Dog business going to the dogs

<p>We chat to Simon the CEO of Dog Guru the largest dog training company in New Zealand</p> <p><strong>When did your company begin?</strong></p> <p>We started our company in 2002 when we found there was little place to receive work experience.</p> <p><strong>How big is your company now?</strong></p> <p>We now have 23 staff around the country and continue to grow</p> <p><strong>How do you work with your staff when they are scattered?</strong></p> <p>We have regional managers in place which work on goal setting for all our staff. This has enabled our staff to feel valued and become a key in the company. We want to ensure all their input is valued so I go on a road trip every 3-4 months to meet individually all the staff and we have monthly conference calls to discuss our ideas and moving forward</p> <p><strong>What is your main challenge in your company?</strong></p> <p>The main challenge would be keeping our staff happy. We used to have a high staff turnover and we hope that having the managers in place will keep this down as it can be a hard job with stressed out dogs at times and mostly weekend work. However our staff along with our clients are the most important part of our company so we need to make sure they are happy and not stressed</p> <p><strong>What has helped you grow?</strong></p> <p>I learnt a couple of years ago that being the decision maker it was a lonely existence so I got a business mentor which has allowed me to grow the company in a way that benefits the staff. It has also been great having someone to bounce ideas off.</p> <p><strong>How many dogs would your company train a month?</strong></p> <p>We train almost 500 dogs per month at least around the country.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dogguru.co.nz">Dog Guru www.dogguru.co.nz</a></p>