Driven by challenging deadlines and established ways of working, construction is not necessarily the first industry linked with advances in workplace culture and practice. Yet companies throughout this important sector have already gone beyond minimum workforce support policies and are placing issues such as wellbeing, inclusion and diversity at the heart of organisational thinking.

Among them are local experts T&G, which specialises in civil and structural engineering.

‘We’ve always thought progressively when it comes to staff development,’ comments T&G Associate Director Lee Saxon, ‘though in the past perhaps more focus went into personal and professional training and building industry experience.

‘However, recent years have seen a greater emphasis placed on also helping the team grow their awareness of other important areas of personal development. The two recent internal workshops are good examples of how we’re achieving this.’

Devised and delivered by We Talk Wellbeing, a local consultancy company specialising in organisational cultural change and development, the first workshop covered wellbeing in the workplace, a subject brought sharply into focus by the Covid pandemic.

The second workshop presented by The Diversity Network, explored important topics related to inclusivity and diversity in the workplace, including understanding how factors such as unconscious bias can affect behaviours and decision-making.

‘Both workshops proved a great collective learning experience for all the T&G team,’ Mr Saxon summed up, ‘providing solid understanding and leaving plenty of further food for thought. The internal feedback has been very positive and paves the way for ongoing staff development emphasis in the future.’