Rentokil’s Secret? “We Make a Multi-National Business Feel Like A Family”

This week, Glassdoor announced The Highest Rated CEOs in the UK for 2017. So, we caught up with #13 ranked Andy Ransom of Rentokil to discuss what it means to be a top CEO. We discovered that consistent communication is vital to foster employee trust and that if you get the people right, anything is possible. What does “leadership” mean to you? Building a team. Creating a plan. Communicating the plan. Executing the plan. Saying thank you. Repeat. What has been your most rewarding moment as CEO? Seeing the company progress from position c. 180 in the FTSE and re-entering the FTSE 100 was hugely energising for the entire company. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team. Managing the expectations of stakeholders! What do you do to foster employee trust and engagement? Be open, honest, frequent and consistent with communication. 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? We try to make a multi-national feel like a local family business.  We put safety and people as agenda item one on every meeting. Good leadership is not just one person - How do you work w/ your leaders and management teams to make sure employees have great leadership here? The top team all speak with one voice and are expected to live up to the values of the company. All of the leadership team get out into the field with colleagues and customers, rather than sitting in perpetual meetings. Any advice for leaders of other companies? It’s all about front-line colleagues and back office staff – get the people side of the business right and anything is possible. Don’t and you will ultimately fail. Why do you think you get such high approval from your own employees? I hope it is because we treat people well, with honesty and fairness – which in turn creates a winning team mentality. What type of people do you like to hire and why? Low ego, high EQ. High energy operators with “GSOH” Leaders who constantly strive for improvement and who can take the team with them. --- Does Andy sound like someone you’d like to work for? Apply for jobs at Rentokil.