Columnist

How businesses can secure a successful future

Last year, a record number of start-ups were established in the UK, and this upward trend is set to continue into 2016. But how can these companies secure a long, successful future?

Richard Halderthay, Director of Communications at Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, discusses how the company, which turns 350 this year, has grown from strength to strength, driven by a culture of innovation and employee engagement.

At Saint-Gobain, we have nearly 190,000 employees worldwide, each contributing to the success of the company. The Saint-Gobain ethos is based on a foundation of shared values that have been built over our 350-year history: respect, integrity and loyalty, and this shapes our culture even today.These aspects should be central to any business as they are at Saint-Gobain, as they inspire employee trust, as well as confidence among customers, partners and shareholders.

In fact, it’s not technology that makes us innovative; it’s our employees. Each employee is valued, and at Saint-Gobain, 10% of research and development goes into seeking new and innovative ideas, because we believe that our employees have skill and talent.

For a company of scale such as Saint-Gobain, it is also key to invest in local economies. This ensures that there is a market for a company’s products or services, and as such, small businesses are vital to growth.

This is why we launched the Entrepreneurship Foundation earlier this year, to help tackle the skills shortage in the construction industry by providing training to help small businesses grow and develop. Large companies have a responsibility to ensure the sector in which they operate is thriving for the next generation and beyond, and by investing in fast-growing companies, employment opportunities can be created and more talent brought into the workforce. The industry must adapt as a whole to ensure that opportunities for growth are spread across the UK, in order to secure the future of the sector.

It’s also important to support local communities. We get our employees involved, fundraising for national charities as well as support of local causes up and down the country, which has a positive impact on the areas in which we operate.

Most recently, we held our ‘Nominate to Renovate’ competition, giving our employees a chance to submit local community buildings to win part of £75,000 funding for retrofit work and materials. As a company, we are committed to supporting local community development as this is an important part of our corporate social responsibility, and the competition was a great opportunity to bring people together, fostering a culture of teamwork and support that has been present in the company for decades.

One of our brands, Jewson, also set up a competition with a total prize fund of £100,000 to support local community building projects across the UK, while British Gypsum has a partnership with homeless charity CRASH, and donated over £33,000 worth of free building materials to support building projects in 2011.

The company has grown from strength to strength over the years, due to the innovations of our employees. We have adapted and evolved throughout our 350-year history, investing in our workforce as they hold the key to success.

To find out more about Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, visit www.saint-gobain.co.uk, Follow us on Twitter and Like the Facebook page. #SaintGobain350

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Saint Gobain .