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A Royal Seal of Approval
As the Timpson Foundation, Academy and Welfare Manager, Dennis Phillips, from People Support, leads Timpson’s work with prisons across England, Scotland and Wales, to identify and recruit people with the right personalities to work in the Timpson and Max business on, and sometimes prior, to their release.
Dennis spends a lot of his time visiting UK prisons, presenting the Timpson way to prison training officers and working with other key people in the sector to recruit serving prisoners and offer them a route into meaningful employment.
Turning Lives Around
Through the Foundation, Timpson now has 70 colleagues in full time paid employment, both men and women, who have proved that given the right opportunity, mentoring and support they can turn their life around.
Personality Priority
Anyone who knows the Timpson business well is fully aware of the company’s unconventional recruitment methods where personality and attitude count above anything else. It is an enlightened approach that the UK prison sector has responded to with great relish.
Dennis works closely with key prison personnel to identify those potential personalities – the Mr. Keen, Mr Enthusiastic and Miss Bubbly. Dennis explains: “I conduct very informal interviews. I’m very honest with them and I ask that they are the same with me. Once I identify a suitable candidate we develop a full release plan and mentor the individual for about two months prior to release. Sometimes an individual will be released on temporary licence and is able to work in a Timpson or Max store during the day and return to prison in the evening before full release.
Mentoring & Support
Over the years, Timpson has formulated a proven plan to support potential Timpson colleagues in advance of full release. Support includes intensive mentoring for two months prior to release and where required can also mean providing assistance to individuals in a variety of other ways as they re-enter the community.
“The support and assistance we offer can be any number of different things depending on the person we’re working with”, says Dennis. “For example, someone may need help in finding accommodation, or references or help in setting up a bank account. We can help with all of that to ensure they are in as stable a position as possible as they start work with us. That’s important.” Dennis and his two hard-working Foundation colleagues, Dari Tourkpour and Tom Saxon, offer much needed emotional support too.
“Inevitably, some folks are carrying emotional baggage and may have psychological problems. Often it’s coming from a tough background that has led them to prison in the first place. It’s important they know we’re here to support them and help them, as indeed we are with any Timpson colleague who might need care and attention.”
Traffic Light System
Dennis and his team have what they call a traffic light system, which flags up any issues. “Red means we’re mentoring on a weekly basis”, he reveals, “amber is reduced mentoring and green is where we’re happy all is going well and we’re simply monitoring their progress. It’s a great way to work. We have 70 people to look out for and this is a good way to do it and keep on top of any issues.”
Timpson has proved with its simplistic recruitment process it can change lives. “We can offer a fantastic career path for the colleague who wants to make the most of the opportunity to move on with their life and put the past behind them. At the same time, with all the mentoring support we offer, we are helping many colleagues build their confidence and self-esteem along the way. For many it is a truly life changing experience,” Dennis declares proudly.
“I would like to thank all of our colleagues out in the field for their fantastic support”, he adds. “As a team we have made the foundation/Academy scheme work very successfully for both the Timpson and the Max Spielmann business.” It is clear Dennis is hugely – and rightly – proud for the Foundation’s success.
Of course, the Timpson Foundation is just one part of Timpson’s wide ranging recruitment strategy. The most successful recruitment initiative is the ‘Recommend a Friend’ scheme, which can bag the recommender up to £500!
