Mears is pleased to have appointed an Employee Director, becoming one of the first listed companies to do so, with a view to helping ensure employees interests are fairly represented, considered and listened to at Board level.
Amanda Hillerby, a Quality Manager in our Care division, takes up the posting having joined Mears on the Group’s graduate management programme in 2011. After successfully completing the programme, Amanda worked across all areas of the Group – in Care, Housing and Central Services.
Mears has chosen to create the role of Employee Director to ensure that our Board gets full, open and honest insights and views from its workforce on how strategic initiatives are being implemented. Equally, it encourages employees, through the Employee Director, to gain a better understanding of how the Board works.
Mears is the only listed company in the housing or care sector to have taken this bold step. Amanda was put through a rigorous selection process alongside many other outstanding candidates – some 50 employees put themselves forward.
The Employee Director’s key responsibilities are to:
- Actively participate in Board meetings, ensuring that all employee interests across the Group are properly advanced, reflected and represented
- Actively promote, support and encourage the Mears values and culture
- Actively promote and participate in initiatives to generate ideas to improve the business
- Understand the business agenda and how it impacts the interests of employees
- Become a champion for new people initiatives introduced to the company
- Act as a focal point for employees who wish to contribute to the business of the Board
- Explain the work of the Board to employees and promote opportunities for employees to be involved in decision-making locally.
Amanda is extremely pleased to become the first-ever Mears Employee Director and can’t wait to get stuck into the role. She said:
“Employees are a key stakeholder in any business and Mears prides itself on valuing its employees – its greatest asset. I think I can add value in terms of insight and perspective into what it’s like to be an employee within Mears.
“I’m very excited and looking forward to getting out there and meeting people, understanding what they love about Mears, the challenges they face, and then making sure those thoughts and ideas are shared and considered at Board level.
“I’ve got the experience across the Group and think I have the personal skills to really connect with employees, draw out what their thoughts and ideas are and be able to communicate those, so the role of Employee Director is a really fantastic opportunity for me.”
Alan Long, Mears Executive Director, said:
“In the 30 years in which Mears has been in business, the best ideas have always come from the workforce – it’s important, therefore, that we do everything we can so that workforce views, ideas and input into important decisions made by the Board is as good as it can be.
“Having an Employee Director in that role as part of every conversation that happens in the Board can only help the Board make better decisions about the things we do in the future.
“We can be proud of our track-record of developing people from very junior roles in the organisation into the most senior ones, and long may that continue.”