Time with Company: 6 years
Following the acquisition of David Wilson Homes I joined the new Barratt David Wilson West Scotland division as Development Manager before being promoted in late 2008 to my current position of Technical Manager.
Having worked for civil and structural consultants in private industry for the majority of my career, my perception of Barratt at this point was of a large corporate company focused on being a volume house builder. I did not perhaps rank Barratt among the greatest of employers at this time but have changed my opinion over the years with closer involvement. I do think things have moved on and we now recognise our staff for their hard work and try to maintain a good healthy working atmosphere within the office. This also helps provided a sense of job security and I feel our staff turnover is minimal compared to some of our competitors with many long serving members of staff.
The reality in working with Barratt Homes in this current market is that everyone is expected to carry out their duties in full; everyone is kept busy and fully employed. We are all required to ensure that key dates for both the business and our customers are achieved and that the quality of information and product supplied are of the highest standard to maintain our position in these difficult times. I think this keeps everyone focused and brings staff together and helps to generate a good working atmosphere.
My role as Technical Manager provides me with the opportunity to be involved and interact with other departments, which I enjoy. What I enjoy the most is the opportunity to be involved through the various stages of projects. From the initial site viability/conception, site purchase, obtaining local authority approvals, through the site construction period, sales, through to client handover and site completion. All of these stages bring with them their own site specific requirements, variations and challenges.