My job as a CEO is to make people happy,” Quanta Consultancy CEO Stephen Trigg says. “Our motto is: ‘we enjoy what we do.’ And to anyone who joins our company, I say, ‘look if you don’t enjoy working here, leave,’ you have to enjoy this industry, this environment, this work, because it’s testing, it’s difficult, it’s challenging,” he says.

Trigg knows firsthand how tough the job of a recruiter can be. “It’s a slog,” he says. Trigg started Quanta in 1992 creating a culture where people enjoy working hard and having fun.

His efforts appear to be paying off. The company ranks as the Best Staffing Firm to Work For in the UK in the 51-and-more employee category. Trigg credits Quanta’s training and culture as key elements for its success in keeping its employees happy. He says the company’s employees are diverse, and constantly learning from within the company. Collectively, the office speaks 12 different languages.

“A lot of our employees are all self-grown from scratch, trained here and their lives are evolving and developing before our very eyes,” he says. “We look inside and we grow from the inside, but at the same time we have fun.”

The company based its vision for growth on the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and believes success with clients and employees is due to the guidelines found in that book.

It’s the Culture

“Culture trumps everything, culture is the most important thing in our business,” Trigg says. “Culture is everything, it’s the key to our success and, hopefully, it continues.”

Jo Belmar, who works in internal recruitment, agrees that Quanta’s culture created its success. “Even though we’ve grown quite significantly in the 10 years that I’ve been there, they have managed to hold on to the family feel to it,” Belmar says. “The culture hasn’t changed, it remains the same. I think that’s the key to it.” Belmar has been with the company for 10 years and trained for her role in internal recruitment from within, transitioning from the account management department. She also cites support from management as a key to success.

“The management team is both open and very approachable, happy to listen to any new ideas that the staff has,” Belmar says. Add good communications and incentives to the mix and you have a team that is motivated and working towards a target. Besides, “it’s genuinely a very supportive atmosphere, if you need any assistance, whether in your day-to-day role or training, there’s someone you can always go talk to it’s an open door policy, we spend a lot of time together, inside the office and outside the office,” adds Belmar.

Meritocracy with training

Quanta also takes a personal interest in its workers, says Ben Alger, business unit leader, who has been with the company for six years. “Here you get treated as an individual, without sounding corny,” Alger says. “There are targets in Quanta, there is a lot of autonomy and the ability to manage to your business and your desk as you see fit.”

The company considers itself a meritocracy with Directors  who began as trainees and progressed by merit. “Every employee has a personal development coach,” Trigg says. “So people who we’ve hired in, they have objectives of what they want to achieve this quarter, this year and in their lives. The coach works with them to help them achieve their goals.” Quanta offers different training courses such as candidate interviewing, sales and skills hunting. It also offers a three-month sales course to “become more sales-focused.”

“As far as the training Quanta is putting out a new training program focused on new guys coming though,” Alger says. “It’s a structured threemonth program that will help the new guys understand each individual area of the business. It’s very specific to their needs and structured around to what they require, it is very targeted, devised and has over a period of time and proven to work.” Quanta’s keys to success also extend beyond the office as the company organizes charity events as well.

In February 2016, Trigg handed over two checks for £5,000 each to charities. One was for The Pepper Foundation, which provides palliative care for life-limited children locally. The other check was for Thomley Hall Centre which provides support for families with children who suffer from autism. Employees also hold barbecues and baking fundraisers for charities.

“Why do people come here? Why do they come back every day to beat this onslaught of targets?” Trigg asks. “We have made them enjoy what they do and they don’t come here to make me money. … They come here because they have their own lives and careers to build. They enjoy being here.”