People Essentials Services Springboard Growth Construction Firm

Three years ago James Bailey acquired Hailsham Roadways a Civil Engineering Contractor, established in 1966.  The last 12 months has seen a remarkable improvement in results and has been a real turning point for the business.

Hailsham Roadways was one of the first organisations to use our customised Construction Survey and we are delighted to report how working with us has helped them in their journey and to achieve these significant milestones.

The Challenge

Taking over a business established and run by the same person for 50 years presents its own difficulties and, when combined with the unique challenges of working in the construction sector James Bailey, Chief Executive, and Victoria Vasiliauskaite, Head of Operations knew this acquisition was not going to be easy.

No amount of due diligence will provide you with all the information and insight you need when acquiring a business or taking over a contract. An understanding of your people along with details of operating processes, contracts and client relationships is generally accumulated over time.

The initial period following the purchase was relatively straightforward; James Bailey describes this as their ‘honeymoon period’. In our experience there is a marked difference between making an acquisition and then making that acquisition perform and grow.

The Construction Sector is recognised as being one of the industries where retaining employees is difficult – a 2018 survey identified that construction firms are four times more likely to experience difficulties than other industries. As Roadways approached their twelve month anniversary the senior team acknowledged that they had an issue with staff retention.

Victoria Vasiliauskaite remarks “Retention was bad with key members of staff such as foremen leaving the business. We saw this was making others feel insecure and increasing the risk they would also leave. We assumed this was because staff were not buying in to our vision for the business”.

Roadways believed that picking up multiple new contracts and undertaking significant investment in training would alleviate peoples’ concerns and resolve the problem.  However, employees continued to leave and the senior team began to receive resignations on an almost weekly basis. The level of turnover became such that it necessitated increasing amounts of management time to avoid disrupting business operations and client delivery.

The Project

People Essentials recommended that Roadways consider an employee survey to get a better understanding of how people were really thinking and feeling. We have found, particularly during times of change, our surveys are an efficient and important tool for gathering this kind of information. Furthermore the insight they provide is vital to identifying where to focus and what actions to take in order to make timely impact.

Using 40 carefully selected questions the survey, developed specifically for the Construction Sector, measures engagement using the Employee Net Promoter, the drivers of engagement, wellbeing and health and safety.

Roadways were concerned that field based workers in particular would not do the survey so we took steps to make it as easy as possible for them to participate.

Studies suggest that up to 60% of workers in the construction sector may have dyslexia. Our Surveys and written communications therefore meet the best practice guidelines set out in the British Dyslexia Association Style Guide.

In addition to face to face briefings telling people about the purpose of the survey they were provided in various paper and on-line formats and workers were allocated time and private space to complete them.

Initial Results and feedback

This first survey achieved a 54% response rate. While lower than our average this was a pleasing result given the state of flux in the organisation.

James Bailey recalls “we were quite nervous about receiving the survey results but the way Michelle and David presented them was refreshing. They facilitated a discussion that addressed difficult issues, highlighted our strengths and the progress we had made and provided insight and ideas for moving forward. It was a really positive and energising meeting.”

Roadways were very pleased to note employees reported an excellent Safety Score of 85%. This showed their focus on safety over the past year had made a significant mark. The survey also showed particular strengths in teamwork and a strong commitment to delivering high quality work.

Several opportunities for improving worker commitment and engagement were identified including clarifying job roles and expectations, and the need to continue to build trust in the leadership team.

First steps

Using the feedback and themes identified in the feedback meeting we helped Roadways develop a 6 month action plan setting out manageable and measurable steps that would move them forward.

Roadways understand that trust is vital to building effective and loyal relationships with employees and communication is fundamental when it comes to building trust. When so many people work remotely written communication may seem an easy option however:

• Remote workers prefer face to face conversation over formal emails and letters
• Written communication is harder for people with dyslexia to understand
• Trust is built through personal interaction

Employees were still wary of the new leadership team in part due to the legacy left by the previous owner. Roadways agreed therefore that at this stage the act of communicating was of more importance than the method they chose. Victoria Vasiliauskaite made an immediate start by holding several small group meetings to share the survey findings, giving equal time to discussing both strengths and areas needing improvement.

This led to the creation of a now very active all staff WhatsApp group and the timely sharing of information on contract wins, key activities, targets and overall performance.

This was complemented with an on-going commitment to regular 1:1 and team meetings to discuss work, ideas and issues raised and social activities such as the Christmas Party which included a review of the year.

Over the next 6 months Roadways saw a noticeable improvement in communication between teams and more open dialogue with the management team.

Second Survey

A further employee survey was undertaken 6 months later. This bespoke survey was shorter, less than 20 questions, focused on specific areas highlighted in the previous survey and designed to maintain the momentum for change. Victoria Vasiliauskaite ensured managers played an important role in deciding what should be included.

Prior to the survey being distributed briefings took place reminding existing employees, and telling recent starters why it was being done and that their responses would remain anonymous.

There was a huge increase in response, to 76%, and more consistent representation from across the whole business.

Survey findings included a 15 point increase in the Employee Net Promoter Score and Roadways were delighted that the office based team, despite a significant restructuring exercise, reported an even better 25 point increase. Findings also showed an improved Safety Score of 96% and a projected 50% reduction in staff churn. When considered alongside a 30% increase in annual turnover and 200% increase in net profit Roadways were naturally delighted with these results and developed another action plan to bring about further improvements.

This action plan still focuses on communication with employees, managers and across teams; sharing information about business goals and performance and working with teams to set expectations, measure and review results because communicating what is expected, where people contribute to the bigger picture and what they can expect in return, demonstrates integrity and trust. They are also embarking on a program of management training.

Continuous Improvement

By investing in better communication and closer relationships with employees Roadways has improved levels of engagement and started to reap the benefits of creating a more trusting workplace.

Changes resulting from acquisitions and new contracts such as Roadways can demotivate and disengage employees.  Without attention it can take a long time for employees to recover and this is a problem when organisations need to maintain and improve performance.

People Essentials have provided Roadways with a framework for addressing the problems associated with their acquisition. James Bailey says “When we first talked with People Essentials I was concerned that with all of the change within our business this was the last thing we needed. I could not have been more wrong. I can honestly say that working with them has been a pivotal point in our journey. People Essentials insight and support enabled us to focus our efforts and also provided a significant boost in our confidence”.

The actions Roadways have taken have resulted in significantly higher engagement levels and dramatically improved business productivity and profitability. We’re looking forward to working with them as they continue their journey.