Like many business owners, managing directors and CEOs, my attention has shifted recently from survival to growth, so that we are ready for what is going to be coming next over the coming years.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly when this change of mindset happened, but for a few months now my focus has been very much on shaping Pexhurst so that we can continue to be market leaders not just in the quality of our delivery, but in the way we service clients. For us this has meant putting in place the people and kit that allow our project teams to focus on what they do best.
Investing in the business
We have been expanding our back office teams with the recruitment of additional administrators who can help ensure systems and processes are being followed in a timely manner and take some of the paperwork exercises off our project managers and directors. These additional staff members also ensure business continuity as the UK continues to grapple with the so-called ‘pingdemic’.
We have also been growing our estimating and buying team, which will deliver significant cost savings and efficiencies to our clients. One of the long term impacts of both Brexit and Covid is that resources are becoming harder to source and as a result more expensive to buy, especially in smaller quantities. We are fortunate to have a large warehouse that allows us to buy and store materials in larger quantities and our growing estimating and buying team is able to work together to plan ahead and source the right quality and priced materials. Knowing we have access to certain materials and knowing exactly what it has already cost us will help overcome potential delays in delivering tender documents too. With ESG of growing importance to our clients, our team is also focussed on sourcing the most sustainable materials possible.
As well as investing in people, it is important that we are giving them and our clients access to the best software and digital tools. We recently launched our client portal which streamlines the process for clients to access updates and paperwork on all the live projects we are working on for them so that they can keep up to date on progress anytime, anywhere. Sticking to the ESG theme, we have also invested in the Smart Waste software and a dedicated team member to help us monitor and report on our sustainable approach to site waste.
Back to socialising
At Pexhurst we have always put a huge emphasis on the long standing relationships we build with clients. One of the hardest things about the pandemic has been putting a hold on the face to face time we spend with clients whereby we understand their requirements and take on board their feedback for the wider team. We have therefore really enjoyed being able to start getting out and about and meeting up with clients over the last month or so. Even more exciting was being able to put on our client golf day, which brought together 50 clients and raised £3,500 for Mates in Mind, a workplace mental health charity. We are looking forward to holding another golf day in September for our supplier base, this time raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Repurposing real estate
Without wanting to dwell on the negative impact that Covid has had on our sector, we have been buoyed by the innovation that many clients are showing in how they have looked at repurposing their assets to make them fit for the future. This has especially been true of those with ground floor high street retail units, many of which we are currently working on converting to different uses, including leisure and flexible office spaces.
Follow us on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company
