underpinned this with one measurable system called “Net Promoter”. This is an international standard and recognised benchmarking tool to establish how many customers recommend us and why, how many of our customers are passive and how many customers feel we could do something differently.

This tool is used to establish the root cause of any change and improvement needed and can be used both externally with our customers or partners or in slightly modified form can be used internally with our staff.

RESPONSIBILITY

“Responsibility does not lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually” HH the Dalai Lama

At Direct Response we go to great lengths to empower one another, support one another, and be proud of responsibility to one another, our customers, and the wider community.

This approach is so simple and yet we are passionate about it and it produces the greatest satisfaction and delivery of outstanding service.

Corporate Social Responsibility
Investor In People
Corporate Responsibility

“Living with integrity means:

• Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships.
• Asking for what you want and need from others.
• Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension.
• Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values.
• Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe” Barbara De Angelis

If you know you are working with or for a company with complete integrity you know exactly what you are getting and exactly where you stand as a customer or individual.

This in turn brings trust, peace of mind and a strong foundation on which to build a long term partner relationship.

COMMITMENT

“Nothing great is ever achieved without being born from commitment. Once you are committed doors open, opportunities occur and amazing feats happen” Pete Goss

Delivering service excellence and true quality consistently is not something that is easy to achieve. To do this, we work as a team, deliver on our commitments to one another and you the customer.

At Direct Response we believe working to a commitment and a deadline is as important as responding rapidly to an emergency.

If we make a promise to you, you can be assured we will do everything possible to make sure that promise is fulfilled and our dedication and commitment to you will become apparent from the day the relationship begins all the way through its life.

 Charitable Work

The following is a list of good practice characteristics or features found during the course of the site visits. These are recognised as being of good practice or exceeding the requirements of the Investors in People Standard: -

• The company lives by its values and there is a strong culture of "team" and "family".
• Staff feel hugely valued and motivated both on a personal and corporate level.
• Continuous improvement is driven by the Directors and there were many examples of plans and initiatives to achieve better performance, results and customer satisfaction.
• The focus on customers is evident throughout the company and provides a common thread across teams and individual members of staff.
• Good practice is an embedded feature of this company and there is great depth in the way new practice is considered and developed.
• Many staff said that this was the best company they had ever worked for and there was great loyalty to the Directors and the company.
• There is a strong development ethos within this company that covers skills, knowledge and attitude. The company addresses personal development with the same passion as skills development.
• The company has managed to create a strong performance focus at the same time as a strong individual focus. This mixture of "hard" and "soft" is seen as fair, honest and open by staff members.
• There is excellent clarity around company direction and future plans and strong communication, KPIs and project plans underpin this.
• This company shows considerable strength in spotting and developing the potential of employees for the benefit of the company and the individual.