NICOLA Watkins and Michelle Powell from Blackwood are participating in "Fish Days" at Swalec in Cardiff Gate to help achieve peak performance in customer service.

The 600 staff of the electricity and gas retailer have adopted the fish theme to hit performance targets and make work more fun.

Operations manager Roger Pettit said the fish philosophy - so called because it was developed in Seattle's fish market some years ago - is a key to high morale at the company's office.

He claims a happy working environment brings measurable benefits to the bottom line.

"The fish philosophy is a fun concept with a serious business purpose. "It's based on four themes that are intended to help shape attitudes and performance: 'choose your attitude, play, be there, and make their day'.

"This month we launched the concept with a Finding Nemo day. Lots of staff dressed in a fish theme which could entail anything they liked, including mermaids."

Mr Pettit said the idea on that occasion was that the staff were fishing for the best performance in getting accurate meter readings, requesting up-to-date information from customers who contacted them. "This helps us to ensure that bills are accurate and reduces our dependence on estimates, as we often have difficulty gaining access to customers' premises."

Mr Pettit believes his miracle fish help to minimise absenteeism, keep staff turnover low, and reduce the cost of recruitment and induction training.

"And more importantly, it helps to keep experienced and motivated staff who deliver their best performance day-in and day-out."

He wants to make coming to work as good an experience as possible. "We put a lot of effort into creating a team spirit, and much of what we do is linked to charity fund-raising.

"There will be other fish themed days throughout the year all with a specific purpose to help the team to achieve excellent performance."