SENTINEL BUSINESS AWARDS

On Tuesday evening The Hanley won the award for Customer Care & Service at the Sentinel Business Awards attended by over 350 local business people from across North Staffordshire.We were thrilled to hear our name announced as the award-winner, so much so that all 12 Hanley staff charged toward the stage to be photographed accepting the handsome statuette! Bear in mind that this group of 12 staff represents 20% of our total workforce and you'll get a sense of just how energised we were.It was a superb event, not just because we won an award.As a showcase for all that is progressive and creative about this area the Sentinel Business Awards is exemplary and it reminds us all that this City is capable of outstanding results even in extremely adverse market conditions. Locally there has been huge disappointment and astonishment that Stoke was omitted from the governments list of cities deserving of Enterprise Zone status and it often feels that successful businesses in this area have head-winds to face that other cities don't, but on this particular evening it was really refreshing to hear success-stories from so many local firms. Part of the joy of winning is definitely the fact that its was local recognition of our strengths but also that we were "competing" with businesses from outside our financial services sector.This added to the sweetness of the award. From a personal point of view I was also very pleased to be introduced to David Frost the Director General of British Chambers of Commerce, a chap I've admired for a long time and whose advocacy of the business community is 2nd to none. Obviously I told him that mutuality is a 21st century business opportunity!