CEO and founder, Lawrence Jones MBE, attributes the recruitment drive to surging demand for eCloud – the British cloud service launched in 2013.
He says: “With our eCloud and the hands-on support we deliver, we are finding clients want accountability and someone at the end of a phone – particularly now, with concerns over Safe Harbour and data privacy [changes in laws affecting data stored in the USA].
“It’s a service that can’t be replicated by mass hosing providers, and it’s proving very successful. Building something like this requires great people and lots of them.”
Jones says: “I’ve always seen the value in rewarding your team and creating an environment where people love coming to work. By pushing these boundaries, I believe the team are rising to the challenge.”
Jones’ investment in team rewards last year included an ice-rink outside the office at Christmas, regular ski trips to Switzerland, multiple movie premiere screenings and a ‘Zoofari’ takeover at Chester Zoo. Summer also saw UKFast’s car park transformed into a full-scale beach, allowing the team to take advantage of the good weather.This year Jones is organising the second ‘UKFest’, a mini festival for friends and family as well as the direct team.
UKFast’s state-of-the-art training and development centre represents a £4.5million investment from Jones, who puts education and training at the heart of his firm’s engagement and growth strategy.
He continued: “Perks and days out are nice things to have, but I’ve learned that to make UKFast a truly great place to work we had to focus on giving people the opportunity to learn and develop.”
The newly created roles will be filled through a series of recruitment days during the coming months.