Engagement during a pandemic
Tamdown Managing Director Rob Kendal featured in this months Housebuilder Magazine Last Word feature discussing; Engagement during a pandemic. Here are his insights and reflections.
In my Last Word last year I wrote about “Engagement in action” including talking to customers, our employees and what would be next. What I did not predict next was Covid-19, and that the following 12 months and beyond would mean a whole new approach was needed for many of these engagements. The fundamentals I discussed were unchanged, but they needed to be adapted to fit into lockdowns, social distancing and other measures as they changed throughout the year.
We continued to reach out to our customers and suppliers, and this was even more crucial as we prepared to return to site after the initial lockdown and get our new operating and safety procedures in place and aligned.
video conference anyone?
I can hear many of you groaning at the thought of another Zoom or Teams video call, but I also wonder how we could have got through 2020 without them. Being able to meet “virtually face to face” with customers, our suppliers and my teams was invaluable. I can think of many meetings which would have been a lot less effective with just a phone call.
Video conferencing allowed me and my team to ask those important questions and still see and respond to the reactions of those we were engaging with. This kind of technology has been around for a while of course, but never adopted in the same way it is being now, we also saw virtual home tours becoming more commonplace to support developer sales.
Reaching out to an entire workforce is vitally important for any business, at any time. But it can also be challenging. Layer on uncharted territory – a pandemic no one had ever encountered – and we saw both the challenge and importance increase tenfold. At the point of the initial March lockdown, we kept our workforce up to date at least weekly with the changes. We did this as quickly as we knew them and how the business needed to react or respond to them, such as confirming home working for office staff and the initial closure of housebuilders’ sites.
From here we ensured constant communication and touchpoints with staff. Some weeks during the site closures we did not have that much to say – but we reached out anyway as the ongoing connection was so important to our people. As we started to return to work on site, we had to manage the ongoing messages carefully. Some of our people were returning to work, while others were waiting for updates on when their sites would reopen.
It was a stressful time for people across the housebuilding industry, with uncertainty and concerns for the future. We found that being authentic with our people and letting them know what was
happening as soon as we did was both vital and appreciated. Our leadership team supported the staggered return to work, often managing complex situations and different understandable responses. However, keeping people up to date and informed proved to be the key – remaining positive and patient of both the situation and each other as we chartered the
new territory we all found ourselves in.
Our communication with our teams needed to be easy to understand but comprehensive enough to ensure everyone knew what was going on in the business and what they needed to do to
keep themselves and each other safe. We made use of many tools including animated video to support getting the essential messages across and understood by our teams.
Another area we featured regularly, and continue our focus on, is mental health. We are all too aware of the frightening statistics in this area, particularly within our industry. Supporting people during the challenges of Covid-19 is more important than ever and we provided regular information and resources. Our wellbeing champions and everyone across the business supported each other too – which I am immensely proud of.
supporting our customers
Following the dedication of our NHS and all the key workers in essential shops, care facilities and more, by the early summer construction was also given key worker status which saw the return to sites.
The foundation we had laid in our engagement with our people helped them prepare for the return to site, and then support our customers to get back on site safely. This saw us helping customers in various ways, including widening walkways to allow social distancing, building additional parking areas for more solo travellers, and installing hard-standing areas for outside eating and handwashing stations.
This came about by talking to our customers to really understand, then help deliver, what they needed – for me this is the foundation of real engagement rather than the buzz word it can become.
Overall, it feels that the engagement levels across our industry from developers and the whole supply chain is something we should all be proud of.
A great testament to the way we work together.
Halstead Project Groundworks & Engineering
At Tamdown we specialise in both residential groundworks and complex engineering solutions. We have recently combined our expertise by constructing a complex reinforced bank and retaining wall as part of one of our residential housing projects.
We delivered specifically designed soil reinforcement and ground stabilisation to the precise loading capacity required for the reinforced embankment. The structure, which also featured gabion walls, was part of a broader landscaping feature on the site.
The scheme design provides residents with the beauty and attraction of the countryside and also consists of two ponds, 360m of the reinforced walls and 1,500m of open space footpaths.
We were also able to utilise more than 10,000m3 of recycled soil in the final design.
Rob Kendal, managing director of Tamdown, commented: “These kinds of projects prove the skill of our teams in delivering solutions for our customers, to achieve their final vision for the new development.”
NHBC Award Winning site – Stortford Fields, Bishop Stortford
Tamdown are pleased to have worked with Taylor Wimpey North Thames in delivering their award-winning site.
Stortford Fields, Bishop Stortford was recently announced as an NHBC Pride in the Job award winner.
Tamdown Site Manager Julian Balliu and his team have been delivering infrastructure works and foundations, brickwork, drainage and floors for both house plots and flats
Ben Smith, Production Director for Taylor Wimpey North Thames added:
“I want to thank you for your hard work in helping North Thames win these awards, without your significant contribution we would not achieve this level of success.
Julian deserves a lot of credit for his contribution.”
NHBC Award Winning site – Corinthian Place, Burnham
Our team is proud to have supported our customer Barratt Eastern Counties in delivering their award-winning site.
Corinthian Place, Burnham was recently announced one of the NHBC Pride in the Job award winners.
Tamdown Site Manager John Wilson and his team have been delivering infrastructure works and foundations, brickwork, drainage & floors for both house plots and flats
NHBC Award Winning site – Kingsley Grove, Melbourn
We are very pleased to have worked with Hopkins Homes Ltd in delivering their award-winning site.
Kingsley Grove, Melbourn was recently announced one of the NHBC Pride in the Job award winners.
Tamdown Site Manager Jason Downes and his team have been delivering infrastructure works and foundations, brickwork, drainage and floors for both house plots and flats
Bogdan Balas, Site Manager for Hopkins Homes commented:
“I am very pleased and proud to announce that we have achieved this year another NHBC Pride In The Job Quality Award. I would like to thank you for what you have done at this job (a very challenging one) and please pass the message to the team on-site and to your other departments involved in our success.
Also, I would like to highlight the contribution of your senior position on site, Mr Jason Downes, which with his knowledge, determination and strength helped us to achieve the standards required . Thank you again and keep up with the good work.”
NHBC Award Winning site – Gilden Park, Harlow
At Tamdown, we are proud to have supported Taylor Wimpey East London in delivering their award-winning site.
Gilden Park, Harlow was recently announced one of the NHBC Pride in the Job award winners.
Tamdown Site Manager Oltjon Dalipaj and his team have been delivering infrastructure works and foundations, brickwork, drainage and floors.
Dean Wingfield, Production Manager at Taylor Wimpey East London adds:
“Can I just say Tamdown have been instrumental in this award and my thanks to the team, as the feedback from NHBC is always positive when it comes to substructures.
Its great news for the team down there and again my thanks to Olti and his team. Top marks all round, fantastic examples of best practice”
Our Key Principles of working during COVID-19
We will continue to be diligent and work together with our teams and customers – so everyone stays safe.
At Tamdown we:
• Follow the two-metre rule to ensure Social Distancing
• Speak up if feeling unwell
• Take responsibility and follow thorough hygiene procedures
• Take care of the facilities provided and comply with all related procedures
• Travel to work alone wherever possible
• Work from home wherever possible
• Hold meetings by phone, online or outside
• Communicate clearly with colleagues and others
Follow the two-metre rule to ensure Social Distancing
Supported by demarcation in our offices and delivering site works while maintaining 2m distance whenever possible. Where 2m distancing is not possible, we will use a hierarchy of
controls including frequency and time spent to minimise risk.
Speak up if feeling unwell
If any worker experiences symptoms of COVID-19, they will notify their manager, go/stay home and follow self-isolation guidance. We encourage speaking up about both physical and mental health and we support each other however we can.
Take responsibility and follow thorough hygiene procedures
Hygiene procedures include increased frequency and duration of handwashing, tool cleaning between uses, appropriate use of welfare cabins onsite and of all office facilities.
Take care of the facilities provided and comply with all related procedures
Our teams are provided with facilities including hand sanitiser, washing facilities and equipment cleaning supplies. We use, respect and follow the procedures for all site/office facilities to ensure everyone’s safety.
Travel to work alone wherever possible
Our staff will travel to work in separate vehicles. Sharing will only be allowed where social distancing can be maintained, or other measures put in place to minimise risk.
Work from home wherever possible
We have made provision for staff to work from home wherever the nature of their role allows them to.
Hold meetings by phone, online or outside
Meetings will be held on phone, online conference tool, outside or if absolutely necessary in a well-ventilated area maintaining social distancing.
Communicate clearly with colleagues and others
Clear communication and understanding of risk assessments, operating procedures and other COVID-19 related topics is a constant priority for us all.
‘Staying COVID-19 Secure’ – we can confirm compliance with Government Guidance
Pleased to be back delivering works on site
We are pleased to be back delivering works on site. We are helping our customers to prepare sites for safe operations. Then, when safe to do so, we are beginning to deliver our usual services of Groundworks, Infrastructure and RCFrames.
The health, safety and wellbeing of our people and others on-site remains our top priority. We will only be working on sites where it is safe to do so, following all Government guidance and in line with CLC site operating procedures.
We also have teams working from home coordinating and supporting both our customers and our site teams as we manage this measured step by step return to work.
Our people have been and remain resilient and professional throughout this difficult time and we would like to thank them all.
RoSPA President’s Award – following 11 Years Consecutive Golds
This year we are proud to have achieved another President’s Award in the RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, one of the longest-running industry awards schemes in the UK. This was awarded again following our 11th consecutive Gold award to date.
The award recognises our achievements throughout the year in health and safety management, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
Helping our people, customers and the public get home safely at the end of the working day is the Tamdown Way.
PPE provided to front line NHS staff
Last week we emptied our store room to identify PPE that could be provided to front line NHS staff during the current COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Bulk quantities of both medical grade gloves and medical wipes were supplied to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford – the local hospital to our Braintree Head Office.
They were very gratefully received and we hope they go some way to protecting our front line NHS staff while they work so hard to help and protect us and our community.