In the rural community of Guestwick, UK, orange fox sightings are common. Thanks to local entrepreneur Karen Harris and her team at Orange Fox Electrical, you might spot them in homes and commercial buildings throughout the region. The orange fox is emblazoned on the company’s service vans and company uniforms. While the foxes may be fictional, to the team, they are symbolic of community, family and service – values they aim to embody.
Like many small business owners, Harris was forced to furlough staff during the pandemic and faced challenges she wasn’t sure the business she owns with her partner would recover from. Thanks to a strong team culture distilled from the top-down, a commitment to the local community, and the support of a $10,000 grant from GEN, KKR and Hello Alice through GEN’s Small Business Grants Program, her company is poised for growth.
GEN caught up with Karen to learn about her leadership approach, how she ensures her team’s wellbeing, and entrepreneurial lessons learned during the pandemic.
*This interview has been edited for length and readability.
GEN: Orange Fox Electrical is a family-run business. How are different members of your family involved?
Karen Harris: Dan, my husband, is a qualified electrician. I worked in the corporate world before we decided to join forces. I head up company culture, accounts, business strategy, HR and special projects. Dan is the Technical Director. Together we work on strategy and recruitment and, within his role, creativity to ensure that best practices and productivity are king.
We also encourage our team members to become part of the Orange Fox ‘family’. We know the names of their partners, children, and pets and take an interest in their well-being both inside and outside the office. The opening question in our appraisals is: what’s happening in your life?
GEN: I’ve read that you work with a ‘can-do’ attitude, overcoming obstacles along the way, always working as a team.” How has this helped you through the pandemic?
Karen Harris: We, like many other companies, had to close almost immediately when the government ordered everyone to stay at home. However, we were considered key workers as electrical faults did not stop when our country ground to a halt. We identified a couple of engineers who were willing to work throughout the closure and followed government guidelines to keep both our team members and customers safe. We, as a team, pulled together. We furloughed a lot of our staff however, and my husband and I were unable to claim anything personally, which affected how we could run our business due to cash flow.
Once the world started opening again, it became apparent that the trades would be busier than ever. For us, this meant moving our offices out of our home to a new location. We purchased a portacabin and more vehicles and recruited office staff, electricians, and apprentices to keep up with demand. The electricians drew on their circle of contacts to encourage others to join our team and we found ourselves busier than ever before. The team has been an intrinsic part of us pulling together and ensuring the longevity and security of the company. Dan and I know that without them, we wouldn’t have a company left.
GEN: Teamwork is central to your business. What makes a great team?
Karen Harris: We believe in the person as well as their qualifications and experience. A great team is made up of a balance of people, personalities, experiences, and qualifications. Our interview process is rigorous to ascertain whether the person would fit within our team. Sometimes, we have jobs that overrun in the evening, and we know we can rely on our team to pull together to get the job done and support their fellow team members. It’s that spirit that makes us unique in the industry.
We provide our team with full uniforms, liveried vans, mobile phones and iPads / laptops, tools, equipment, and anything else they may need to do their job. We like to celebrate their birthdays and ‘wins’ like passing driving tests with cards and little gifts. Now that we can socialize again, we have re-started the company BBQ and get the team together for a Christmas meal. We also offer support in their personal lives, so if they are buying a house, or a car or need some financial support, we can help.
We work hard and play hard. This means that (COVID withstanding) we often have socials where we get together, we encourage family interaction and want all our team to know that we are here for them both in a work capacity but also personally. Our innovative approach is borne out of the loyalty and long-serving members of our team.
GEN: Team wellbeing is a priority in your business. What are some of the ways you ensure team well-being?
Karen Harris: The well-being of our staff is at the center of our business ethos. We are a caring, nurturing company that believes to get the best out of people, our ‘culture’ must be one of openness (no opinions are dismissed). We question the ‘why’ of everyone’s motivation to ensure that their personal growth is central to their work. If a team member is unhappy, we quickly pick up on this and start, gently, asking if there is anything we can help with.
Our Job and Diary Administrator is a trained Mental Health First Aider and we encourage our team members to refer to her when they need to. Our appraisal questions are personally centered around our team members and what is happening in their lives, where they feel they should be within their careers and what the next steps are to get them to where they want to be.
GEN: What is the biggest lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?
Karen Harris: Wow. After the past 18 months, our learning curve has developed exponentially. We have learned that with a company of our size (and growing) we cannot both be ‘in’ the business and ‘run’ the business. Our management team has changed, and our focus has shifted. We are now much more aware of social media and PR and have worked diligently to raise our profile to ensure the security and longevity of the business. Our recruitment campaigns are much more people-focused rather than purely qualification-based.
My advice is to surround yourself with the right people, ensure that you are passionate about what you do every day and if you find your passion waning, look at your ‘why’. Encourage collaboration and partnership. Play to your strengths and ensure your team members play to theirs.
GEN: How has the grant, provided through KKR, Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network, impacted your business?
Karen Harris: We are thrilled to be part of KKR, Hello Alice & the Global Entrepreneurship Network. Our business is in a period of rapid growth and your contribution to our business has allowed us to deepen partnerships which will give us access to a wider audience. It has helped with recruitment for our continued growth. It has been an amazing journey and one we are truly grateful for.
GEN: What’s next for you and for Orange Fox Electrical? What is your vision for the future?
Karen Harris: We have plans for expansion. We have a vision of our company becoming more eco-friendly with an electric fleet and a car charge installation offering. We also provide an infrastructure at our offices that includes rainwater harvesting and solar paneling, making our company carbon neutral. We are based rurally and encourage recruitment from the rural community.
We also hope to continue with each of our qualified electricians being supported by an apprentice as we believe passionately in support and personal development. In the future, we very much hope to see more of our Orange Fox vans on the road! Learn more about Karen and Orange Fox Electrical at https://orangefoxelectrical.co.uk/.
In 2020-2021, the Global Entrepreneurship Network collaborated with Hello Alice, KKR, Verizon, eBay, UBS, Mastercard, BGE and Danny Garcia, founder of Seven Bucks Production to administer over $8 million in pandemic emergency funds to 500+ entrepreneurs around the world. Learn more here.