We’re a finalist in the Peterborough Telegraph Business Excellence Awards 2023

I’m super excited to be able to announce that we’ve been selected as a finalist in the prestigious PT Business Excellence Awards for “Contribution to Business”.

This award not only recognises how we work and what we stand for, but (we hope) will also inspire other businesses, and hopefully result in positive change across the board.

Chris Collier, head of the awards’ judges, said, “My personal belief talking to businesses in the area is that there are many companies bucking the trend, and have inspiring stories to tell.

“When businesses are shortlisted for the Peterborough Telegraph Awards, it is an excellent way of showing their achievements to the rest of the world, and many companies who win awards use this as a marketing tool in many ways.”

What does “Contribution to Business” mean?

This category recognises businesses that have made a significant commitment to supporting employee health and wellbeing.
As such we had to demonstrate how we’re promoting health and well-being in the workplace. This included:

Hybrid work policy
We work two days in the office and three from home, or wherever we want to. But we’re also flexible with this too. If you need to work from home for whatever reason, whether that’s to take a delivery, let the plumber in or look after the kids, that’s ok. We’re also very flexible when it comes to changing working hours to suit the team’s schedule. We understand that navigating school holidays and other events can be difficult, so we let the team manage their own time and simply let us know.

Plus, for those who want to have an office space to work in, it’s always open. So, if anyone in the team wants to work from the office on the other days, they can.

Extra holidays
We all get the standard amount of time off, but as an added extra, we all get two weeks off paid in full over Christmas. And, this year, since New Year’s Day is the bank holiday (boooooo), we decided to give everyone the Tuesday off too. Yaaaaaaay!

Cost of living support
When the cost-of-living crisis began, we decided to support our staff in a way we knew we could. We gave every member of the team extra cash each month to cover the added living expenses as we began feeling the pinch.

Profit share scheme
We want the team to feel like Quibble is theirs too, which is why we’re in the process of implementing a profit share scheme. We’re in it together at the end of the day and we want everyone to feel like the work they do is appreciated in more ways than one.

Competency framework
No matter where you work, it’s important to understand your path for career progression, which is why we’ve developed competency frameworks for each role within the company and everyone knows what they need to do to climb the ladder, but also what they would need to do should they decide to change their specialism, which is something we’re also open to.

Access to training & resources
If you want to grow your knowledge and skills, you need to learn. We provide the necessary resources and training materials so everyone in the team can develop their skills, both professionally and personally. Everyone on the team is currently working through a training programme and others are spending time working on creative projects to test the skills they’re learning. Further to this, if anyone wants a book, or wants to attend an event, all they need to do is ask. We have a budget aside for the team to dip into.

Disc analysis
When people join Quibble, we conduct a DISC analysis to understand what makes them tick and how we can best work with one another. Everyone is different, so it’s important to play to one another’s strengths. We all share our profiles to better understand our teammates.

Culture days
To strengthen our bond (and because we work hard, we want to play hard), we have days set aside to go out and have a good time. This includes company lunches, meals out and days out where we also invite our families.

Paternity & maternity benefits
At Quibble, everyone on the team has kids. When one member of the team was due to go on paternity leave, we investigated the financials (it was the first time someone was going to be off for paternity leave within the company) and I was shocked. So, rather than pay statutory paternity leave, we paid him in full for the two weeks. And, luckily for him, his little one was born two weeks before we broke up for Christmas, so he had a full month off!

Being flexible and considering how we support those wanting to have a family is so important to me. It’s something I even spoke about during my BrightonSEO talk in April 2023.

Here’s what Sylwia Lysakowska-Lombari, SEO Executive at Quibble had to say, “I have been working at Quibble for over two years now and I can honestly say that it has been a rewarding experience. The company culture is very positive, supportive, and collaborative. Everyone is friendly, helpful, and respectful of each other. Quibble also offers some generous benefits like extra time off around Christmas and flexible working. This all combines to make it a lovely place where you feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive.”

Along with the benefits, we also had to explain how all of this impacted the business and how it’ll benefit our growth in the long run.
By treating our team as just that, a team, along with being adults who don’t need to be micromanaged, but are in control of their own time, we’ve seen the culture and company atmosphere become exactly what I’d envisioned. We’re a family. We support each other. Plus, no one has taken a day off sick… Ever.

Treating each other as we would want to be treated will only allow each member of the team to feel more invested in one another and Quibble. I also believe it’ll continue to mean we have a high retention rate for both team members and clients.

We were also asked how the policies we have in place are different to others in the industry, and there are some other progressive businesses out there, even those who’ve also been nominated have some amazing programmes in place.

As a small business, I hope we’re showing the larger organisations a thing or two and what they can do to improve their team’s wellbeing – It’ll only benefit them in the long run. And, if we can do it, they are more than capable. You often get the odd benefit, but nothing quite as comprehensive as what we offer.

Read all about the categories and the finalists here >

The awards evening will be on November 23rd, so wish us luck!

Earlier this year we were a finalist in the Stamford Mercury Business Awards which you can read about here >