Building contractors William Skinner & Son’s
successful Staff Communications Day
By: Murdoch MacDonald
BUILDING CONTRACTORS William Skinner & Son, based at their headquarters in Ayrshire, Scotland, and their Southern Office in Cambridge, England, have held their third successful annual Staff Communications Day in the Princess Royal Exhibition, Banqueting & Conference Centre at Ayr Racecourse.
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Every one of the now more than 100 employees of the company was invited to attend the day-long event.
The purposes of the Communications Day were fourfold: to inform all employees about the company’s activities and performance since the last communication event in September 2007; to outline the company’s plans for development over the next twelve months; to increase employee involvement and commitment to the company by opening up channels of two-way communication in terms of feedback and generating ideas; and to celebrate William Skinner & Son’s successes and convey positive messages about working for the company.
William Skinner & Son personnel manager Stephanie Hammond said: “The feedback we received from everyone was extremely positive. Everybody taking part enjoyed the opportunity to meet with their colleagues, to get some insight into how the company is performing, and to see what the future looks like.”
“The Communications Day is just a small part of the company’s overall HR strategy, but possibly the most visible.
“We are really lucky to have such a professional and dedicated workforce, and we work very hard to maintain our reputation as a good employer. We know that the best way to improve our business is to listen to and involve all our employees, and we will continue to make sure that they have regular opportunities to make a contribution.
“We are well into a really busy summer, and I feel that the communications event has brought us all together and we’re better prepared and informed for the challenges that lie ahead.”
William Skinner & Son managing director Sandy Cunningham commented: “My personal thoughts for the day were that it appeared that there was far more cohesion this year and an even greater feeling of team spirit.”
“I feel that it is important to drive forward these communications days in order to allow our growing team to develop and evolve.
“Without our team we are nothing.
“Each Communications Day is also a great opportunity for new staff to meet with there co-workers in a more relaxed environment than would otherwise be possible.
“The day’s purpose is about teamwork, to share information and to drive two-way communication within the company.
“With an ever stronger team we will deliver an even better product for our customers, and improve customer retention.
“We will continue as always to strive to put something different from the norm into our business.”
ABOUT WILLIAM SKINNER & SON
Building contractors William Skinner & Son’s Ayrshire and Cambridgeshire bases cover Scotland and Eastern England with activities including building maintenance with 24-hour helpdesk, retail refurbishment and construction, painting, joinery manufacture, metal fabrication, terrazzo tiling, shopfitting, Sika Trocal and Ward Topdeck roofing, and solar hot water installation.
William Skinner & Son have recently diversified into tree houses with contracts from leading hotel and conference centre group De Vere Venues.
[William Skinner & Son's first tree house for de Vere Venues.]
They have also made a successful entrance into the renewable energy systems market, attracting a large number of new clients throughout the UK, and have demonstrated their commitment to the wider field of renewable energy by installing a 6kW Proven wind turbine at their HQ in St. Quivox and including PV panels in the design for their proposed office extension.
The aim now is to offer general advice on the suitability of any of the available renewable energy techniques, or any mix of them, to solve individual energy supply problems, and they are developing a consortium of available local expertise to help them develop that.
Founded in 1964, Skinners made their first move down south into England five years ago, renting a site and offices in Saffron Walden in Essex from which to carry out the substantial amount of refurbishment work they were then doing for supermarket giant Tesco.
But the company’s recent expansion and diversification into new areas of business including renewable energy and tree houses has made necessary the purchase of their own larger facilities comprising an 8,000 sq ft yard, 1,900 sq ft of office space, and a 1,620 sq ft warehouse.
The new premises in Meldreth, near Cambridge, were officially opened recently by Andrew Lansley, MP for South Cambridgeshire.
[Pictured: Andrew Lansley MP for South Cambridgeshire (centre) opening William Skinner & Son's new Southern Office at Meldreth, near Cambridge, earlier this year with (left) William Skinner & Son chairman John Quinton and (right) managing director Sandy Cunningham.]
William Skinner & Son managing director Sandy Cunningham said: “Our commitment at Cambridge is a measure of the importance to us of the market in London, the South East, Midlands and East Anglia.
“The Meldreth base provides high quality warehouse, workshop and office accommodation from which we can develop and control our market penetration. It has capacity for expansion to support several times its present level of activity.”
Managing director Sandy Cunningham concluded: “William Skinner & Son is now expanding satisfactorily on all fronts from our headquarters in Ayrshire and our new base in south-east England. We are traditional building contractors who have developed a diverse range of untraditional new skills, and we want potential clients in England and in Scotland to be aware of the comprehensive building skills and experience that we offer.”
www.williamskinner.co.uk
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