With a mission ‘to be the very best we can be’, people development is at the heart of Pinstone. But, when all’s said and done, what does this really mean?
Pinstone is a family owned and run business. Our MD, Catherine, started out as a one-man band, recruiting as the agency’s client portfolio grew. Sixteen productive and profitable years later – the results of her and husband, Robin’s, efforts are apparent. We now have a growing team of 25 working with a similar number of clients across the agri-food supply chain.
Catherine has a relentless drive for ‘perfection’ in its most positive sense. This is the golden thread that runs through every aspect of the business. It is also why Pinstone’s personal development programme has been so integral to our continued success.
Learning and development
It’s only natural to reflect on what didn’t work, how the brief might have been more refined, that the weather let it all down, the list goes on … but that doesn’t always lead to developing our people and while lessons can be learnt, it’s more beneficial to think how to put the measures in place to ensure we circumnavigate (as far as possible) the next potential issue.
SMART objectives are set at every appraisal and reviewed frequently at line manager meetings.
These objectives are often fulfilled through our robust training programme which incorporates both internal and external sources.
- Have a vision – where do you want to be
- Understand your strengths and challenges
- Set goals to enhance your strengths and address your challenges
- Make the goals realistic and set achievable timeframes – re-visit them regularly
- Keep a journal to document progress – celebrate the successes
- If there are challenges, address them with support, unpick them – identify where the challenge lies
- Communicate with your peers / line manager
Pinstone invests over 150 agency days per year to personal development (that’s over 1,000 hours), and then there’s training on top of that which amounts to over 50 agency days. It’s a huge investment of time and money – but the return on investment and team reward is worth every minute and pound.
