Charlotte Cook, marketing coordinator of The Great Escape Game Ltd, explains why Hannah Duraid should win the Leader of the Year category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
Hannah has been a great manager and business leader from the day I started working at the company. The nature of the business, as a live escape game, is very fast paced and employees must be dynamic, team players who can be flexible to suit the needs of the business.
Due to these requirements, the business employ quite a few students. Hannah has had an open door policy from the start and she completely understands that university is a student employee’s priority, so encourages us to have an honest dialogue and commitment to the business, in return for time off when we need it to focus on our studies.
She also understands that sometimes money can be tight as a student and if we want to pick up extra shifts, she tries to facilitate this where possible. This has been invaluable for student employees and ensures that staff morale remains high, which is vital when having to remain enthusiastic around customers.
Hannah has a very democratic leadership style so although some of us work on marketing, some oversee the day-to-day running of rooms and others focus on operations, all employees are encouraged to share their ideas across teams and contribute to the overall success of the business.
Hannah’s leadership style has motivated staff, encouraged strong teamwork (which is vital in such a hectic business), and most importantly kept staff happy so that we can ensure our customers leave with an experience they will never forget.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
