Trident Building Consultancy: Fostering Open Communication and Effective People Management

The Client

Trident Building Consultancy is an award-winning construction project management and building surveying consultancy with offices all over the UK. Founded in 1995, the company has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality services across various sectors, including residential, commercial, healthcare, and education. In June 2022, Trident Building Consultancy transitioned to an employee ownership trust model, marking the start of a new era for the business.

The Problem

Trident’s transition to an employee ownership trust involved significant changes to the leadership team, as the founders stepped back and allowed the next generation to take the reins. A key priority for the new leadership was to foster a more collaborative and inclusive organisational culture and ways of working, reflecting the new ownership.

As part of this, the new leadership team identified potential to improve engagement, people management and internal communication. Having uncomfortable conversations and providing frank feedback was proving challenging, leaving important issues unaddressed. They recognised the need for leadership coaching and better people management skills across the business. There was also a lack of objective measurement of performance across the business.

What We Did

Trident partnered with T4P to address these issues through our Management Foundations Programme delivered over an 18-month timeframe, with separate cohorts for the senior leadership team, directors and managers.  The programme included a rich blend of online resources, in-person workshops, online action learning sets and comprehensive workbooks. In parallel, participants each identified a real-life management challenge, providing the opportunity to apply their learning to deliver tangible business benefit straight away.

A key aspect of the programme was the use of Harrison behaviour analytics, which provided valuable insights into each individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and work preferences. The analytics helped the participants gain self-awareness and understand how they could communicate and work together more effectively.

T4P’s approach stood out for its personalised and caring nature. David and Alli were praised for their genuine interest in the company’s success, their expertise, and their ability to challenge participants in a positive way to develop new behaviours and practices.

The Result

The company experienced several positive outcomes from working with T4P:

Greater self-awareness and empathy: The Harrison behaviour analytics provided insights into individual differences, helping participants understand and empathise with diverse communication styles and work preferences within the team.

Improved feedback and appraisal process: The programme enabled frank and constructive feedback during appraisals, which was well-received and acted upon by employees. Participants became better at having open and honest conversations without letting issues fester.

Powerful engagement conversations: The Harrison engagement analytics gave participants a deeper understanding of their team members’ individual expectations and levels of fulfilment. This empowered them to have open and meaningful conversations that would otherwise have been impossible.

Alignment with employee ownership values: The programme’s emphasis on open communication and people management aligned well with the company’s transition to an employee ownership model, fostering a more collaborative and inclusive culture.

Improved measurement of performance: During the programme several processes were introduced to objectively measure performance. This is helping to identify and celebrate strengths, while identifying areas that need improvement and support. This has raised accountability and performance.

Overall, the partnership with T4P enabled the company to address challenges in people management, performance and internal communication. The combination of personalised coaching, self-awareness tools, and practical training helped create a more open, empathetic, and growth-oriented leadership culture, aligning with the company’s employee ownership values.

“I’ve genuinely loved it. It’s been it’s been all embracing, it’s covered lots of different subject matter. It’s a great management tool to look at, in a more general generic sense, how we engage, conduct, and run the business. I’ve really enjoyed that personal one to one time as well.

It’s been a wonderfully interesting journey. You can always be better, and I genuinely want the people around me to be the best versions of themselves, as much as I want that for myself.”

Scott Young, Director

“ The Management Foundations programme has shown a real investment in our managers. I’ve seen a complete change in how people handle issues, confronting them directly rather than letting them fester.

Alli and David’s understanding of our company and their approachable nature made a significant difference. Their insights and the Harrison approach provided clarity and actionable plans.”

Dan Roe, Head of Business Performance