Leading Welsh insurance broker D S Howell Insurance Brokers Limited is one of many companies realising the benefits of creating an employee focussed corporate culture, actively promoting staff development as an integral part of the business strategy.

Founded in 1971 by David Stanley Howell the company has grown into a multi million pound organisation. In 2002, two long-standing employees with high ambitions for the company, Keith Buckley and Peter Hicks, completed a management buyout leading to the creation of a young, dynamic team.

This new and exciting phase highlighted the importance of the workforce to the company's future success. To maintain high employee retention and motivation levels management realised that a focussed approach to staff development was crucial.

Like many companies, D S Howell did not have the expertise in-house to provide professional development and training for their employees and therefore called upon the services of Qualtech, one of South Wales' leading specialist training and consultancy providers.

Qualtech, which has been operating since 1988, has gained many prestigious recognitions including Investors in People and BS EN ISO 9001:2000 whilst serving a diverse client base from SMEs to multinationals across both the public and private sectors. The company covers a broad range of training sectors including management development workshops, IT training, NVQ programmes and Modern Apprenticeships as well as customised training courses for companies with specialist requirements. Many courses are funded through government programmes.

Qualtech provided training for all levels of the DS Howell corporate hierarchy, from senior management to junior members of staff. Director Peter Hicks achieved an NVQ Level 5 degree in Operational Management, whilst other members of the management team participated in a series of workshops focussing on improving strategic business decision making. Furthermore, two junior members of staff received in depth telesales training, which resulted in the company reporting record levels of new business acquisition in 2005.

The training provided by Qualtech also enhanced the company's internal and external communication processes leading to a superior service for clients and a greater team-working environment for employees.

Qualtech's Marketing Manager Emily Allison praised DS Howell's approach:

“Targeted training programmes benefit the business bottom line in many ways - if staff feel valued and have clear career development opportunities they will not only stay with their employer, but stay motivated and loyal”

D S Howell now has in place a solid business structure with a strong emphasis on employees. The staff career development plans put in place following Qualtech's training have provided the company with improved performance levels through a highly motivated and knowledgeable workforce -a significant competitive advantage. Profitability has increased and employees are key to driving the company's strategy forward.

D S Howell now employee a workforce of twenty, operating from two locations: Tonyrefail and Swansea. Thanks to their new approach they are now achieving a turnover in excess of £7m. D S Howell can be contacted on 0800 834 144 or by visiting www.dshowell.co.uk For more information on Qualtech services please call 01443 841405.