STEVE WOOLER, Chief Executive of Nottingham means Business member BWB Consulting, reflects on the lessons he took from a single, inspiring day in business
Every now and then you have days which really make you think about what you’re achieving in business and last Thursday was one of them.
As is often the case, it started with an early morning breakfast event. This was one of the bigger ones on the calendar – the Nottingham Post Great Debate, where the Post reveals some research about the local economy and has a panel discussion involving some of the city’s great and good in front of an influential audience.
This time round it was the relationship between graduate retention and marketing the city that came under the microscope of the academics at Nottingham Business School. In short, we’re one of the biggest ‘student cities’ in the country but far too many of those who get a degree here then leave for a job elsewhere. So we’re a net exporter of the very thing we need more of: talent.
The city’s image has clearly got something to do with that. By that, I don’t mean whether or not it’s a nice place to live and work – we just wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. What I mean is that we don’t tell our story clearly enough or often enough to the human resource we have under our noses: those students.
If we did, things would be different. And I say that from experience – at the other end of the day, we were celebrating the 25 years of success that BWB has enjoyed in consulting engineering with an event for staff, clients and friends at the Nottingham Contemporary.
Our business has changed a lot over a quarter of a century. It’s grown significantly and now has offices in most of the major cities (and do come and see us in London – we’ve got fabulous offices right next to The Shard). And it has grown its people – not just the sheer number, but in their capabilities and the diverse nature of the projects they tackle, which can range from increasingly technological structural and ground engineering to environmental studies related to the significant impact of climate change.
Like many sectors, ours is an industry dominated by two trends: the rise of technology and the war for talent. So what is that talent looking for and how can a city like Nottingham hang on to more of its graduates? The answer was right there in front of me at our anniversary bash: a bunch of people who wanted to work for a business that is successful, stimulating, delivers great service, and has a soul and a connection with the community around it.
It’s like a virtuous feedback loop. Nottingham needs more growing, successful, entrepreneurial businesses and they are exactly the kind of environments that good people want to build careers in. They want to be energised by businesses and organisations which do things that change the world around us.
That’s exactly what BWB is – a business founded in Nottingham in 1990, coincidentally the year that Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web. We’re a business that has made, and is making, a real impact on the built environment of the city and the region and is evolving its services in response to a rapidly changing world. Big data and digital engineering have come an awful long way in just 25 years.
BWB is exporting its brand and its capability to other major cities including London. This matters to our people, who want to feel like they’re part of a business that can literally take them places.
The thing is, we’re not alone. I know there are other businesses – many of them Nottingham Means Business members – who can tell similarly dramatic and exciting stories, and who have fantastic people doing amazing things.
Last Thursday, at both ends of the day, was a great example of the good things that happen when people come together. So we need to come together as a community of businesses, work with the two brilliant universities we’ve got, and tell those 60,000 students a story about a place where they can build a fulfilling career and live an enjoyable life.
If these students come together with us, just think what could happen in Nottingham.
PHOTO CAPTION: It’s all about the people: BWB Consulting Chief Executive Steve Wooler with Head of HR Liz Hardwick-Smith and the Investors in People Gold Standard, which the company achieved earlier this year.