Innovation Performers programme develops leadership project
27/02/2006
LEADING Notts-based building contractors Baggaley Construction have been able to appoint two new graduate surveyor trainees thanks to an innovation project supported by the Alliance SSP.
The regional firm has also been able to implement an innovative new way of working, which has seen the introduction of four sector specific project teams to replace the traditional line-management business model.
The Mansfield company, founded in 1908 and soon to be based in new headquarters off Hermitage Lane, has a turnover of more than £35m and employs almost 200 people.
The firm has won a number of prestigious contracts recently, and has completed such local projects as the St Peter’s Retail Park development in Mansfield and the Ashfield Homes Head Offices in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
It is also involved in, and has completed, a number of projects at Nottingham City Hospital, including a new £5.2 million Urology building and a new £3.7 million Breast Institute. A new £6.2 million Clinical Haematology Unit and a £2 million Cancer Diagnostic Unit are also being built.
In order to sustain future growth, improve internal communications and help the company evolve from a family-owned enterprise into one better equipped for the 21st century, the company embarked upon a leadership and team building development skills training project.
Working with Melton Mowbray-based Pera, as part of the Alliance SSP’s Innovation Performers programme, all members of staff, from the directors to admin workers, undertook leadership development and team-building training.
Des Moore, Partnering Director for Baggaley Construction, said: “With our imminent move into new premises, with new IT systems, it was felt we needed a new integrated approach.
“We developed teams, rather than the line management system in the old days, and for this team-building skills are necessary.
“We are one of the largest companies of our type in the region, we have our own direct workforce, and we are very much customer-focused.
“It was therefore essential that we completed the programme of change quickly and efficiently, and that is where the Pera programme really helped us.”
The Alliance SSP, which was set up by the East Midlands Development Agency to promote economic development in North Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire, sees Pera’s unique form of consultancy as key to delivering higher-skilled and better paid jobs.
The SSP’s Head of Operations, Simon Hall, said: “Baggaley Construction is one of the region’s leading construction companies with a reputation for craftsmanship, quality and steadfast commitment to on-time delivery.
“However, it is also a progressive company and ideally suited to benefit from the Innovation Performers programme, through which we are looking to help local companies maximise their potential to grow through innovation.”
Pera International is the delivery partner for the Alliance SSP innovation programmes.
Pera builds on a company’s innovation capital to establish product and business strategies to deliver long term strength and stability.
In the last five years Pera has assisted over 1,200 companies to develop new, innovative, business opportunities.