On Thursday 29 June the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, associated partners, friends, sponsors and colleagues celebrated the 2017 #WalesRBAwards and the positive impact business makes on Welsh society, economy and the environment.
The Wales Responsible Business Awards recognise the very best of business; those which are making a positive difference to the challenges our nation faces. From creating stronger links with communities, to building more inclusive workplaces; from supporting young people into employment, to leading the way on sustainable resource management, the Awards are an opportunity for Welsh business to stand up and be counted as some of the most responsible companies across the country. 
Capital Network Solutions provides outsourced IT services and specialise in cyber security. Being a responsible business is not a top down or bottom up approach at CNS, it is an all-encompassing ethos which is at the heart of everything the company does.
Good for business
- Employee retention – reflecting the company’s values to develop staff, all colleagues now have a progression and training programme and retention rates are at an all-time high of 95%
- Revenue growth – by committing to provide a service (Cyber Essentials Certification) to charity customers at a loss, the product has now been spun out into a revenue making exercise for the company (topping £60,000 in 16/17)
- Employee absence – with a realignment of the employee recognition scheme and better flexible working arrangements, employee absence rates have been halved (2012 to 2016)
Good for society
- Supporting charities – the loss-leader product (Cyber Essentials Certification) has ensured that all charity customers have passed the cyber security tests and one has even gone on to be able to secure funding for a further 5 years as a result
- Managing the impact – measures have been put in place to actively measure and over time, reduce, the company’s environmental impacts through virtualisation and system hibernation
- Working with communities – Capital Networks are successfully passing on their skills to community beneficiaries by working with 26 vulnerable people at Llamau, helping them to be digitally literate in the future
Capital Network Solutions is committed to being a values-led organisation, with business decisions being taken in line with those values. These strategic drivers enable the company to better target and measure the actions they take and improve what they do over time. The company developed its own value set in consultation with all members of staff and these are reflected internally through HR and recruitment practices as well as externally in terms of which companies CNS chooses to work with. The company also recognises colleagues in line with how they perform alongside each value of the business. This commitment to a values-led approach has not only been recognised by BITC, but also in the company’s recent IiP reaccreditation.
This kind of approach would not be successful without the support of the senior management – and in a small organisation – every member of staff. The values are lived and breathed by everyone at CNS and everyone knows where their role fits within that structure. CNS also use their values as a basis to engage externally and seek feedback on what they can do better with customers or partners; showing a mature approach to reflection and engagement. Crucially, CNS acted on feedback from customers and employees, implemented changes and as a result saw even more positive benefits.
CNS’ commitment to being a responsible business is not solely internally focussed, but goes beyond the walls of the business into their community and supporting vulnerable groups and local sports teams. The company has also seen a revenue boost from a plan which was originally managed as a loss leader; showing that the commitment to doing the right thing will eventually pay off in the longer term.
What Capital Network Solutions’ Managing Director said:
“Putting this Award application together was a very rewarding experience. In a fast paced business you do not often have the time to reflect and feel proud of your achievements. However, our involvement with BITC gives us this vital opportunity to identify and document the steps we have taken yet again despite undergoing significant change over the year. Even as we grow, our small business practices and values remain central to all that we do and that’s extremely important to us.” – Sarah Edwards, Managing Director, Capital Network Solutions
