Communication: The key to success

Whitmill Trust – Medium Organisation winner

OPEN communication, living and breathing corporate values, and having a culture of empowerment are what Whitmill credits for their win in the latest Jersey’s Best Workplace initiative. 

The independent trust company took home the Best Medium Organisation award in the Jersey’s Best Workplace initiative, after a round of feedback from its team members. 

Whitmill spans two offices and boasts over 30 years in business. It’s Ashley Cox’s responsibility as managing director of the Jersey office to ensure the business runs effectively and in accordance with its strategy. 

As a member of the leadership team, Ashley described the win as a “wonderful surprise”. 

“We carried out an internal employee opinion survey and, pleasingly, the results were very, very positive,” he shared. 

“But Jersey's Best Workplace is external, very much evidence-based and wholly independent and so we were absolutely delighted.” 

Ashley said that Whitmill is a business with its values “at the heart” of its operations, and this resonates with employees. 

"The people who work at Whitmill are here because they want to be,” he said. “Their personal values are very much aligned with our corporate values.” 

And Ashley argued that Whitmill’s values are more than just words on a wall, and that helped secure their win. 

“We are supportive of each other, we strive for excellence, we do look to be consistent and treat everybody fairly. 

"They are just words unless the people in your business live and breathe them every day, and the results seem to demonstrate that we do,” he added. 

Inclusion, recognition and support were cited by Ashley as key contributors to Whitmill’s win, based on the results. 

He noted that they all have “basis in communication”, something he felt the company does right. 

“We encourage our employees to challenge the status quo and be curious about what we do, whether that is improving the working environment or how we service our clients,” Ashley said. 

“It makes them feel valued and that their contribution is recognised. That is extremely motivational for them.” 

He added that the results “strongly” indicated that Whitmill employees enjoy their role but that hasn’t occurred in “splendid isolation”. 

“There needs to be that support and open communication as part of the process.” 

Support for taking risks, Ashley added, was also key. 

"We say, ‘we want you to take risks, but you must do that in a safe environment. How can we put you in that place?’ 

“There’s an open, honest and trusted dialogue, and I think this communication approach has held us in good stead,” he said. 

Standout takeaways from the process for Ashley were the fact 100% of the Whitmill team said they liked their job, and there was 0% chance of them leaving. 

He believed this was supported by the “very high score” for autonomy, which showed Whitmill employees felt “empowered, valued and trusted”. 

"It really is heaven for senior leadership; it is what you want to hear from people that are working in the business,” he reflected. 

“If they're empowered, they're going to be inspired, and we will have a much more effective business, both in terms of how people feel about the business and our employees, but also the way we service our clients.” 

Ashley praised the format of the initiative for allowing employees to feel comfortable enough to share their authentic feelings. 

"They've had an opportunity to do this in a safe and wholly independent environment,” he said. "It very much accords with what they told us through the internal employee engagement survey some months before." 

“Validating” was how he described what the win meant to the business. 

“It's what this business has strived for, for many years,” Ashley shared. “To have that realised and repeated straight back at us by the people that matter is a wonderful thing.” 

Ashley acknowledged the “many strengths” that the Jersey’s Best Workplace initiative highlighted but noted the importance of continuous improvement. 

“I was always taught that you polish your strengths and work hard on areas where there is scope for improvement and development of people in the business,” he said. 

It’s for this reason that Ashley was enthusiastic to continue participating in feedback initiatives like Jersey’s Best Workplace, as there was “always work to do”, and it was “vital to check in to make sure that you're on the right track”. 

“There is a real danger in becoming complacent and thinking that everything is wonderful,” he said. 

Identifying areas where Whitmill can grow and improve was “one of the drivers” for participating in the initiative, Ashley added. 

“When I look back on my career, I will not think about financial performance. I will think about the people that have developed and that I've been associated with.  

“How do we try and move from this strength to greater strength?” he asked. “We, the board, will sit down with the teams and empower them to help us to do just that.”