Hannah Ovenden, digital marketing executive at Hireserve, explains why Karen Ovenden should win the Leader of the Year category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
Karen Ovenden is the co-founder and operations director of Hireserve, a recruitment software firm. Founded in 1997, Hireserve has grown to a team of 22 in the UK with an international client base.
Karen oversees the day-to-day running of the business and has been instrumental in the sustainable growth it has achieved. She carefully managed the early growth stages of Hireserve by hiring working parents, who could deliver the skills needed on a flexible, part-time basis. These team members’ hours have increased over time in line with the needs of the company, and as many of their children have gotten older and started school.
Karen proactively supports the team in managing work-life balance. Flexible working is available to all employees and she initiates discussions about how this can work for staff, cultivating a culture of trust and mutual respect. Without Karen’s willingness to explore flexible options, some staff would have been unable to remain working with us due to caring responsibilities.
Her commitment to supporting working families has enhanced the talent we have and led to staff retention being high and absenteeism low. Despite being an SME, Karen is keen to create relevant and valuable staff benefits, be they bike and car loan schemes or gym membership and inventive summer holiday child care arrangements. Karen and the HR manager continue to deliver the maximum benefits to staff while ensuring the company remains commercially viable.
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.
