Sharon Williams ~ Pia

Pia is a Cwmbran-based printing company specialising in accessible communications such as Braille and large print

Established in 1985, Pia translates documents for the visually impaired for a diverse client base including government and public bodies, banks and universities

The company currently employs 11 people and, in its recent history, a significant percentage of the workforce has been female. This has also meant that many of Pia’s employees have had caring responsibilities.

As part of its participation in Agile Nation, Pia gave its staff the opportunity to take part in the Ascent training programme to develop their skills and help their progression. This included Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) accredited training which is designed to improve management skills, confidence in the workplace, time management and the ability to motivate other team members.

Operations manager Lauren Morse, 23, received a promotion following her completion of the Ascent Programme and is now responsible for line managing seven people. Her role involves quality-checking all work that is produced and building client relationships.

Managing Director, Sharon William recently requested help from Agile Nation on remote working and implementing viable solutions that will make it easier for staff to work at home and on the move.

Sharon said

“We have worked with Chwarae Teg for a number of years and successfully put one of our managers through the Ascent Programme. This has helped improve our skills and strengthen the team. We are a small company so it is a huge advantage to be able to access high-quality accredited training at no cost.

“We are currently working with Chwarae Teg on our remote working policies. At the moment we have 20% of our staff working flexibly, including part-time hours or a condensed week. The biggest obstacle we face is the sensitive nature of our work. We handle confidential documents on behalf of our customers which makes it difficult for people to take material off-site and work from home.

“We want to ensure we are maximising remote working opportunities where possible to accommodate members of staff with caring responsibilities. The aim is to have a transparent remote working policy in place that will allow us to comply with legislation, keep our staff motivated and produce results for our clients as efficiently as possible.

We look forward to working with Chwarae Teg towards this as our experience of working with them to date has been overwhelmingly positive. Taking part in Agile Nation has made a real difference to us and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the project to other businesses.”