A PORTSMOUTH firm which has grown to become a successful national company has seen off competition from giant corporations to win an award.
MarketMakers, based at the Lakeside North Harbour business park, has won Staff Development Programme of the Year at the 2013 Learning Awards.
The firm was recognised for the investment it makes in its staff, and beat other finalists including Accenture, Centrica and McDonald’s to the top spot.
Henry Braithwaite, operations director at MarketMakers, said: ‘To win in a category, which not only was the one that had the most submissions, but also included brands that invest millions in their staff training, is incredible.
‘This award is testament to how passionate we are as a business in ensuring everybody is empowered to be constantly working on their personal development.’
MarketMakers runs what it calls the MarketMakers Business School, which is designed to provide staff with the opportunity for continuous learning through tailored training.
The firm says recognising that ongoing growth and the development of new and existing skills was important to staff motivation, fulfilment and value, is key for its staff, and it offers training to everyone who works at the firm, from account executives to senior managers.
Since setting up the business school, the firm has seen its staff retention increase by 89 per cent, 23 per cent higher than the national average for call centres.
The firm’s head of learning and development Steve Cass, who plays a key role in the running of the business school, collected the award at the Dorchester Hotel in London alongside Mr Braithwaite
He said: ‘This prestigious award really means we have an astonishing and effective training programme for everyone within MarketMakers.’
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