Carmen Watson, Managing Director

Pertemps is a family business that puts recognition and reward at the heart of everything it does, says managing director Carmen Watson. “That family thread still runs through the business and we fight vehemently to keep it that way, no matter how much we grow.”

The concept of a family business also extends beyond the staff: “We know that our staff wouldn’t be able to do their jobs without the help of their partners at home,” Watson says, so partners are always included. The company has a Rolls Royce and chauffer that staff can use for transportation to special events like weddings or graduations, or for occasions when someone is unwell and needs to travel to an event.”

The company also has a villa in Portugal and one in Mauritius that the families can use.

The employees also have a vested interest in the company, with employees currently holding 50 percent vested interest, Watson adds. “We want to get that up to 70 percent. We want people to have the ownership and the reward of what they’ve helped to create. We want them to share in the spoils.”

The share incentive scheme is also open to the company’s temporary agency workers.

Pertemps has a work hard/play hard arrangement with their staff but the company is also heavily focused on giving to charity.

Some staff went out to the Sahara for 10 days to raise money for charity. As a team, they walked 20 miles a day and slept under the stars. “Another group went out on the Zambezi, rafting in extremely challenging conditions for circa 100 miles. Another group did the Mont Blanc trek, raising tens of thousands of pounds for different charities.”