Watford Control Instruments Ltd
Mark Massetti, Managing Director
Watford Control is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of voltage stabilisers, optimisers and power conditioners, supplying wind farms, government, medical and commercial customers to name a few.
Our equipment is sold within the UK and also exported around the world to help customers improve their power quality, save energy and prolong the life of electrical equipment.
The course has been a game changer for me
What’s been the biggest impact on your business since joining Help to Grow: Management?
Digitisation without a doubt. This business was started in 1947 and we acquired it in 2016. We have five other directors but I’m the only working director. Up until Christmas last year, I was working with a right-hand person who was incredible and never let me down. But when circumstances changed and they left suddenly, I realised that as a company, we hadn’t been embracing the digital technology at our disposal.
Since doing the course, I’ve been able to digitise everything within months, using our existing systems. So, we’ve gone from being like a swan with its feet paddling frantically, to being like a swan on the top and the bottom! That’s absolutely been a game changer for me.
The other thing for me was marketing, as the course made me realise that we weren’t doing our marketing very well. The marketing content was great, especially the information on segmentation and personas which our staff now all understand.
What impact has the course had on you personally?
Losing a key member of staff was a rude awakening for me and I would highly recommend anyone asking themselves what they would do if their key person walked out the door tomorrow. However, we’ve gone from not knowing how to undo the previous manual processes, to all 15 of us knowing how everything works with a finance manager and an admin manager in place. So, asking how efficient and streamlined the business is and taking action has been a big takeout from this for me.
What were you hoping to get out of Help to Grow: Management before you started?
I’m a businessman so I know my way around the financial world, but I suppose I wanted to get a sense of how good I really am. And as I’m the only working director, I’m often working on my own. Although I’ve got support, I can be reluctant to ask for help, so the course helped with that aspect.
Can you give any examples of how you're going to incorporate what you've learned from the course into your business going forward?
Again, it’s about digitisation and making sure that everything we do has a proper process. For example, we’ve now got everyone’s passwords to everything. And being on the course means you can pick up odd little snippets from other people that can help with that sort of thing.
We use Google Ad Words extensively, and we now we have a better understanding of where our budget goes and how to fine tune it.
What made you decide to join Help to Grow: Management in the first place?
I thought it would be a bit of a mini MBA. And there was a bit of vanity it, thinking perhaps that I could say ‘I went on this course, but it didn’t teach me anything’, which didn’t turn out to be the case!
Can you describe the experience of doing the course?
It was nice to get on the calls and meet people; we had some really good times during the course. So, even though the weekly commitment can sometimes feel like a pain when you’re busy, it’s enjoyable. And as I said, I learned a lot.
Would you recommend the Help to Grow: Management Course to other small business owners?
Yes. I would say it’s a great way to recognise what you’re doing wrong and find out what needs to be done to put it right, as well as a way of seeing what you are doing right. It was well worth the time invested.
For more information, please email us at h2gm@dmu.ac.uk or apply now.