Energised by the glorious summer weather that we’re currently enjoying, the team at HR Champions recently experienced a ‘bee safari’ under the guidance of our own resident beekeeper and HR Consultant Owen Lee. In addition to learning more about bees and the origins of honey, we discovered that there are many parallels that can be drawn between businesses and bee colonies.

Owen explained that within a beehive there exists a specific organisational structure, the correct functioning of which is vital if the colony is to succeed and thrive. Just as in the organisational structure of a business, within a beehive there is a hierarchy involving different job roles and specialisms.

Consider that the CEO or Managing Director of a hive is the Queen Bee. Her role is to selflessly serve the hive by almost exclusively laying eggs; bringing life to the hive and thereby ensuring its prosperity and longevity.

The board of directors or senior management team within the hive are the Drones. Their role is to support the Queen in reproduction. This role requires commitment and dedication as, bound to a life of service, they are incapable of feeding themselves. They risk their lives to support the life span of the hive and are reliant on the Worker bees to perform their roles efficiently and effectively.

Most of the bee workforce consists of the worker bees. As a guide, there are approximately 100 workers for each drone. Worker bees have different positions within the hive and must juggle multiple responsibilities and be prepared to multi-task. They are the foundation of the hive; each one being committed to its duties and responsibilities to the other members of the colony or team. Worker bees are excellent at self-management.

The bees’ instinct to act and behave for the good of the entire hive, regardless of the task or challenges at hand, makes their organisation far superior to many businesses that often struggle to recruit the right person for the job. The natural combination of attitude and skillset found amongst bees give them the ability to battle against changes in environment and external forces in order to maintain growth; just as business organisations must battle against market changes, social media influences, job expectations and retention.

There is clearly much that businesses can learn from bees and Owen will be sharing this and everything else he knows about recruitment at our ‘Recruiting and Retaining Talent for Success’ seminar on Tuesday 1st October at Jurys Inn, Cheltenham.

Please join us and make sure you’ve got the best bees in your hive!