David Evans

CEO

Grass Roots

How can HR further add value to the business?

HR should be the emotional guardian [of the company], not just the nice cuddly HR. You are there to fight the fight of the human resource. Most HR professionals these days are pretty astute business people. They are aware of what is happening in the business. They have to be a stronger voice in the business and they have to have better and more interesting ideas to do it.

What is your leadership style?

Socratic. When I was younger, I was like William Shakespeare’s Henry V, leading the army from the front. But as you get older, you have to be wiser so I am now the Socrates of the company. I ask good questions to educate them. I don’t tell employees what to do. I ask them, “Have you thought about…? Would it be a good idea? Have you investigated this? Have you look into this direction? Are you sure this is the thing you really want to do?” If I say do it, they will go all right and do it [unhappily]. But if I ask them “Is it the right thing?”, it makes them self-reliant.

What do you look for in your employees?

I look for proof that they want to do better and we give them every opportunity and lots of avenues to demonstrate that.

How do you keep a lookout for employment disengagement?

One way is to ask customers. Customers are very sensitive actually. If you ask enough people very carefully worded questions to tell you about the organisation, you can tell very quickly where things are going wrong.

Employees are the consumers of managerial decisions, so be careful what you offer your consumers. It’s a trust thing. If what you say is what you do, then people would eventually trust you. The truth to your staff is better than a lie.