Last night saw the gala dinner to celebrate the Kent Invicta Chamber Awards 2023. We are delighted to be a finalist at the awards, and all our staff are very proud of the recognition of achievement.
The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce annual business awards brings together the business community showcasing the amazing achievements of a range of businesses and talented individuals. These awards attract a wide range of entries from across a variety of sectors, but the finalists and winners all have one thing in common, they are truly excellent at what they do and have proved this in their entry.
Our submission for Employer of the Year demonstrated our commercial success and our strategies for growth, whilst achieving excellence in its commitment to the support and development of our staff. We showcased amazing evidence of our initiatives and policies which deliver and monitor our employee’s training and development, health and safety, general wellbeing and our innovative approach to working culture.
We have an exceptional team that strives to be the best in everything that they do. Our team delivers an incredible service and more. It is of great importance to us to thank our team on a regular basis. Everybody employed by b&m undergoes personal development training. A third of our Project Surveyors are currently in formal RICS APC training, and a further 25% are on apprenticeships or similar training schemes. All senior and associate level staff have had mentoring, business or well-being training in the last 12 months. Our staff have logged in the last twelve months over 870 training/mentoring hours. There have also been over 400 hours dedicated to formal training.
One of the most unique ways we make our team feel valued is by giving them and undisputed voice within the company. All staff have the opportunity to belong to a number of groups, putting them at the heart of decision making:-
- Innovation Group;
- Business Ideas Team;
- B Corp working group;
- Social and Team events;
- Growth Team
- Staff voice/Breakfast events;
- Early Engagement Group;
- Training and Development initiative (including 1-2-1 mentors).
In the last 3 years we have excelled in recognition of our achievements, including becoming a B Corp Certified company. It took a year of commitment to achieve our B Corp certification and we are now one of 1500 businesses UK wide who can prove our commitment to our staff, our environment, and our community. We join a group of leading businesses around the world that meet a high standard of social and environmental impact. Betteridge and Milsom are grateful that we have been recognised through such a prestigious forum. Before B Corp, we held an Investors in People certification. We focussed on B Corp instead as we feel this is a far wider achievement.
This year, we were also awarded finalist for the People Development Category for the Constructing Excellence SECBE Award 2023. This comes as a result of our commitment to both developing our staff and having a positive influence on the world around us. It’s an honour to be considered for such a prestigious award. Putting “People First” is one of the key values and philosophies that shape us as a business. Our aim is to never lose sight towards bettering our staff and the community that surrounds us in anyway that we can. We invest, support and develop our staff whilst embracing equality and individuality.