Underwood-based marketing, design and print company, Phase Print Ltd has proven that exceptional customer service and a skilled, motivated team helps drive business success.

Managing Director, Kevin Marks set up Phase in 1996 to provide a complete printing service to customers.  The business has grown dramatically and the team of 20 staff serve an impressive UK-wide client base of public and private sector companies.  “Much of our business has come through word of mouth,” explains Kevin.  “Initially we concentrated on printing, but we were soon asked by customers to share our expertise in marketing and design too. 

“Over the years, we have built a reputation for exceptional customer care, working with our clients to supply the best possible solution to their needs.  Our aim is to let them concentrate on the day-to-day running of their businesses safe in the knowledge that we can deliver their marketing requirements.” 

A strong team
Kevin has in-depth experience of the printing industry and of successfully taking businesses through major change.  This has given him a clear understanding of the need to work hard with a strong team to keep a company at the head of its field.  “Over the years, we have built a strong and loyal team of people who are focused on the needs of our clients,” says Kevin. 

Keen to develop the business further, Kevin approached Business Link Nottinghamshire (BLN) for help with training and staff development.  “I was particularly looking for help to identify individual training needs,” he explains.  “You need people with the right skills in the right places to help you grow, it’s all about teamwork and certainly not something you can do on your own.  

“Our BLN Advisers suggested Investors in People to us and it seemed an ideal solution as we already had an open management policy and a loyal workforce.” 

Planning for growth
Advisers from BLN helped Phase work towards Investors in People, guiding and helping them to develop clear and timely action plans. “They explained the Standard in layman’s terms,” says Kevin, “helping us to produce realistic action plans with timescales that people understood.” 

These action plans were the driving force behind Phase becoming an Investor in People in just 10 months.  “Working to obtain the Standard with the support of BLN has enabled me to communicate my vision for the business to the staff and to gain their understanding and involvement, says Kevin.  “Thanks to Investors in People and BLN, we all have a clear idea of our business and individual goals and how to achieve them.”

Investors in People
Implementing Investors in People also helped the company in its commitment to continued capital investment as Kevin explains, “The business benefits of adopting the Standard enabled us to make our biggest single capital investment in a state-of-the-art four-colour press six months ahead of schedule.”

Many of the staff who were there when the company was founded are still with the business.  The Investors in People Assessor was very impressed with Phase, saying that their culture and loyalty would be the envy of many larger organisations.

Phase Print Ltd’s advice to others:

• Stay focused – don’t waiver.
• Writing a clear strategy takes a lot of time – but investing this time pays off.
• Don’t take people’s understanding for granted - continually communicate information and check understanding.

Kevin’s ‘top tips’:

• Meet, plan, act and review – very important for every aspect of change.
• Running a successful business takes 100% commitment from the top - at all times