CONNECT
2018
CUSTOMER IS KING PAGE 18
Royal seal of approval for apprenticeship training PAGE 8
Keeping it in the family PAGE 26
STepping up production PAGE 20
Nathan Evans
in the spotlight With two years as Managing Director under his belt, Nathan Evans spills the beans on Clarkson Evans’ business priorities for 2018 and how the company intends to keep ahead of the competition.
04 Nathan facts about
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A former semi-professional rugby player, now he’s a big supporter of Gloucester RFC, and other local clubs. He’s up early to work out at Trimnasium in Cheltenham. He prefers to be out meeting customers, than behind his desk. A keen golfer, he plays off 18 (on a good day).
How has the firm changed now you’re at the helm?
There certainly haven’t been sweeping changes. Things were going really well beforehand and I’m just keen to make sure we maintain this. If I had to pick out something that’s a bit different to before I’d say that we’ve improved the communication between our commercial and production teams right up to director level. I’m passionate about breaking down any barriers and encouraging different teams to talk to each other face-to-face.
What motivates you?
I’d say it’s my desire to maintain our reputation as one of the front-runners in the sector. As well as always trying to be the best at what we do, I want us to be widely perceived as the best, not just by our customers but by our staff too. It’s important to me that people like working for us and our workforce is fully on board with what we’re trying to achieve.
What advice would you give to a new apprentice on their first day at the company?
Don’t give up when the going gets tough. Apprentices need to be prepared to work hard but there are great rewards on offer for our qualified electricians. When they look back after completing the apprenticeship they can be really proud of themselves.
How do you think Brexit will affect the housebuilding industry?
There’s a possibility it will cause a crisis of confidence among potential home buyers. If they get nervous and stop buying, the developers will slow down on building. Having said this, there hasn’t been an impact yet and if anything the feedback we’re hearing is that sales are still going strong.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given during your career?
To focus on making things happen and never letting people down. No matter how tall the order, there’s always a solution so you mustn’t give up and accept that something is too difficult.
What was the highlight of 2017?
Meeting HRH Princess Anne when we were presented with our Princess Royal Training Award was certainly a big moment. Other highlights have been our golf day, which gets bigger every year, and our Apprenticeship Presentation Evenings. Congratulating our newly qualified electricians on their achievements brings home to me just how much of a positive impact we’re able to have on so many people’s lives by giving them worthwhile career opportunities.
Instagram or Twitter?
Favourite golf course?
San lorenzo, quinta do lago, algarve Real ale or champagne?
Champagne!
What are your business priorities for 2018?
The key thing is to shore up the success of our business in the outlying areas where we operate. When we move into new areas there’s always lots of work to do to cement working relationships with new customers and build a highly effective team. As well as making this a high priority we’re also exploring opportunities to keep expanding into new areas such as Nottinghamshire and Kent.
Full english or granola?
Full english (of course!)
How do you plan to keep ahead of the competition?
Our secret weapon has always been our investment in staff training so we certainly intend to continue our focus on this. We’re also never shy of introducing new technology and innovative ways of operating. Rather than sitting back and waiting to see what other contractors do, we’ll always try our best to take the lead.
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PRIDE IN THE JOB 4
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We’ve helped 43 site managers win Quality Awards in this year’s NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Team leaders have worked in partnership with site managers to achieve the best quality finish at first and second fix stage on all the 19,560 homes we’ve wired this year. Nine of these site managers subsequently went on to win a Seal of Excellence. In addition we’ve helped Redrow Homes West Country Site Manager Steve Damerell (pictured) win a Regional Award and a place in the national Pride in the Job final, due to be held in London in January 2018. Our six quality managers continue to hammer home the “get it right first time” message to our teams. Audits at first, second and final fix stage are helping to educate our electricians about how they can continuously improve the quality of their work, regardless of how long they have been working ‘on the tools.’ We’re recognised by the NHBC as one of the biggest electrical contractors nationally and we continue to improve our relationship with this important body. In September we welcomed Paul Edwards, Regional Director (West & Wales Region), Nick Cunningham, Regional Director (South West) and Darryl Stewart, Training & Analysis Manager from the NHBC to our offices for a behind-the-scenes tour of our operational headquarters.
Welcoming our NHBC visitors
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AWARDS in foc
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JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
GLOUCESTERSHIRE ROSPA HEALTH & SAFETY COTSWOLD LIFE APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS AND FLEET SAFETY AWARDS FAMILY BUSINESS AWARDS Gloucester apprentice Jack Bradley reached the final of the Gloucestershire Apprenticeship Awards. Jack has subsequently qualified and has been promoted to a grade 3 team leader, working away at our Bracknell branch.
We were presented with the President’s Award for the second consecutive year at the 2017 RoSPA Health & Safety Awards. We also secured a Silver Award in the RoSPA Fleet Safety Awards 2017 after our fleet’s safety performance was benchmarked against that of others.
The Institute for Family Business says family businesses like ours are the backbone of our local communities. We are delighted that our outstanding contribution to the local and national economy was recognised by judges in the Cotswold Life Family Business Awards 2017.
OCTOBER NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP Electrical industry AWARDS awards
ON THE TOOLS AWARDS
We were highly commended in the large employer category of the National Apprenticeship Awards. This is the third year that we have reached the regional final of this prestigious award scheme, which celebrates employers offering quality apprenticeships.
Being named Construction Industry Employer of the Year at this year’s On the Tools Awards has helped to build our brand and support our recruitment efforts.
As a company we were thrilled to be highly commended in the large contractor category at this year’s Electrical Industry Awards. It’s the third time in our history that we’ve reached the final of this high profile award and it’s satisfying to know that we are highly regarded by our industry peers.
On the Tools is the largest online construction community. The awards celebrate and reward construction workers, sub-contractors and construction companies.
NOVEMBER
See overleaf for details
PRINCESS ROYAL TRAINING AWARD We were one of only 40 organisations nationally to have achieved the coveted Princess Royal Training Award in 2017.
The award recognised our excellent apprenticeship training programme.
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Royal seal of approval for apprenticeship training
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Our commitment to training and skills development has caught the attention of HRH The Princess Royal. We were among 40 organisations, including Waitrose, BAE Systems and Mercedes Benz, to be awarded the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award in 2017. Clarkson Evans is the only company based in Gloucestershire and the only business operating in the new homes sector to have achieved this accolade. The Princess Royal Training Award was launched last year by the City & Guilds Group. Each application was assessed against three Hallmarks of Excellence by the Princess Royal Training Awards Commission, which comprised of HRH
The Princess Royal and seven leading figures in the business and training community.
endorsement of the quality of our staff training programme and we are thrilled to be among this year’s recipients.
Independent assessors visited our Gloucester HQ and scrutinised our apprenticeship training programme, interviewing training staff and directors as well as former and existing apprentices including Jack Bradley. Jack then had the honour of attending St James’s Palace along with Managing Director Nathan Evans and HR & Training Director Lindsey Young.
“The marketplace to attract high calibre apprentices to join our company is increasingly competitive as more businesses follow our lead and offer apprenticeships for the first time. “Securing this award will help to strengthen our position as an employer of choice in the construction industry and help to build our brand nationally,” added Lindsey.
Lindsey said: “The Princess Royal Training Award is yet another external
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Ofsted reinforces quality training The training received by electrical apprentices at Clarkson Evans has been rated as “Good” by Ofsted after an inspection which praised the high quality of training provided. Ofsted inspectors spent two days scrutinising the teaching and support for apprentices at Clarkson Evans, interviewing staff and learners as well as observing lessons and assessments. Amongst other things, inspectors praised the company for the way managers plan to improve the provision for all apprentices and the beneficial support apprentices receive from their assessors. The improved use of technology was also acknowledged by inspectors. They recognised our use of e.portfolios and videos which help our apprentices
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continue their learning outside the classroom. It was noted that former apprentices, who are now qualified electricians, are very good role models, using their personal understanding of the programme to support current apprentices. It has been four years since our last Ofsted inspection and our training provision has grown beyond recognition during that time. We now have four training hubs in Birmingham, Bracknell, Exeter and Gloucester.
Due to the rapid expansion of the company, we are now training more electrical apprentices than ever before.
“It was noted that former apprentices, who are now qualified electricians, are very good role models”
PAT ON THE BACK FOR TRAINING Apprentices at Clarkson Evans are more likely to recommend their training to friends and family when compared to other learners nationwide. The Department for Education’s annual learner satisfaction survey saw 88 per cent of our apprentices say they were likely or very likely to recommend Clarkson Evans Training to family or friends, five per cent higher than the national average.
Apprentices studying at Clarkson Evans Training used the survey to give a pat on the back to the training team with 90 per cent of learners stating they were satisfied with the way staff treated them while at college.
Further education colleges and training providers from around the UK took part in the survey comprising of twelve questions that asked students to rate their satisfaction with their course, staff and the support received.
Students at Clarkson Evans Training also gave a higher than national average rating for how satisfied they were with teaching during their apprenticeship. More than 190 apprentices studying towards their Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Installing Electrotechnical Systems and Equipment at Clarkson Evans
Training took part in the independent, national survey between 31 October 2016 and 7 April 2017. HR & Training Director Lindsey Young said: “Our high learner satisfaction rating proves that we are doing something right and we will continue to ensure that our students have the best possible experience at college to prepare them for their future careers as qualified electricians.�
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Back to the classroom for
homegrown electricians A trio of electricians, all former apprentices at Clarkson Evans, have come ‘off the tools’ to teach the next generation. Susan Burnikell, Chris Roach and Andy Mott (pictured) are all qualified electricians who trained and subsequently worked onsite for the company before deciding to retrain as lecturers. Now they have returned to the classroom to strengthen our electrical lecturing team, passing on their knowledge of working on site to others joining the company. “Not only do Susan, Andy and Chris have the electrical expertise required to teach our new apprentices, they have unique knowledge of the soft skills required to make it as a Clarkson Evans electrician and we’re delighted that they have joined our 10-strong team of lecturers,” said Nigel Farmer, Head of Lecturing.
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
ANDY Wilson Andy Wilson, our Head of Apprenticeships and Development, is a man on a mission to recruit and retain the best apprentices at Clarkson Evans. Now also responsible for supporting first year qualified electricians as they make the transition to team leader, no two days are ever the same for the former RAF firefighter.
8.00AM
“One of the highlights of my job is welcoming our new apprentices to Clarkson Evans on day one of their induction. They arrive full of expectation and enthusiasm for a brighter future as an electrician, especially as many of them have recently left jobs that were going nowhere.” “I give them a pep talk about what we expect of them from day one – first-class timekeeping and attendance and a positive attitude to learning. It’s amazing how quickly new apprentices bond as a group and form lifelong friendships.”
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10.00AM
“We’re running an assessment day to recruit apprentices for our Oxford and Milton Keynes branches. As well as maths and English assessments the candidates complete a wiring task. We’re not looking for perfect practical skills but wish to identify those who can follow instructions, have good co-ordination and can put into practice what they have been shown.”
11.00AM
“Squeeze in a quick quarterly review with a new apprentice. He’s showing real potential and is making great progress. Quarterly reviews help to gauge how well an apprentice is doing on site. They can also talk to us about any worries or concerns.”
11.30AM
“Meet with my team and discuss the progress of the assessment day to help us decide which candidates should make it through to the interview stage.”
3.00PM
“Pop up to The Skills Show, the nation’s largest skills and careers event at the NEC in Birmingham, to help promote our apprenticeship programme to young people. The apprentices on our stand have done a brilliant job in demonstrating how to wire a switch to students interested in finding out more about becoming an electrician.”
4.30PM
“Catching up with an apprentice on site and reviewing his progress. It’s vital that all our apprentices know my team and I are there for them and can talk to us about their training or anything else for that matter.”
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Gareth rees
Senior quantity surveyor
Charlie Gellert Senior Quantity Surveyor
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Ashley Bridgman Commercial Manager
Mike Allen
Tim Bisp
Commercial manager
Commercial Director
Dan Long
Jarrod du val
commercial manager
Senior commercial manager
Joe Wakeman
Commercial manager
Tom brudenell chief surveyor
COMMERCIAL
Matters
Our commercial team is at the heart of our business, preparing tenders and liaising with customers’ commercial teams to ensure active sites run smoothly. Eight out of the 11 commercial managers and senior quantity surveyors are former apprentices, which reflects the career progression opportunities for our qualified electricians who wish to come ‘off the tools’. We wired more than 19,000 new homes in 2017 and picked up contracts from five new builders and four new builder regions. We’ve renewed several framework agreements along with securing many high profile and prestigious developments around the country.
Dave Gurney
Senior commercial manager
Jon Holton
Senior quantity surveyor
Andy Jones
commercial manager
“Our customers trust us to carry out a professional job to a very high standard at sensible costs,” said Commercial Director Tim Bisp. “We are aiming to secure many new contracts in the next quarter and have team leaders primed and ready to go,” he added.
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CUSTOMER IS KING Home owners are more demanding than ever before and have higher expectations about what great customer service looks like. We realise that home owners do not compare the service they receive from us to other contractors, but to their recent experience at a supermarket, hotel or restaurant. As the customer service bar is raised in other sectors, the housebuilding industry is following suit.
That’s why we work in partnership with our housebuilders to put customer care at the heart of our business. Our “get it right first time” motto is constantly reinforced with our frontline electricians through technical refresher
training. We also now have six quality managers auditing the work of our sitebased teams at first, second and final fix stage. Team leaders are provided with an inspection report after each audit outlining the work they need to complete before the house is handed over.
Customer Care Electricians (left to right) - Marc Nobes, Alexander Crabb, Peter Murton, Robert Haydon, Robert Jones, Chris Gent, Nick Wilson, Andreas Millyard, Matt Bowkett, Wayne Phipps
watch our customer care troubleshooting Videos
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And if something does go wrong, we believe we do more than most contractors across all trades to resolve these postcompletion issues. It starts from the moment a home owner speaks to one of our knowledgeable customer care administrators, who’ve all been trained to solve simple problems over the phone and create confidence with homeowners.
If there’s a problem that requires handson attention from someone suitably qualified, our customer care electricians quickly come to the rescue. They have collectively travelled more than 218,000 miles over the past 12 months, and while most of us were relaxing over Christmas, they attended 85 call-outs during our traditional two-week winter shutdown.
We have also invested in producing four troubleshooting videos for home owners so they can resolve simple electrical issues themselves. Feedback from our customers has been extremely positive, with builders’ customer care teams reporting that the videos are saving them time and money when dealing with emergency calls.
We all know how frustrating it is having to wait in at home for tradespeople to arrive. That’s why we’re also piloting reducing our appointment time slots from four to two hours.
“Our ‘get it right first time’ motto is constantly reinforced with our frontline electricians through technical refresher training.”
Customer Care Team - Back row: Sharon Holliday, Georgina Green, Stacey Morgan, Lee Chivers, Lucy Collier, Marlaina Matty, Alice Brazington, Kathryn O’Leary Front row: Meghan Jackson, Holly Grainger
www.clarksonevans.co.uk/connect
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Stepping up production We have introduced a fourth regional production manager to strengthen the team that oversees our work on sites across the country. Former Area Manager Chris Pike was promoted to Regional Production Manager covering Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire which freed up Mark Moore to concentrate his efforts on our Midlands region covering Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Stafford and Telford. “With growing workloads we realised that we were going to be spread too thinly with only three regional production managers,” said Production Director Simon Kingwell. “Chris had proved his worth as an Area Manager and he’s already making a difference in our Central region.”
Cardiff, Exeter, Newquay and Plymouth whilst in the South and South East Simon Jones covers Bracknell, Crawley, Southampton and Trowbridge. The team’s role is to support our area managers to ensure quality standards are maintained and customers’ production deadlines are met. Increasing workloads in the East Midlands has resulted in us beginning to recruit new build electricians in Nottingham and Peterborough, with a view to opening new branches in these areas in 2018.
Chris Goodison is the Regional Production Manager for the South West and Wales covering Bristol, Barnstaple, Bridgwater,
Chris Pike
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Mark Moore
Regional Production Manager Central Region
Regional Production Manager Midlands Region
07989 477 006 cpi@clarksonevans.co.uk
07967 742 099 markm@clarksonevans.co.uk
Connect Magazine 2018
Simon Kingwell
Production Director 07967 623 134 Simonk@clarksonevans.co.uk
Simon Jones
Chris Goodison
Regional Production Manager South and South East Region
Regional Production Manager South West and Wales Region
07813 578 812 simonj@clarksonevans.co.uk
07867 454 922 ChrisG@clarksonevans.co.uk
STAFFORD TELFORD
Midlands
BIRMINGHAM
Central MILTON KEYNES GLOUCESTER (HQ) OXFORD CARDIFF
BRISTOL
BRACKNELL
TROWBRIDGE BRIDGWATER
CRAWLEY
BARNSTAPLE SOUTHAMPTON EXETER
NEWQUAY
PLYMOUTH
South west and wales
South and South East
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
MARK HOWARTH Former apprentice now Area Manager, Mark Howarth manages the 15 electrical teams that work out of our Bristol and Bridgwater branches. Known for being a highly organised manager who cares for his staff, Mark throws light on his day.
6.30AM “I live five minutes from the Bristol branch so my 6.30am start is a little easier to manage. I’ve got used to the early mornings now and would struggle to acclimatise to a traditional 9 to 5 job!”
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7.05AM “Undertaking a couple of quarterly team leader reviews before everyone heads off to site. These are so important for our newly qualified staff. It’s vital they know that I’m here to support them and that I understand what motivates them to do a good job, week in, week out.”
10.10AM “Popping in to see Danny Rich and his team working on the Taylor Wimpey Harbour Edge development in Portishead. Danny is a former apprentice who spent some time working away at our Crawley branch when he first qualified. He relocated back to Bristol and has proved himself to be a dependable member of my team.”
11.50AM “Drop in on site manager Karl Green to check how we’re getting on with our Christmas completions. I also want to get one step ahead and start to plan for future work. We’ve just won phase two of the development and I am pleased to see the groundworks already going in.”
2.20PM “Next up it’s a quick catch up with my Regional Production Manager Chris Goodison. We’re looking at all our active sites and planning for the electricians we’ll require in the coming months. It’s great to be able to offer sub-team leader roles to some of our newly qualified electricians who are chomping at the bit to start managing their own sites.”
5.25PM “Pop home for a quick bite to eat before heading off to play five-a-side football with the lads. “We’ve got about 15 electricians and apprentices who make a regular appearance as part of our five-a-side team. Playing football with the lads is a great way of getting to know them all a little better and a beer after the match is good for team-building.”
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With 64 golf teams joining us at the iconic Celtic Manor Resort for this year’s Clarkson Evans Golf Day the event was bound to go with a swing. Making the most of a glorious autumnal day our teams competed on two championship courses for a chance to win the coveted title of “Team of the Year.”
Bloor Homes (Western), made up of Ian Huxtep, Tom Allen, Wayne Kersey and Steve Malik (pictured below left with their trophy) were eventually crowned the overall winners.
As always we tried not to take the golf too seriously, despite this there were some impressive performances.
While our golfers got out in the fresh air our female guests enjoyed a relaxing day in the spa, being pampered from top to toe – over a glass of prosecco of course!
A live band kicked off the evening, with golfers sharing stories over a glass or two. A great day was had by all – so much so we’re already planning a return to Celtic Manor again on 28 September 2018 for hopefully another fantastic day.
Celtic swingers watch video content from Clarkson Evans Golf Day 2017
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Visit www.clarksonevans.co.uk/connect
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Ryan and Cody Jones
Tim and Steve Bisp
Stuart and Wayne Phipps
Meghan and Tracy Jackson
Nathan and Dan Jackson
Bradley and Holly Grainger
Mark and Dean Llewellyn
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY When family members recommend their brothers, sisters, sons and daughters to join our team we know we must be doing something right.
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Anthony and George Clubley
Gary and Darren Munday
Matt and Luke Hands
Dan and Jamie Chandler
Paul and Josh Tobin
Nathan, Steve and Stephen Evans
Charlie and Henry Tucker
As a family business we pride ourselves on being one of the best
The number of family members working for the company is in
places to work in the construction industry.
part down to our our highly successful ‘Recommend a Friend’ scheme. This year 22 members of staff each pocketed up to
Recently we realised that we have an impressive 10 sets of
£1,000 for recommending a friend or family member to work at
siblings working for the company, not to mention three fathers
Clarkson Evans.
and sons, and a mum and daughter.
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CELEBRATING SUCCESS We’ve had scores of apprentices qualify as electricians this year and have held two glittering Apprenticeship Presentation Evenings to help celebrate their success. Each ‘graduate’ has their own story to tell about how our awardwinning training has transformed their lives and set them on the road to a well-paid career as an electrician. Comedians Terry Alderton and Rod Woodward were our hosts as our newly-qualified electricians celebrated with family and
MAY 2017
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friends. Since qualifying many of our staff have got engaged to be married, bought their first homes or splashed out on oncein-a-lifetime holidays. We look forward to seeing their careers develop within the company in the months and years to come.
OCT 2017
watch video content from our Apprenticeship Presentation Evening - Visit www.clarksonevans.co.uk/connect
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DIVERSIFYING
APPRENTICESHIPS
Apprenticeships are the lifeblood of Clarkson Evans and after 36 years of employing only electrical apprentices we chose 2017 to offer a broader range of office-based apprenticeships. In 2016 Jason Merrett led the way as our first ever IT apprentice and thanks to his maturity, enthusiasm and natural ability for everything IT we were delighted to offer him a permanent role when he completed his apprenticeship. This year we have taken on seven business administration apprentices to support our commercial, HR and training teams as well as three finance apprentices. Our commitment to apprenticeship training was recognised when we were accepted as members of the 5% Club, an industry led initiative focussed on driving momentum into the recruitment of apprentices, graduates and sponsored students. Apprentices are fundamental to the long-term growth of our business and we are always keen to share our experiences with other businesses. That is why our HR & Training Director Lindsey Young has joined the Home Builders Federation’s Careers, Skills and Training Committee. Plans are afoot to work in collaboration with the NHBC and the HBF Home Building Skills Partnership to share good practice with other employers by taking part in the Building for Tomorrow events during 2018.
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Rewarding Loyalty There are many ways in which we do things differently to other contractors – not relying on subbies, rewarding site-based electricians with half-yearly bonuses, free breakfasts and treating our staff to a number of social events each year. We decided to go a step further this year to thank our most loyal staff by launching a long service reward scheme. Sixty-four people have worked for Clarkson Evans for more than 10 years, including Gloucester Site Supervisor Jason Rice, with 25 years’ service and Regional Production Manager Mark Moore, Site Supervisor Jamie Butler, Electrician Chris Jones and Senior Site Supervisor Andy Gill who have collectively clocked up a total of 100 years’ service. The long-service rewards, which took the form of a Red Letter Day Experience Voucher of up to £1,250 and a day’s holiday, have allowed our hardworking staff to enjoy luxurious weekends away with their loved ones and even a track day driving experience. Bristol Senior Site Supervisor Alan Groves spent the night at Spitbank Fort, just off Portsmouth in the Solent. He said: “It was really nice to spend the evening in this unusual luxury hotel with a hot tub, sauna, log fire as well as a fully stocked bar.”
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employees have received
long service rewards!
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Sky’s the li
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imit
for charity fundraising Cancer patients receiving radiotheraphy in Gloucestershire now find it easier to take their mind off their treatment thanks to the fundraising efforts of our staff. Two state-of-the-art virtual “sky ceilings” have been installed in the radiotherapy department at Cheltenham General Hospital after our staff raised more than £9,000 for Cheltenham & Gloucester Hospitals Charity. The specialist “sky ceilings” were shipped from the USA and will help cancer patients feel calmer and more relaxed when receiving their daily treatment. Cheltenham & Gloucester Hospitals Charity Senior Fundraiser Richard Hastilow-Smith said: “The sky ceilings have transformed the environment for local cancer patients. Our radiotherapy treatment rooms had plain ceiling tiles, which provided no distraction for patients during their treatment. By necessity the rooms cannot have windows so natural light is not possible. “The sky ceilings are now providing a welcome distraction for patients who look up to an inspiring backlit scene of blossoming trees with a summer sky. They are having a huge impact on patients’ experience and we are very grateful for the amazing support from Clarkson Evans which has made this possible.” We kickstarted our fundraising year with an office summer fete, with HQ staff paying to “Soak a Director” and “Beat the Goalie”.
A series of sponsored events, including a skydive by our fearless Production Director Simon Kingwell, a 10k charity walk and participation in the Cheltenham Half Marathon, also helped to boost money raised. As members of our head office team love nothing more than ditching their suits and dressing up in fancy dress we also chose to support this year’s Children in Need appeal. Our theme was the 80s and people certainly got into the spirit of the day. While most of us are happy to put our feet up after a long day at work our Cardiff Area Manager Scott Hayden set himself a yearlong challenge to raise money for Welsh Children’s Hospice Ty Hafan. Despite injury setbacks and his demanding job, Scott managed to raise an impressive £4,318 for the hospice, running at least a mile a day for 365 days. After completing his challenge Scott said: “It sounds easy to run a mile a day but I found it mentally challenging to get out sometimes, especially when I was battling with injury. The thought of the children at Ty Hafan kept me focussed and I’m thrilled to have supported the hospice.”
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
MICK MULRANEY Health & Safety Officer Mick Mulraney, is a key member of our health and safety team, working hard to reduce the risk of our staff having accidents at work. A qualified fire safety professional and former construction worker, Mick has credibility with our teams and site managers alike, who welcome his down-toearth approach to promoting health and safety on site.
7.00AM
“Arrive at the branch to catch up with the local area manager to find out whether there are any local health and safety concerns that I should know about. It’s also a good time to remind any newly qualified team leaders about their increased responsibility for health and safety. I make an effort to see new team leaders early in their new roles so they know I’m here to support them.”
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9.05AM
“Head out to site once our teams have had chance to unload their vans and start their day’s work. Pop in for a chat with site manager Andy Taylor to check all the health and safety paperwork is up together before seeing our apprentices and electricians.”
10.40AM
“Visit another site to undertake an accident investigation after one of our staff injured his finger using a power tool. I’ve made a note to remind people how to use this particular power tool safely in a future toolbox talk to prevent a similar accident happening again.”
12.15pM
“Back to HQ to undertake observed drives with some new apprentices. They need to be aware of how to check the vehicle before they get behind the wheel, as well as learning some tips on how to drive a VW Transporter van safely. We’re proud of the fact that we achieved a RoSPA Fleet Safety Award this year and that our driver safety record continues to improve.”
2.15PM
“Undertake a qualitative fit test on a face mask with an apprentice and remind him of the importance of wearing this piece of kit when on site.”
4.10PM
“Time to get in front of the camera to film our latest toolbox talk on securing ladders safely. Our monthly video toolbox talks are really helping to get the message across to our sitebased staff and raising awareness of how they can prevent accidents occurring.”
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Reinvesting profit to fuel future growth The Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table has recognised Clarkson Evans as one of Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing profits over the past three years. Our company was one of only seven companies based in the South West, and the only electrical contractor nationally, to make it onto this year’s list.
growing the business and training the next generation of electricians as we strive to become the electrical contractor of choice for the house building industry,” he added.
The fact that we wire one in 10 new homes nationally was highlighted as part of the league table report. All the companies included in the list were acknowledged to have made a strong contribution to the local economy.
“Our inclusion in the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 league table proves that a business can be profitable whilst doing the right thing for its staff, customers and local communities,” continued Steve.
“Our business philosophy has always been to ensure that profit does not end up being the tail that wags the dog, not to look at the figures first but to look at what is right and try to do that,“ said Chairman Steve Evans. “Over 90 per cent of our profits are retained and reinvested into
We also found ourselves included in the 2017 edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Europe report, which identifies Europe’s most dynamic and fast-growing SMEs. We are proud to be perceived as one of the best companies in Europe for future economic growth and job creation.
Andrea Bishop, Partner and Head of the South West at BDO, the title sponsor of the league table, commented: “High-growth, mid-sized businesses played a leading role in the UK economic recovery after the global financial crisis. It is companies like these with their natural energy, ambition and entrepreneurial spirit that will help the UK economy thrive.”
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A Day at the Races Champagne corks were popping and the Guinness was flowing for our annual trip to Cheltenham Racecourse for the BetVictor Gold Cup Day. It was good to see more than 260 staff from all of our 17 branches making the effort to attend. The day is a great opportunity for staff who work in different areas to get to know each other and for directors to thank our hardworking teams for their efforts all year round.
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CONNECT
2018
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This edition of Connect Magazine is dedicated to former Apprentice and Site Supervisor Fraser Menzies who died suddenly at the age of 32 on 11 November 2017. Fraser will be remembered for being an honest, loyal and passionate member of our team.