Patchwork Traditional Food Company 

Food Firm's Appetite for Excellence 
A thriving North Wales food firm has discovered that "self direction," is often the surest way for staff to find the right path when it comes to business improvement.

The Ruthin-based Patchwork Traditional Food Company was founded by Margaret Carter in 1983, with an initial investment of only £9, but today it employs 35 people.

Using traditional production techniques, Patchwork provides hundreds of independent food retailers in the UK and abroad with distinctive lines in pate, terrines, pies, quiches and chocolate.

Its consistent success over the past 18 years has made the firm a role model used frequently by the WDA to highlight Welsh business achievement. It has now moved into yet another phase of its development, having relocated last year to larger, purpose-built, premises with much scope for expansion.

Quality Manager Sally Jones is Patchwork's link with Inside Welsh Industry, the better practice programme run by the Wales Management Council and The Wales Quality Centre, in which Patchwork participates as an exemplar business.

Although its production methods are deliberately traditional, its management style is thoroughly modern. Through the IWI programme Sally has explained to many visitors how positive changes in management approach have driven the business forward over the past few years.

It was at a presentation in Kansas some time ago that Sally first discovered the benefits of a less formal management style, based on the appointment of ‘self directed teams,’ who are free to act upon their own initiative. She has successfully introduced this method to Patchwork's workforce.

She is convinced this approach has not only created a greater sense of ownership and responsibility among staff but has also helped to forge stronger relationships with the hundreds of independent food retailers served by the company.

Under the IWI programme, the firm has already been visited twice by representatives of the Bees Knees Childcare Nursery in Bridgend and the Lloyds TSB call centre at Newport.

Both were interested in the idea of ‘self-directed teams’ and wanted to learn more about the practicalities of the system.

Said Sally: "These businesses couldn’t have been more different to us in terms of size, yet their interest in innovative managerial techniques was as strong as ours."

As hosts on the scheme, Patchwork arranged a four-hour mix of presentations, video’s, Q& A sessions and product tasting.

Sally explained that the terms "hosts" and "visitors" can be misleading as they imply falsely that information flows in one direction only. She added that, being involved in this scheme, has made the company more aware of what it can gain through sharing information with similar enterprises.

Visitors to Patchwork questioned the company extensively about ways in which they could apply these innovative management techniques to their own business situation. This process forced the hosts to analyse those techniques even more deeply.

Patchwork also reports that they have acquired some very useful management insights from the Lloyds TSB call centre which, they say, will help them with human resource issues in the future, when their workforce expands.

Bees Knees shared details of their ‘Walking on Water’ scheme which seeks to recognise the contribution of employees above and beyond their job description.

Both visiting companies indicated that they aimed to embark upon schemes similar to Patchwork's, which are designed to give more responsibility to workers on the ground. They were also eager to continue the relationship with Patchwork as a sounding board for dealing with future problems.

Patchwork's progressive approach to managing staff has now received wider recognition with the award of the title "Welsh Employer of the Year for 2001."

Said Sally James: “Through our participation in this programme we have discovered much about new management techniques, The networking value has also been tremendous.”