CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards

UNITED KINGDOM 21 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Business Women of the Year Awards 2019 from CVs and putting all job advertisements through a gender assessment tool to eliminate gender-biased words. In addition to this, Cerys encouraged REPL to part fund one recruiter through a gender studies degree in order to improve its recruitment processes down the line and bring best practice thinking to help REPL strike a balance of genders. In a bid to attract more female candidates, Cerys has encouraged REPL to begin advertising within female tech communities a week or two ahead of advertising more widely. Further to this, Cerys has launched a formalised, classroom-based and e-learning unconscious bias course focused on educating hiring managers first, but with plans to roll this training out to the entire company. A further step she is taking is putting only essential requirements in job specifications. It is often the case that women will be put off from applying for a role if they do not meet all the essential requirements of a role. By ensuring only the truly essential requirements are included, with other attributes in the desired category, it is likely more female candidates will apply. To support this, REPL will be updating its website to feature short video clips of real people working at REPL to further showcase the diversity of thinking and talent the company has to offer. However, as well as encouraging more women to apply for tech roles, the main purpose of the initiatives implemented by Cerys is to champion empowerment and inclusiveness for all, not at the expense of any group with the aim that everybody at REPL feels comfortable in bringing their whole authentic self to work. Speaking about what she enjoys most about the company, Cerys said, “There are two things that have really come to excite me during my eight years at REPL. Firstly, I love that we are able to make a real difference to the customers we work with. The brilliant thing about working in retail is that we can go into a store and see some of the things we’ve done or talk to staff and see how things we’ve been involved with have made their life better, simpler or more productive. Secondly, I love that we still have a small company ethos. There is a fantastic culture and we all feel like we are working towards a common goal, which I find really motivating and inspiring.” Entrepreneurial spirit REPL has always had a very entrepreneurial mindset with the philosophy that “there is always an answer, we just haven’t worked it out yet”. This culture of empowerment to deliver exceptional results has helped to create a highly engaged workforce, as 94.5% of REPL’s workforce would recommend the company as a good place to work, with innovation within the organisation driven from all levels. REPL’s offering also makes it stand out from the competition as the organisation has recognised it provides the most value to its clients through its unique insight-driven expertise. This has helped to cement its position as a trusted advisor within the retail industry. REPL’s main point of differentiation is its people. When asked what REPL stands for, the team responds with ‘REmarkable PeopLe’. The team at REPL is driven by solving problems for customers and it is often this problem solving that has helped to shape where REPL Founded in 2007 by Mike Callender and Chris Love, the idea for REPL came about after the company they previously worked for began to consult a US-based software company to help solve the organisation’s need for a workforce management and back office solution. While the software vendor had the right functionality, it didn’t have any services on the ground and therefore was required to train people up to implement the solution for the company. However, it soon became clear that Mike and Chris had picked up the software far quicker than the third parties they had engaged to do so, and as a result, they took charge of implementing the software into the company they had been working at. The pair went on to become consultants for the software vendor - and so, REPL was born. Now boasting more than 300 employees, REPL is headquartered in Henley-in-Arden with three additional office locations in the UK in London, Warwick and Leeds, as well global offices in South Africa, Japan, Singapore and the United States. Commenting on the award win, Mike said: “At REPL, we have an ethos to always strive for the exceptional, and Cerys has been fundamental in working this into the company culture. As well as the recognition for the amazing team around us, this award also means a lot for girls and women that are looking to go into tech, as it shows them that there are opportunities available and that they can have a successful career in the industry. This award is a great accolade for both Cerys and REPL and is a testament to Cerys’ work within the Group.” FIRM PROFILE develops its offerings. Cerys believes REPL’s people are the foundation of its success: “Our people deliver the exceptional to REPL’s customers who are happy to recommend us which is helping to deliver top line growth that we’ve consistently enjoyed year-on-year.” In its twelve years, REPL’s client base has grown significantly thanks to the team’s drive to really help customers and make a difference. Cerys has continued to champion this approach since her appointment to CEO but continues to aim for a diverse and engaged workforce as REPL goes from strength to strength.