Base Connections
The Company
Base Connects is a telemarketing specialist that helps companies
generate new business and retain customers.
| Workforce |
|
| No. of employees |
52 |
| % female |
67% |
| %male |
33% |
| % of staff with the company for 3+
years |
49% |
| % of staff with the company for 5+ years |
28% |
| % of staff with the company for 10+ years |
9% |
| |
|
| Turnover |
£1,2000,000 |
The Problem
Needing to return to work after having had children and the issues around finding
stimulating work whilst balancing home life.
The Response
Establish a new company! Base Connections was started in 1994 by
two women looking to return to work after having children. The aim
was to provide excellent customer service while employing high quality
staff who required flexible working conditions.
One of the reasons the company was set up was because
people wanted part time work to fit around families that was both fun
and stimulating which used their skills. When planning how to cover
the work, the different days and differing length of days are taken
into account. When each person is interviewed the hours they can work
are established and individual working hours and days are agreed for
that person. As peoples’ commitments
change over time they are able to change their hours. People have started
part time and gradually become full time while others have reduced
their hours. Each person belongs to a team and it is their responsibility
to find out what they need to know since they were last in, so communication
is of the utmost importance. A company intranet helps considerably
with this.
Benefits
- Staff enjoy the ability to take a gap year or sabbatical, spend more time with
their children and be involved in their school activities, care for a relative,
accrue more days off, or avoid rush hour.
- The company has high staff retention.
- 49% of staff have been with the company for more than 3
years and 37% for more than 5 years. 11% of the current staff
have left the company at one time to pursue other interests,
only to retur
- High staff retention means managers can be hired
in-house, who get to know intimately the niche market that the
business services.
In Practice
Every employee takes advantage of flexible working to a varying
extent.
Examples include one employee who joined Base Connections in 1994
part-time, working from home around her new baby. Her hours increased
as the baby grew and a couple of years ago she was able to return
to working in the office.
Another employee has been with the company since 1996 and worked fewer
hours in the holidays to look after her three children. She has had
three different roles within the company.
July 2005
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