Best Companies | Quick Release Company Profile

Quick Release used skills honed in the automotive industry to help with the production of more than 11,000 ventilators during the pandemic.

The product data management consultancy also lent a number of furloughed staff to the consortium behind the Penlon ESO 2 project, to assist with the rapid scaling-up of production.

Quick Release was founded in 2003 by Rob Ferrone and Adam Grant, two colleagues in the automotive industry, who saw a gap in the market for specialised product data professionals and wanted to create a fun company of like-minded enthusiasts. They now have 220 staff working on three continents.

The company has helped prestigious and innovative vehicle makers, aerospace technologists and Tier 1 suppliers to get products to market faster and at a lower cost. It also guides start-ups through the unknown unknowns, takes businesses looking to scale to the next level, and facilitates transformation in established OEMs.

Quick Release has fortnightly meetings to bring together its management team around the globe. After the pandemic started, the chief executive sent out a weekly update on the business and the emergency Covid measures.

To reinforce engagement with staff, the leadership team held regular informal team meetings, coffee catch-ups and personal phone calls to answer employees' questions, rather than sending them a message through Slack. The QR Voice channel allows anonymous feedback.

A spotlight on

Quick Release

View the latest achievements

My Team

94% of staff agreed

My team is fun to work with

Bringing employees together, the organisation introduced a 'Coffee Chat Bot', selecting colleagues at random to set up a call to discuss non-related work topics over a warm drink. Teams are also given a budget to host social events such as golf or a group meal, as well as attending annual regional events.

Personal Growth

89% of staff agreed

The experience I gain from this job is valuable for my future

QR is committed to employee development from onboarding through the entirety of their time in the organisation. The company's Learning Management System is available to all staff and hosts an an ever-growing suite of "playbooks", curated to assist individual learning journeys by enhancing their knowledge and skills in order to achieve success.

Giving Something Back

83% of staff agreed

My organisation encourages charitable activities

QR continues to reduce its carbon footprint through initiatives such as a Cycle2Work scheme and intention to work with Electric Vehicle companies, as well using offset schemes that also help to recover habitats. The organisation is introducing an Environmental Sustainability Policy and working to ensure the environment is considered in all business decisions.

My Team

94% of staff agreed

My team is fun to work with

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My Team

Best Practice

Personal Growth

82%

89% of staff agreed

The experience I gain from this job is valuable for my future

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Personal Growth

Best Practice

Giving Something Back

96%

83% of staff agreed

My organisation encourages charitable activities

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Giving Something Back

Best Practice

Organisation established in

2003

Total number of UK employees

Number of UK locations

Employee average age

74% : 26%

Male : Female employee ratio

62%

Employees earning £35k+

10%

Employee turnover (voluntary)

Quote from the top...

The last 18 months have really sharpened the focus on employee engagement; just as it became more important than ever, the challenges of a dispersed team reduced the viable means of engagement. This was a great stimulus for creativity, but we also had to get serious about measurement, improvement and issue tracking. Looking back, I think we more than rose to the challenge. The opportunity was taken to build out our People function, allocate the dedicated resource and leadership to supercharge our existing Development plan, and undertake a review and equitably adjust our Reward packages following clear feedback trends. It's early days on a winding road, but I feel confident we've laid firm and sustainable foundations that will meaningfully and repeatably deliver for the whole QR_ family. Internal feedback has been remarkably positive so far (not always a given!), and while the look and feel of the company is noticeably different to a few years ago, it feels very right and still very QR_.

Emma Lloyd, People Director - Quick Release

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