Anchor Removals and Storage in Manchester has left Britannia Movers International. Steve Jordan interviewed the company’s managing director, Chris Smallwood, to find out why.
Anchor had been a member of Britannia since 2009 and Chris Smallwood had worked with Britannia companies since starting with Whitby Oliver as a junior porter in 1990. So why, after all this time did he decide to leave? And why now?
Of course, these things are never simple. The reasons are always complex and there are always conflicts of opinion. But Chris is very insistent that his decision should not be seen as negative in any way to Britannia. “I like Britannia, it’s a fantastic concept and has a brilliant structure,” he said. But he said that he had changed a lot since starting the company 16 years ago and he now sees things differently. He recognises that he would not have been able to build his business to its current level of success without the support of the Britannia brand. But now things have changed.
The epiphany came in 2015 when Chris attended a business course run by Goldman Sachs. “It was a real eye-opener,” he said. “I started to see the world differently and develop my own ideas about how business should be run.”
Chris explained that moving is difficult. “You never know when you're going to finish, it’s physically hard and the weather in Manchester can be bad. I never thought the industry really appreciated how hard it is. Owner-operators understand, but they get paid well. As an employee, on low wages, it’s really tough.”
He explained that he decided to create a company that recognised its workers for what they do, rewarded them accordingly and looked after them. He got some good advice about how to make that principle work well. He started paying the ‘living wage’, taking more of an interest in his employees, offering more flexible working and providing guaranteed hours. Then something extraordinary happened ...
Photo: Chris Smallwood (right) and foreman Gavin Ryan after presenting to a Living Wage event in Parliament.
Click here to read the full story in The Mover magazine.