Culturally thinking

A workplace’s culture is crucial – but fragile. Poor morale and lack of motivation can prove corrosive; by contrast, when colleagues feel supported and engaged everyone reaps the rewards.

It is this realisation that drives workshop manager Richard Leigh and his team at Uxbridge. ‘It’s clear that the workshop has made lots of progress from an engagement perspective,’ he said. ‘New apprentices [who have] started in the workshop have been talking about their experience and they all say how supportive everyone has been towards their development.’

It’s all about culture change, Richard believes. ‘Being open and asking questions is promoted across the whole workshop and it’s this culture that strengthens our ability to work together as a team.’

Key to this process are regular Work Time Listening & Learning sessions with question and answer workshops. These workshops provide opportunities for colleagues to get to know each other and plan out the week’s work with the team. They are also good moments to share best safety practice, highlighting how to make the workshop safer and work more collaboratively.

This approach continues once the engagement results are released, Richard explains. ‘The team get together in small groups as opposed to one big group to generate ideas on improving the environment and culture within the workshop. Following these sessions there’s a large team meeting to celebrate success.’

By breaking the sessions down into smaller groups, colleagues are more likely to open up and suggest real changes. These efforts have had a profound effect.

‘Having spoken with colleagues covering a wide range of roles, it’s clear to see that the differences within the workshop are what make it so engaging,’ said Richard. ‘As a team, everyone is supportive and proactive towards the success of the workshop.’