Peninsula CEO: “Routine Has Given Me Positive Mindset And Successful Results”

Peninsula consistently rate highly across the board on Glassdoor and have won numerous Employees’ Choice Awards over the years. To find out exactly how they’ve done this, we caught up with the CEO of the UK’s #6 Best Place To Work UK in 2017 and the #14 Highest Rated CEO from 2016, Peter Done. In this exclusive interview, we find out what it means to be a high performing leader, discuss his typical morning routine, and learn how he fosters employee trust. What was your first job? My first job was as a board boy in a betting shop, where it was my role to update the odds and winners. I really enjoyed the job as it was a great way to meet new people and I loved the fast-paced environment. This job is where my passion for racing began and it was this opportunity that led my brother Fred and I to set up Betfred. What is your typical morning routine? I wake up around 5:00 am every morning and start the day by firstly reading my emails, to get a clear understanding of what the rest of the day will be like and to catch up on the latest business news. After that, I work out for 45 minutes and then head to the office. Sticking to a routine has always given me a positive mindset and most of all, successful results for the day ahead. What does “leadership” mean to you? Leadership to me is providing the people that work for you with the tools needed to succeed. It also means genuine praise for when things go really well and taking responsibility early and immediately if things go bad. What has been your most rewarding moment as CEO? Your most challenging? The most rewarding and challenging moment was making this business a success as in the first four years we lost money and had made a mistake by backing the wrong management team. Our accountant even advised us to get rid of the business, but I decided to take a bigger involvement to try and turn the company around. Getting rid of the existing management team was my first priority, followed by a rebranding exercise and overhaul of sales and marketing strategy (the company changed its name from PPMS to Peninsula). Within 12 months, the business had paid its debts back, started to generate more clients, and had a turnover of £250,000. The turnaround in fortune was due to being hands-on and going back to basics. What do you do to foster employee trust and engagement? Here at Peninsula we use Glassdoor as our employee feedback platform and encourage all employees to explain why they love working for us. This year that transparency and faith have been repaid and Peninsula has been ranked as the 6th Best Place to Work 2017 in Glassdoor’s top 50 – listed alongside companies like Expedia and Apple. Glassdoor has become an essential resource for Peninsula, not only from a candidate attraction point of view but also gaining valuable feedback to improve as an employer. As with any business, we have received the occasional negative review. It’s important to take the criticism on the chin and learn and improve. Your employees love working here as we see the strong rating on Glassdoor - How do you make this a great place to work day in and day out? The positive working atmosphere we’ve created within Peninsula is reflected in the support and services we provide to over 30,000 clients throughout the UK and Ireland. Knowing our employees love working for us is humbling as a happy workforce provides the highest level of service. From their first contact at the interview stage to coming in for the company induction; new starters are welcomed to Peninsula with open arms. Free breakfasts on a Monday enable employees to start the week in the right way, catching up with colleagues from across the business, providing an incredible social atmosphere. The health and wellbeing of Peninsula employees are paramount so we offer weekly exercise classes that serve as a great way to wind down after a long day at work. The Peninsula University provides training events and courses to make sure our advisers have the most up-to-date knowledge for our members and the next step leadership programme provides a fast track for those looking to develop and progress into management positions. Good leadership is not just one person - How do you work with your leaders and management teams to make sure employees have great leadership here? At Peninsula our ultimate aim is to foster and facilitate the learning and development of every employee that steps through the doors here, providing leadership and a work environment that is enriching and rewarding. In an effort to keep employees engaged in their work and help them achieve more success within the company it is important to invest in them. Here are three crucial ways we successfully manage employee development at Peninsula are: Set and update goals on a regular basis The key to actively developing employees is to set relevant and achievable goals. Rather than setting and discussing employee goals on an annual basis, we optimise development and the review process by creating quarterly goals. Not only are these goals easier to set, but the results of those goals are easier to see. Offer opportunities for individual growth Employees want training to aid their development and to advance their career so we provide coaching and development activities throughout the year to create a culture of growth within the workplace. For new starters, we have a ‘buddy’ program in place in which new hires work closely with a seasoned employee within their department. Always Celebrate Success At a time for when uncertainty is being dealt with each day for UK businesses, it is important to take the time to celebrate success. This goes beyond acknowledgment – this is about taking a step back and reflecting on what employees have accomplished and what they have learned throughout the journey. Any advice for leaders of other companies? My advice would be that a business is only as strong as the people who operate within it. This is a sentiment, which is echoed in the organisational structure that has been built at Peninsula. The business mantra here is “success starts here”, so I think it is important for any business to acknowledge that without the hard work and dedication of talented individuals in their workplace, businesses wouldn’t achieve half of the success and recognition they receive. Why do you think you get such high approval from your own employees? Recently in the media there has been a huge focus on creating more fulfilling and decent work in light of the recent scandals over bad working conditions and insecure contracts and here at Peninsula, we are happy to offer good work to all our employees. Staff satisfaction is a huge priority for Peninsula as a company and we have a strong focus on promoting staff well-being and development which means we continue to lead the field in our industry. It’s clear you inspire many of your own employees - who inspires you? As a diehard Manchester United fan, I would have to say Sir Alex Ferguson inspires me.  His sheer hard work and brilliant man-management skills created a legacy and made Manchester United the global brand it is today. What type of people do you like to hire and why? At Peninsula, we know that the strength of our own success is a direct result of the fantastic people that work for us, and we’re incredibly proud of our staff, and our great reputation as an employer. Every day is different so we look for people that love solving problems, enjoy a challenge and have a genuine enthusiasm for overcoming obstacles and learning. Wherever you work at Peninsula there will be a mixture of team work and independent work so it is essential that people are self-motivated with a strong work ethic that can work with or without supervision and guidance. If you weren’t a CEO, what would you be (in terms of a job or career)? Aside from Manchester United, my other passion is racing so I maybe a career as a horse trainer. One of favourite mottoes is simply; ‘enjoy it’. I think the more you enjoy what you do, the more successful you will be at it. As if you enjoy your work then your motivation and passion will be greater. If you don’t enjoy what you do, then change your career and go for something you like, life’s too short to do a job you don’t enjoy. Does Peter sound like the kind of leader you would like to work for? Why not check out jobs at Peninsula?