North Wales Police Sergeant Iwan Owen has beaten off stiff competition from across the UK to win the Lloyds TSB and Working Families "Britain’s Best Boss" competition.
Sgt Owen manages the Western Division Professional Development Unit and is responsible for six tutors who train student police officers in law enforcement, coaching them through the everyday incidents that happen out on the streets.
He was nominated by his entire team for his practical, supportive and consultative approach to work-life balance practices and says that the key to being a good boss is simply to "trust your staff".
Upon joining the unit, Sgt Own took the opportunity to review the uncompromising shift pattern and rather than dictating a system, asked his team to come up with a range of new work patterns to help redress the balance.
He then put together a working pattern to fit in with the work-life balance needs of the whole team and which benefits the business. The team all work full-time, 40 hours per week on a ‘discretionary’ system which means they are provided with a great deal of flexibility and are given the responsibility to arrange their own cover within that system.
Sgt Owen recognises that his approach to flexible working requires placing a high degree of trust in his team, but says that the benefits are countless: “They repay the responsibility they are given 110% and our attendance figures are superb. We also work hard to support each other through personal and work-related difficulties. But the far reaching benefits are that we turn out quality students - North Wales Police Western Division are the best performing division in the country with a detection rate of 48% against a national average of below 30%.”
Sgt Owen was awarded Best Boss in a competition, run by Working Families and Lloyds TSB, and received his award from Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety at a celebratory lunch in the House of Lords.
Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families said: “We have had a record number of entries this year and Iwan has won through a very competitive field of inspiring bosses. His story shows that trusting your team and allowing them a great deal of autonomy and flexibility, not only results in a highly motivated group of people, but also in excellent performance and measurable results.”
