It would be no exaggeration to say that 2022 marked an epoch in the history of Trident Building Consultancy. It has been a year of tremendous change, and one that has set the foundations not just for the future direction of the business, but for our renewed values and ethos, and the way in which we regard and appreciate one another.
Of course, the biggest change has been the successful transition to an employee-owned model. The rationale for this move was always to give our loyal employees a greater stake in the business – not solely a greater financial stake, but to foster a greater sense of connectedness. In effect, to create a team in which everyone feels valued and has the opportunity to prosper.
We’re at an early stage in that journey, but tangible differences can already be felt. We expect those to grow exponentially as we move forward on our exciting new trajectory.
Along with a new business model comes a new board structure. Matt Clare officially stepped down from the board on April 1st after making a huge contribution to the development of Trident Building Consultancy, particularly in relation to the Fire Consultancy side of the business.
The good news is Matt will very much remain involved in business management and plans are in place to grow both the survey and remediation parts of Fire Consultancy under Matt’s guidance – so watch this space. I would like to thank Matt for all his efforts on the board and for imparting his financial expertise to the rest of us.
As big as Matt’s shoes are to fill, I have every confidence his successor will be up to the task and it is with immense pride that I can now say I sit alongside our first female board director, Louise Logan. Louise joined our London office in 2001 and immediately made her mark in the business. Combining ambition with a fantastic work ethic, it is no surprise she has excelled in her career and we are grateful she chose to do this at Trident.
Louise’s promotion to the board is the first in what we hope will be a long line of actions to help us meet our EDI (ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity) vision, as set out in our new EDI framework.
To accomplish this, we have established an EDI committee that will look into ways of redressing the balance within the business and ensure respect for all is at the heart of everything we do.
The EDI committee is one of several committees that have been formed as part of the transition to an employee-owned model. This is an initiative which we feel will deliver real, positive change here at Trident.
Others are dedicated to ESG, CSR, finance, and any number of other vital issues. Everyone at Trident is encouraged to get involved with a committee in which they’re interested in – it’s a worthwhile and rewarding experience and a great opportunity for us to hear from everyone at Trident.
Speaking of CSR, our commitment to supporting good causes remained undiminished in 2022 and a particular highlight was raising more than £10,000 for LandAid. This even saw some of our staff brave a long, cold night sleeping rough, which is testament to their dedication.
Principles we put at the heart of the organisation are to be proactive and responsive with our clients, to be collaborative within ourselves, to be pioneering in our use of technology and our willingness to evolve, and to be approachable and sociable throughout.
We know we will only achieve this by demonstrating our appreciation for those within our organisation and promote reward and recognition for all, and we have placed doing this at the core of Trident. To demonstrate our appreciation for those who make this business what it is, and to ensure they have the opportunity to progress as far as they want to in their career, is how we all win.
It is for this reason that we continue to invest in our staff and 2022 was no exception.
Last year, we started to work with the UK Green Buildings Council to create a bespoke course for all of our surveyors, to ensure they have a deep understanding of sustainability issues and how they impact on our sector.
Whereas other surveying practices restrict this type of training to a small number of individuals, our view is climate change is a generation-defining problem that everyone must know about. The course will ensure all of our surveyors, no matter their sector speciality, will have an in-depth knowledge of the issues and how what we do can drive positive change.
Going forward, we are looking to formalise training within the business to ensure new skills and qualifications are available to everyone who wants to develop them. And because you never stop learning, this extends to and includes our board of directors, ensuring we create better leaders and managers throughout the business who will reset our expected behaviours from the top down.
But we’re not stopping with the people who already make Trident what it is today.
As our ambition to become an employer of choice continues, 2023 will see greater emphasis on outreaching to schools and universities to ensure the next generation of talent is better informed when it comes to making choices about their career.
Of course, young people are the future of Trident. But much more vital than this is that young people will take over the mantle of creating an equitable and sustainable future. Perhaps our greatest achievement as an organisation will be to give them the opportunity, the tools, and the platform from which to do this.
I firmly believe 2022 was the start of something monumental for Trident and going forward we will only build on that.
-Daniel Roe – Managing Director
For regular updates from Trident, make sure to follow us on Linkedin, or check out the news section of our website.
