At the 2017 Swale Business Awards, Burden Bros Agri Ltd took home the coveted title of Employer of the Year. Now, the 75-strong business has entered the 2018 awards, looking for a similar success.
Managing Director Michael Read talked through Burden Bros Agri’s business. “We are a group of three dealerships that cater for the needs of the agricultural and turf industries. Not only are we an authorised dealer of John Deere equipment that also represents 17 other prominent brands within these industries; but we also offer a full service to our clients from advice and guidance to equipment sales and aftercare options.”
Since winning their well-deserved award last year, the company has continued to thrive and is growing both on the financial side and in terms of the number of employees. As winners of the Employer of the Year title, you would expect Burden Bros to have a strong offering for their staff, and they do not disappoint. They proudly embrace the John Deere apprenticeship programme and recruit a number of apprentices from local schools and colleges each year – with most going on to become full time members of the team. There is also a strong commitment to developing talent internally, with the most prominent example of this being Michael, who was their former Finance Director and who has now taken over the reins of the business. Michael works closely with Dale Burden, the former MD, who is still very much a part of the Burden Bros Agri business but is also dedicating himself to assisting his brothers in growing the other businesses within the BB4 (Burden Bros) group.
Michael outlined some of the other ways that Burden Bros engages with staff: “We are implementing more and more initiatives that aim to ensure our team all feel valued and know their input is what makes the company successful. Our Sharing Success Scheme sees all employees eligible for a bonus should the business perform to target. We have introduced the ‘Make it Happen’ initiative, which empowers anyone to make changes in the business that will improve working condition and practices, no matter how small. We have an online HR system called People HR which enables colleagues to share news across the company and also to publicly give and receive thanks for going above and beyond in their day-to-day activities.”
Finally Michael spoke about why he felt that Burden Bros were a strong contender for a Swale Business Award in 2018: “Burden Bros Agri is a growing business that has seen our staff numbers grow rapidly in recent years. Processes are constantly improving with the business leaders understanding the importance of improving workflows and actions in order to ensure Burden Bros Agri has a strong and long trading future ahead of it. Burden Bros lives by a set of values: Quality, Consistency, Honesty, Pride and Family, all of which feed into every aspect of decision making within the business.”
Burden Bros Agri Ltd
Church Farm
Stockbury
ME9 7RD
01795 843 250
www.burdenbrosagri.co.uk