Our people

The Group recognises the importance of communicating with all employees to help maintain trust and confidence between all parties. This is achieved by various formal processes and ad-hoc actions throughout the year. On a formal basis, our CEO conducts regular all-staff briefings and meetings are held throughout the year between employees and their line managers to ensure that personal objectives are aligned with the Group’s strategy and that development needs and career aspirations are identified. Based on local requirements, weekly, monthly or quarterly management team meetings are held to provide a forum for Group updates. Internal announcements are issued on a regular basis and include business updates, guidance on maintaining a safe working environment and matters of general interest. The Group’s website is used for the distribution of preliminary and interim announcements and press releases.

Through workforce engagement, the views of our employees are heard at Board level and are considered in Board discussions and decision making. To further support employee engagement, all employees will be invited to participate in employee surveys. These will be conducted annually, beginning in November 2024 with the introduction of a mid-point pulse survey to stay connected to the sentiment of our employees. We also successfully launched a Group newsletter to all employees starting in July 2024 which will be produced on a quarterly basis.

We recognise that being a truly diverse and inclusive Group is crucial to our values and to our ability as a business to grow, innovate and attract and retain talent. Different experiences, views and opinions allow us to consider a range of opinions when making decisions, which we believe results in better outcomes for the business and for our stakeholders. We operate globally and recognise the cultural differences that may exist in the countries in which we do business. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination. We are committed to equality of opportunity in all our employment practices, procedures and policies. When we hire or promote someone, we choose the best candidate irrespective of age, race, national origin, disability, religion, sex, gender reassignment, sexual preference, marital status or membership/ non-membership of any trade unions. All staff are provided with a safe, secure and healthy environment in which to work, regardless of where in the world they are located. We aim to create an environment where the contributions of all staff are recognised and valued, and everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We do not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment within the Group. We apply the same standards when we select business partners. The ESG Committee is responsible for setting the Group’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. As a Group, we believe training, development and progression opportunities must be available to all staff. We offer flexible working opportunities such as working remotely or part-time and flexible hours according to the requirements of the position. While ability and aptitude remain the determining factors in the selection, training, career development and promotion of all employees, the Group is conscious that engineering continues to have inherent disadvantages for women and other underrepresented groups. We have continued in our efforts to address these disadvantages during FY 2024, both in our role as a Corporate Partner to the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and via our partnership with Smallpeice Trust Arkwright Engineering Scholarship, in which we mentor 16-year-old students who are considering further education or a career in engineering. The Board recognises the importance of diversity in all forms, including the diversity of gender identity, ethnicity, age, disability, neurodiversity, sexual orientation, geography, social and cultural background and belief. We recognise the gender imbalance in the profession and have been working to improve the Group’s gender mix. A significant proportion of the Group’s workforce are engineers and technicians and this remains a continued area of focus, given the known under-representation of women in these roles globally. At present, women represent 17% of our overall workforce. The Board notes the recommendations of the Hampton-Alexander and Parker Reviews and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in relation to increasing Board and Executive Committee (and direct reports) gender and ethnic diversity. We are proud to note that within the senior management team, the proportion of female representation is at 21% while the Group Board is at 40%, in line with these recommendations.

Employees by gender

The Group remains committed to attracting and retaining key talent and supporting their ongoing career development through life-long learning. This provides benefits for both the Group, through a more highly skilled workforce, and the individual employee, who gains both qualifications and experience that they can use to further their careers whilst with the Group and in any future roles elsewhere. The Group’s talent mapping and succession planning processes have continued to play a key role in facilitating staff development and enabled a significant proportion of employees to take on wider responsibilities either through formal promotional opportunities or growth in current roles during the year. Targeted leadership training is also an integral part of ensuring our workforce remains engaged and innovative, whilst enabling the Group to grow a diverse pipeline for key roles and leadership positions. To further demonstrate the Group’s commitment to developing internal talent, the second ABD Professional Development Programme (PDP) commenced in June 2024 for twelve employees globally. The UK launched a pilot ‘manage for excellence’ programme which covers fundamentals to set a common base for our people managers. This four module programme spans 18 months, providing in-classroom training and on-the-job time to put learnings into practice.