A LEADING company’s strategy of promoting talent from within has seen excellent results, its chief executive has said.

Phil Wild of James Cropper Ltd, said developing existing employees was just one of a number of strategies implemented to help tackle the issue of recruiting talent in Cumbria.

He spoke out ahead of an appearance at a special event this week which will focus on attracting and retaining talent in the county.

Mr Wild said: “We live in one of the least densely populated areas of the UK, and that’s great - it’s beautiful. But that does also mean there are recruitment challenges as we have a smaller talent pool. In addition to this, we are particularly selective at James Cropper in terms of who we recruit, in that we seek to get the best.

“These challenges combined with the fact we are a manufacturing company - and that is not the prevailing industry in Cumbria - mean we have had to act in a number of ways to ensure we can build our team.”

In recent years, Croppers have made it their business to project the company, its achievements and values way beyond the boundaries of Cumbria. In building the brand, avidly networking and positioning the business in the right way, they have started to gain traction when it comes to recruiting outside of the county.

“Of course we want to recruit people from within Cumbria and that does happen. But in widening the net and building our brand, we are getting people applying from a much wider talent pool,” said Mr Wild.

“The other aspect of how we deal with recruitment is to look within as opposed to externally, so we develop our own people through skills and learning.

“That looks across the whole platform of all employees at whatever level, and we aim to upskill and move people to the appropriate roles when we do that. In terms of succession planning and filling key roles on site, probably half come from within.

“I think that’s a very positive thing. Existing employees see a good route forward in terms of their development and therefore our retention is substantially higher.”

This week’s event is being led by top legal firm Cartmell Shepherd, in association with the Family Business Network.

The session, Getting the right person for the right job - how to attract talent, will be held on September 20 at the Stoneybeck Inn in Bowscar, Penrith.

Along with Mr Wild, the panel will comprise of David Nicholson, Group HR Director at James Cropper plc; Mark Bowman, Chief Executive of Inspira; Julia Cater, owner of People Decisions and Zoe Pluckrose-Norman, People Director at Armstrong Watson.

They will share insights, ideas and proactive steps they have taken to recruit into their businesses, as well as looking at what motivates different generations of staff.

Mark Bowman has been Chief Executive of Inspira since 2009. And while he believes attracting talent into the county will help address some of the problems with recruiting, he also believes there is huge talent within.

He said: “I think Cumbria has many talented people who with the right training and support can help fill vacant roles, however we do also need to attract new people to the area to enhance this.

“It’s really important that we maximise the skills of people who are in Cumbria who may not be in employment or full employment.

“This may be people who are unemployed in the traditional sense or increasingly people who have taken career breaks or are looking at reducing hours towards the end of their careers.

“I also feel we have to maximise the talents of our young people and give them all the support they need to help fill vacancies today and in the future.”

With Thursday’s event in mind, Mr Bowman is looking forward to sharing with attendees his view on the opportunities which exist: “I’m keen to show how employers can help develop the future workforce and what young people have to offer and perhaps what employers may need to think about if they want to attract some of the future talent to their workforce.

“I’m also keen to let people know about those older people who are not currently in employment, who with a bit of time and investment can make fantastic employees.”

Taking place between 9am and 1.30pm the session is free to attend but places must be booked and tickets are now very limited.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/y74nteeg to reserve your place.