Before I started Ronin in 2007 I was fortunate enough to work for two very different companies who shared a spirit for fun and were very generous in the way that they treated their employees. When I look back at the first seven years of my working life there are great memories that happened at the office such as promotions, project wins and milestones. Other memories which are most vivid in my mind include Christmas Parties, Summer Parties, Snake Charmers, Casino Nights, Ice Sculpture Vodka slides and trips to Goodwood Races.
During my working day I have always been focused and competitive, doing well matters to me a great deal and I am not happy if I feel that I could have done more. But some of the best memories come from the special one off events. They made me feel appreciated and generated excitement across the companies that I worked for.
My business partner Andrew Collins shared some of those great days when we worked together at Matchtech, later in his career he worked for Hill McGlynn who took the entire company to Monte Carlo to celebrate success. Now that is awesome!
When I speak to friends working in different professions they are surprised at such privileges and as recruitment professionals we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we are lucky as to enjoy these times.
The positive impact of spending time with your colleagues away from work and celebrating success as a team does have a valuable impact. It encourages sharing, togetherness and breaks up the year far more effectively than financial reporting periods. I believe that if you make people feel great they will be great.
Andrew and I have a test that we consistently apply to Ronin. If we were not owners, would Ronin be a company we would want to work for? This test is key to how we plan incentives, calculate commission, train and develop our people and reward cross selling. Our size gives us the agility to do things that are difficult if not impossible for the giants of our industry. This year we have doubled our turnover and broken every financial record set in the previous nine years. As a result, we are taking the team to Las Vegas for the weekend for 3 nights at The Cosmopolitan. We are beyond excited and I feel that Ronin are again, standing out as a great place to work.
All of these perks would not be possible if we were not succeeding, in essence its a win win scenario and to those who look on and question whether such treats are necessary or appropriate, I invite you to our offices to see how hard our people work, we are assembling a brilliant team who are prepared to give their all and they deserve every great moment we can give them both at work and beyond.
Before setting up shop with Ronin in 2007, Mark spent seven years working for large, corporate recruitment agencies. And it was this that inspired him to create a new prototype for his industry, free to adapt to the changing world. “The industry was already changing at a rate of knots before Ronin came into being.”