Henry Stewart : Full Biography : SPEAKERS for BUSINESS

Henry Stewart

Be happier at work, watch your performance rocket

Full Biography

Henry Stewart is the founder and Chief Executive of Happy, who provide training in both desktop IT and how to create great places to work. Although employing only forty-five people, Happy has won wide recognition for its innovative approach to management and to customer service.

Happy has been rated by Management Today in its annual Service Excellence awards as the best company in the UK for customer service. Previous winners have included First Direct and Nationwide Building Society. Also, Parents at Work have named Happy as joint winners of the Family Friendly Employer of the Year. The company has been short-listed for Business in the Community’s award for the Greatest Impact on Society. In 2006 the company was named as having the most positive impact on society of any small business in the UK by Business in the Community. In 2007 the Financial Times rated Happy as the 2nd best place to work in the UK, in its annual Best Workplaces awards.

“Imagine a company based around the principle that people work best when they feel good about themselves”, explains Henry. “Imagine a workplace where, instead of levels of approval, people are trusted to make the key decisions for themselves”. Henry is convinced the approach pays dividends in business terms, with benefits in greater staff retention, easier recruitment and more motivated employees giving great service to customers. “Imagine trusting people to work out their own balance of life and work. Imagine a blame-free culture where mistakes are celebrated. Wouldn’t you want to work there? We are still learning but that is the type of company we are seeking to create.”

His company has certainly been tested, as the IT training market (Happy’s core business) has been in severe recession with a fall in sales of 30% across the sector. But Happy has continued to grow as many competitors have gone into administration or been forced to merge. Recent achievements include winning the contract to provide content for the largest e-learning project ever to take place in Europe, with the aim of training half a million people in the National Health Service in IT skills. There are already over 200,000 students signed up.

Henry’s upbeat, clear and practical advice delivered in a consistently positive way means that he is in great demand as a speaker on the workplace. Not only is his company Happy but he’s brought a great deal of fulfillment and satisfaction to other companies across the UK.