How we lost our third star (and what we’re doing about it)

Estimated reading time: 3 mins, 10 secs

Two weeks ago, we learned that we've achieved a two-star "Outstanding" accreditation after our latest Best Companies employee engagement survey. 

But if we're honest, we're disappointed not to have retained three-star status.

For three years running, based on independently gathered employee feedback, we've been rated a three-star company.

It's something we're really proud of.

Best Companies four possible levels of accreditation

What Best Companies accreditation means to us

We're proud to have held Best Company status for 5 years. 

Last year, in a category full of high-performing construction companies, we were named the UK's Best Construction Company To Work For for the second time.

The engagement survey isn't a box-ticking exercise for us. It's a chance for our colleagues to tell us, anonymously and honestly, how they feel about working at Lambe's. 

Three stars mean "World Class" engagement. Two stars is still "Outstanding.

But we've always celebrated being a three-star company.

So it matters to us that we've dropped to two stars and want to understand why.

First we had to be honest

One of our values at Lambe's is to be honest, even when things don't go to plan.

We can't learn from our mistakes if we pretend not to make them.

We expected our results to be down, but instead of sitting this year out, we decided to show up and listen. That's how we get better. 

Yes, we're disappointed. But this next year is within our control.

So, what changed in 2024?

Last year was tough. We all felt the pressure of a challenging market.

In response, our senior management team stayed focused on the essentials - turnover, cash, and profit.

• We had to make some really difficult redundancy decisions. Never a nice backdrop for culture and team morale.

• We've been reorganising our structure, including leadership changes that naturally take time to bed in. 

• We had fewer social events and missed our half-year gatherings where we usually get together as a team. 

Less whole-team gatherings might sound like a small thing, but we’ve learned that coming together as a community helps us stay on the same page, and reminds us why we're all here in the first place.

As our MD, Michael Lambe said, "In hindsight, we probably didn't give our culture the care and attention it deserves."

All of this impacted people's experience of working at Lambe's and it shows in our results.

And we weren't alone - Best Companies recently shared that employee engagement scores dropped by an average of 21% across all companies surveyed this year.

Photo from our 2023 half-year business planning day at Villa Park

What we're doing differently now

Based on what we heard, we're making some changes:

1. Increasing access to leadership on-site

Our directors are now out on-site twice a week - every Tuesday and Thursday. So they have an even clearer picture of what's happening on the ground. It means our clients and everyone at Lambe's can access them as a team. 

2. Bringing people together 

We've already booked our half-year and full-year gatherings for later this year. These events are where we come together to talk about where the business is heading. Everyone can ask questions, challenge directly, and share their feedback.

3. Fine-tuning our structure

Our restructure is still a work in progress, but it's bedding in. We're constantly reviewing what works (or not) to give our clients a more consistent service. We're listening and responding to feedback.

4. Making it easier to support the Christy Lambe Foundation

We run one main fundraiser for the Christy Lambe Foundation each year. Last year, we cycled from Birmingham to where Christy is buried in Clonaslee. This year, it’s a walking challenge so that people at all fitness levels can take part. But our East Midlands Region has told us they’re keen to run their own initiatives. So we’re making that happen. 

Our Directors are now out on-site twice a week, every week

We’re still an “Outstanding” place to work

Despite everything, our teams still rated Lambe's as an "Outstanding" place to work.

That says everything about the people in our company. Even through a difficult year, with all our challenges, they still believe this is a great place to work.

As one of our Buyers said:

"I take a lot away from the main purpose of my job. It's to get the materials to site to build the house. That could be somebody's first house. It could be somebody's family home. 

It's actually putting something on the earth that you can drive past in ten years' time. I could look at it and say, "I contributed to the community living there."

That pride runs right through our company.

But we want that third star back

It's not about the fancy badge.

When our workplace is at its best, it's somewhere people can grow professionally, contribute meaningfully, and go home feeling good about their day's work.

To everyone at Lambe's - thanks for your resilience during this bumpy year.

Thanks for being candid with us about what's not working. 

And thanks for continuing to make this an ‘Outstanding’ place to work, even when things have been tough.

To everyone else, we're working on rebuilding our 'World Class' culture and look forward to sharing our progress with you here.