Management focus: Staff enter the Dragon's Den

Childbase is emulating the popular 'Dragon's Den' TV show concept in a move to reward staff and invest in their personal interests. One beneficiary is Wendy Morris, human resources and payroll officer at the chain's head office, who convinced the Dragons they should invest in her passion for bee-keeping.

'There was huge interest from staff when announcements about the scheme went out on e-mail and noticeboards, and I thought I'd have a go,' says Ms Morris. 'I got a friend to help me with my presentation and provided lots of information on bee-keeping and why I was personally interested in it.'

She adds, 'The bee population is declining and the ecosystem relies on honey bee pollination, so it is something I feel strongly about. I already have an allotment which I devote a lot of time to, and I'm delighted to win such a substantial sum to help me train to keep bees and purchase a hive.'

In total, 41 staff applied for the contest, 21 were selected to pitch and 17 were awarded between £150 and £2,000 each.

The panel included Lynda Gostelow, operations director; Clair Drury, training co-ordinator; Alison Goodrum, team leader at Highbury Lodge Nursery; and Russell Beadle, internal auditor.

The scheme was open to all of the company's 1,200 staff working across 39 nurseries and its head office in Newport Pagnell. The pitches ranged from requests to learn Makaton sign language, to hypnotherapy to give up smoking. Each presentation had to include an account of how the sum of money would have a positive impact on home or work life, or both.

According to Clair Drury, the Dragon's Den caught everyone's imagination. 'As a Dragon I was in the privileged position of listening to all the pitches and then making a decision whether to invest or not. Some of the presentations really tugged at the heartstrings and of course you want to be able to make everyone's dreams come true, but sometimes we had to say those dreaded words: "and for this reason I'm out".'

Wendy Morris feels that without this helping hand she would have been unlikely to pursue her interest in apiculture. 'It is a costly exercise. Apart from training, I have to build a fence on the allotment to ensure safety. It's great to get this kind of support.'

Childbase intends to run its second Dragon's Den in 2011 and award similar sums of money.