Learning curve for boss at coalface

Jun 12 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

THE chief executive of one of the country’s biggest builders got a fresh view of his company when he went under- cover as a labourer for a new television series.

Stephen Martin normally spends more time in boardrooms than building sites in his job of the Humberside-based company Clugston which has 600 workers across the UK.

But he left the suit behind and pretended to be an ordinary labourer at sites including that in Gateshead where his workers are creating the £50m waste site for North East firm Graphite Resources.

And he said he learned some valuable lessons while being filmed for an episode of the new Channel 4 series Undercover Boss which will be screened on June 25.

Stephen said: “I saw three big issues from a workforce perspective. Our communications look great in head office but don’t work out on sites. On site people are reading tabloids, they don’t relate to glossy magazine-style bulletins. I hadn’t realised the impact of the recession on communication – you need to do more, even if there isn’t much to say.”

“We’ve all heard about the ageing workforce coming up for retirement – but I saw first-hand how they have critical skills which are about to be lost.

“And for years now there have not been enough young people coming into some industries – manufacturing and construction are just two. While apprentices have reversed the trend, I could see just how serious an issue this is.

“Perhaps the most extraordinary lesson for me was that even though I’d made a huge effort to go out on site and meet everyone, you are invisible when you are in a suit! People in suits carry certain baggage with them and rarely get under the skin of the real issues. That alone made it worth going undercover.”

Since the programme, Clugston has been looking at how they pass on the skills of the older generation.

Stephen added: “At Clugston, we have accelerated our own activities to address these issues as a result of what I discovered. But the advice and support out there to help us is fragmented, difficult to understand and not targeted specifically on passing on the skills of older workers.

“We believe businesses need a support package – which we are calling Bridge the Gap – based around three critical areas. First, an easy process to identify which people have the ability to coach younger people – possibly using a form of psychometric test that is not paper-based.

“The package also needs to provide courses on coaching skills that are not classroom-based and a way to identify skills which the older generation has and where the gaps are in young people.”

Stephen Martin joined Clugston two years ago and had already made significant changes. The company’s results to end January 2009 were their best in over a decade with group turnover to end January 2009 up by 31% to £141.7m and group profit before taxation up 8% to £2.8m.