The successful delivery of our Group strategy is underpinned by our people, creating value and enabling growth through employee capability, expertise and in an environment where everyone is comfortable to bring their whole selves to work.
During 2022, we laid the foundations for our HR strategy and throughout 2023 built on these foundations, placing focus across: talent development, diversity and inclusion, improving policies to make them more engaging, improving processes and adding further value through the deployment of improved HR systems. In 2023, the Board also approved a dedicated D&I Policy, providing information on our commitment to an inclusive, equal and fair working environment. The policy was formally rolled out across the Group in September 2023 along with dedicated training to all employees.
Here are some of our people highlights from the year:
- To define and establish our new trademark behaviours, a dedicated working group was established in early 2023 led by our Chief People Officer, which consisted of a group of volunteers and representatives from across the Group. These behaviours ‘We work together, We take ownership and We find a better way’ are being rolled out over the next few months.
- During 2023, the Genuit Leadership Programme was developed for our Genuit Leadership Team (GLT), which is focused on strengthening core leadership capabilities to equip our leaders to inspire their teams and deliver on our Sustainable Solutions for Growth strategy. Our first cohort embarked on the programme at the end of 2023 in anticipation of formal launch in 2024, and further cohorts throughout 2024–2026.
- We are proud that GLT membership now consists of 29% female leaders and were recognised in the latest FTSE Women Leaders Review. We are now in the tenth position for female representation in the combined Executive Committee and Direct Reports category for FTSE 250 firms and top the list for businesses in the Construction and Materials sector.
- We have also worked to strengthen the Group-wide talent pipeline in 2023 and are committed to providing accredited learning programmes through our graduate schemes and apprenticeships. All these efforts have helped us increase the percentage of our workforce in programmes such as The 5% Club to 8% – a significant improvement and a sign of the importance we place on career development.
- Lastly, Genuit Group became a strategic partner of the Construction Inclusion Coalition in 2023, extending our commitment to inclusion in this all-important industry.
The capability, expertise and development of our employees is key to achieving our goals. Whilst embedding a new strategy can take time, we are committed to creating an atmosphere where every employee feels a sense of belonging and can bring their whole self to work. You can read more about our D&I strategy in our latest Annual Report.
