The boss of a Bristol company has taken his staff on a free ski trip to thank them for their hard work during the last few months.
Alan Furley, director of recruitment firm ISL on Baldwin Street, spent 拢12,000 on the weekend break to Chamonix in the French Alps.
He said he came up with the idea last summer while reviewing the company鈥檚 financials for the first half of the year.
He put in place a four-month company wide target, promising a holiday for all the firm鈥檚 employees if it was hit.
Mr Furley said: 鈥淭argets have historically focused on the individual. [But since the pandemic] we now feel much more like one tribe.
鈥淥ne customer might get four people working with them, and we are working much more collaboratively. It felt really appropriate to offer a team target.鈥
Of his 17 staff, 14 decided to go on the weekend break and, according to Mr Furley, they 鈥渁bsolutely loved it鈥.
鈥淚 think there is something special about bringing the team together," he said.
鈥淲e work with a lot of start-ups who don鈥檛 need to be in an office, but bringing people together in one place is important. Those in-person connections are required to build the best teams.鈥
Mr Furley is now planning a trip to Ibiza in June if his team meets its targets again.
鈥淚 gave them the option of Berlin or Ibiza and the decision was unanimous,鈥 said Mr Furley, who believes offering perks such as these is a great way for businesses to retain staff.
鈥淲e are in the business of recruitment, and it feels unnatural to allocate a budget for retention," he said.
鈥淭he last few days since we have been back, I can sense the warmth [the trip] has generated and it has really helped.鈥
Last year, ISL moved to a four-and-a-half-day week, offering employees Friday afternoons off. According to Mr Furley, this has also been 鈥渧ery good鈥 for staff morale.
Next month the company is planning to announce a rebrand, and is set to launch a new website, and run more events. It will also continue to invest in staff wellbeing, Mr Furley said.
He added: 鈥淭he memories, the stories, attracting the next hire in, or whether it鈥檚 having the stories to reflect back on, I don鈥檛 doubt taking my staff on holiday has been a worthwhile investment.鈥
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