Rewards All Round – making a strong company culture

Organisations would benefit from taking a new perspective to company culture says Elizabeth Hardwick-Smith, Group People and Culture Director at multi-disciplinary property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard.

Company culture is a critical part of an organisation’s success criteria. There are multiple benefits that can be drawn from a thriving culture so it’s an important business strategy to invest in. It’s why we have been considering our own culture, finding that it needs to be more than something that ‘just happens.’ We want to ensure it’s in the best shape possible for reflecting and supporting our unique position, our challenges, goals and onward journey.

For us, this started with considering how leaders can guide the behaviour of colleagues working alongside them, setting clear expectations and providing a platform for success, linked to our business strategy aims. We wanted our culture to be an embodiment of our values and purpose; running through everything we do and experience, every day, to deliver better together.

Everyone has a part to play. Right from their first introduction to us, people understand their role in strengthening the beating heart of the business. We set the foundations as we attract and onboard new talent from diverse backgrounds across the industry. We solidify our position as a great place to work through various culture-focused initiatives that build on our strengths, and we collaborate with leaders and managers to adapt their style to enhance the experience our talent has with us each and every day.

People practices and providing purpose

More than ever, people want to be recognised by their employer as an individual, not just a number. They want to feel valued, enjoy work with purpose and be part of something.

So, a people-first approach is clearly needed to help attract, and then nurture and retain talent. This means a suite of policies that better suit the diversity, lifestyles and needs of colleagues, including routes to flexibility, better engagement, performance and rewards schemes that help motivate and really look after people. We’ve been driving transformation in these important areas, collaborating directly with our people to gain their feedback.

It also means giving people the space to flourish and thrive on their own accountability and innovation. With the continued acceleration of new tools and technologies designed to make our lives and work better, an openness is needed to afford our people ample opportunity to influence change – creating ways to implement new approaches for the benefit of our people, clients and the community as a whole.

One such example is our innovation scheme called Lightbulb Moments. This scheme encourages our people to critique our processes and share their input on what we can do better. We reward the best ideas with bonuses and importantly involve them in the implementation. This supports the drive for a culture of continuous improvement and ownership within the business, whilst celebrating individual success.

Recognition and reward

Operating with a ‘spot it, celebrate it’ mentality has enabled us to reinforce not just technical excellence, but the way in which we do business together, highlighting what’s important in our interactions with clients and each other.

At its core, everyone likes to know when they are doing a good job. Acknowledging that makes them feel greater confidence, as well as driving motivations, repeat behaviour and role modelling for others. Developed with the input of our people, our bespoke competencies and our values provide a clear map to the behaviours we need and want from each other. These form important components of our coaching, mentoring and performance conversations.

Whether it’s a quick message to say someone has done a great job, through to incentive bonuses and full-scale business awards like our own Being Pick Everard Awards, celebration touchpoints are vital to a people-first approach and help to breed a positive environment in which people can thrive. Any company breeding a positive culture recognises the people to whom it owes its success – and it doesn’t wait to do so.

Right work, right location

Agile working policies are a huge benefit, with many favouring a hybrid or even remote approach that allows them to maximise their personal time around work. We all benefit from frequent social connection which we support with regular social, charitable and team building opportunities at Pick Everard. Many of our roles also rely on team collaboration – a key component of our culture – so finding the balance to this within a hybrid model can be challenging.

Our aim is to be inclusive, accommodating both differing views on what teamwork arrangements should look like, and differing preferences from individuals based on their unique circumstances. Practices like our own enhanced family leave policies, sabbaticals, Christmas-leave opt out and childcare scheme work to make sure our people can make choices over what the right work-life blend looks like to them. An ongoing dialogue with manager and team also ensures daily needs are considered and met.

The offer of flexibility additionally serves to support a health-first approach, something particularly important for the construction industry, which has a notorious reputation for poor levels of mental wellbeing. Wellness support plans, trained mental health first aiders and our wellbeing hub support this further – providing proactive management and response to those who need it.

Driving Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Owning the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda at all levels is a key cultural aspiration for us as a business. Especially in the construction industry, there is a need to attract and develop a much more diverse workforce to make sure the sector responsible for physically shaping our lives through the built environment reflects what society at large needs. Greater diversity means we can address skills shortages quicker, whilst providing the right solutions to our clients and our communities.

Our team of diversity champions are working with us to ensure what we offer as an employer is accessible and appealing to everyone, regardless of background. This means putting ourselves under regular scrutiny, investing in EDI training and taking a strategic approach to strengthening our practices in this area. Our 13-point EDI plan has seen us commit to pledges and change practices. We’ve welcomed in external experts, established forums and changed our language but we know there’s more to do to ensure full responsibility for inclusion is embraced by every individual.

Great culture all comes down to making sure that the individual and company thrive and succeed together. Organisations have a huge role in providing the direction and pathway to make that happen, with individuals using their voice in an open and transparent environment. In my view, a people-first approach is the only way to do that properly. If we fail to engage, develop and reward staff in the right way, it’s the company who will lose out when talent seeks the right culture for them elsewhere.