Styles & Wood provides property services to the retail industry, and with four different programmes — StoreFit, StorePlanning, StoreCare and StoreData — can support retailers in just about any way. The same could be said for its employees, who believe in the principles and values of the organisation (81%). Chief executive Neil Davies has been in his position for four years and at the company for 11. Under his leadership Styles & Wood moved into the top five in last year's leadership category at the UK Business Excellence awards, rubbing shoulders with Siemens and BMW. Staff feel he is doing a great job (giving an 80% positive score), and have a great deal of faith in him (81%). Davies holds monthly "chief executive breakfast clubs" at one of the four UK offices for people to discuss both business and personal issues; staff believe he runs the company on sound moral principles (76%). The Davies effect has evidently rubbed off on management, as employees are quick to praise their style. Staff feel their manager talks openly with them (75%), believe that he or she trusts their judgment (79%) and have confidence in the leadership skills of the senior team (80%). Styles & Wood is serious about corporate social responsibility and last year headed the the official CSR index in the northwest. One of its programmes is Styles & Wood In The Community (SWITC) in which staff — who feel the job is good for personal growth (76%) — assist in school playgrounds, help with reading and writing skills, and have renovated a shop for a local epilepsy centre. Davies and his management team maintain close ties with Manchester Business School, and last year employees enjoyed 2 days of training there, resulting in them feeling that this helps them develop (68%) and that they can make a valuable contribution to the success of the company (81%). Last year a quarter of the Styles & Wood workforce, including 60 managers, were trained to enable them to deliver appraisals. All training at the organisation is planned for six months during the previous year, so as to deliver the most comprehensive schemes. The company's annual conference sets out its stall for the following year. Last year, its theme was Think + Do = Distance.
