Engaging with Stakeholders

Committed to maintaining positive relationships

At Persimmon, we are committed to maintaining positive relationships with our key stakeholders. Doing so helps us to develop as a business responding effectively to their changing needs.

Customers

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Relevant material issues

  • Build quality and safety
  • Reinforcing trust: customers at the heart of our business 
  • Supporting sustainable communities

Why do we engage?

Engaging with our customers helps us to identify their changing needs, and ensure of homes are well positioned in the market. It also enables us to measure how we are achieving our aim to improve the delivery of consistently good quality, sustainable homes and excellent customer service.

Engaging with our housing association partners ensures that we provide the appropriate range of affordable homes to meet the needs of local communities.

Maintaining positive relationships with our customers minimises reputational risk for the Group and will help to increase long-term demand for our homes.

How do we engage?

We communicate with our customers in a number of ways:

  • Through our sales teams, who are in regular contact with our customers from the point of reserving their new home to moving in day, through our site staff who attend key release meetings with our customers and through our customer care teams, who support our customers once they have moved into their new home. 
  • We have a comprehensive communication approach for each customer including: both before and after their moving in date. 
  • We participate in a national new homes survey run by the Home Builders Federation to obtain independent feedback from our customers. 
  • We engage with our housing association partners through regular contact and meetings.

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What did they tell us? 

  • Our customers want attractively priced, high quality sustainable and energy efficient homes. 
  • Customers want to be able to communicate with our teams quickly and easily, at times and in ways convenient to them. 
  • Customers value a blend of digital and interpersonal customer experiences.
  • Customers want to be connected to the internet as soon as possible following their move in date.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement?

The following metrics are regularly reviewed by the Board when considering progress against our five priorities: 

  • HBF 8 week and 9 month customer satisfaction survey scores. 
  • Trust Pilot scores. 
  • Speed of resolution of any customer issues. 
  • Number of visitors to sites and levels of website traffic. 
  • Volume of sales. 
  • FibreNest’s achievement of timely connections.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions 

  • Our build quality ambition has grown from ‘build right, first time, every time’ to ‘trusted to deliver five-star homes consistently’. 
  • We have continued to invest in and progress The Persimmon Way, our Group-wide consolidated approach to new home construction which is considered to be a key driver to deliver consistent quality across our business. 
  • Increased investment in our customer experience function, in digital technology and in training.

Employees

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Relevant material issues

  • Supporting sustainable communities 
  • Build quality and safety 
  • Talent attraction, development and diversity

Why do we engage?

We aim to attract and grow a talented and diverse workforce, believing this to be fundamental to the long-term success of the business.

We recognised that post-pandemic, the employment market would become more challenging as people re-evaluated their careers and work-life balance.

Engaging with our employees helps ensure they understand and align with the Group’s strategy and desired culture and helps us to understand the changing needs of our workforce, to better attract and retain employees.

How do we engage?

  • Through our Employee Engagement Panel, which meets regularly throughout the year. Each meeting is attended by the Group’s designated Workforce Non-Executive Director and is chaired by the Group’s HR Director. In addition the Group Chief Executive and Remuneration Committee Chair attended meetings in 2022.
  • Through annual employee engagement surveys. 
  • Through our Health, Safety and Environment department and increased online training procedures. 
  • Through improved internal communications to all employees on matters such as our business activities and priorities, the achievements of our business and our employees and our work in local communities. 

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What did they tell us? 

  • Our 2022 engagement survey had an 83% employee engagement score, with 92% committed to the Group and what we are trying to achieve. 
  • Recognition is important and employees want to feel valued and appreciated. 
  • 2022 was a difficult year for many of our colleagues who were affected by the rising cost of living. 
  • Our employees are supportive of the improvements to customer care and quality. 
  • They would like continued focus on training and development.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement? 

  • Feedback from the Employee Engagement Panel. 
  • Through the results of our annual employee engagement survey. 
  • Changes to our employee turnover.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions

  • Feedback from the Panel led to improvements to the quality of PPE and a range of garments for female employees, enhancements to paternity pay and the involvement of Panel members in the selection of IT hardware for use on our developments. 
  • We formulated a Talent Acquisition Strategy and introduced a streamlined recruitment process. 
  • We implemented a tiered salary increase, that awarded the lowest paid employees the highest increase, with a 7% increase on their basic pay. 
  • Continued to be an accredited Real Living Wage Employer. 
  • Launched our Learning Management System to better record employees training and enable further development of our e-learning courses. 
  • Continued to improved our internal communications strategy. 
  • Undertook a communication exercise to promote the support available through our Employee Assistance Programme.

Communities

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Relevant material issues

  • Supporting sustainable communities 
  • Reinforcing trust: customers at the heart of our business 
  • Social impact

Why do we engage?

Engaging with our local communities, throughout all phases of a development, more accurately identifies their needs and helps us to meet those needs.

During this collaboration, we aim to address and minimise the impact of our activities during the construction phase of our developments through planning and environmental risk assessments.

How do we engage?

  • Proactive engagement and consultation throughout the planning and development process of each of our developments. 
  • Feedback from our local pre-launch marketing campaigns. 
  • Regular engagement with planning authorities. 
  • Being actively involved in the communities in which we operate, through employing local people and supporting local charities and community groups through our Community Champions Initiative and the Persimmon Charitable Foundation. 
  • Through our External Affairs Team.

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What did they tell us? 

  • Demand for homes in communities with high amenity value is strong. 
  • Local infrastructure investment is important in improving community environments. 
  • To be an active part of the community through supporting local charities and community groups. 
  • To be positive and responsive to the views of local people. 
  • Leaseholders and occupants of high rise buildings have been concerned with fire safety issues.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement? 

  • Speed of achieving planning consents and ability to unlock blocked consents. 
  • Through the impact of our Community Champions initiative. 
  • Reports from the Group Director of Policy and External Affairs.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions

  • Developed a Placemaking Framework, to improve the tools our site design teams need to create attractive developments, which promote well-being, through for example, the provision of public open spaces. 
  • The Group signed the Developer Pledge to protect leaseholders from having to pay towards cladding removal or fire related safety issues on buildings the Group constructed. We have signalled our intent to sign the UK government’s developer remediation contract. We continue to work positively with the Welsh and Scottish governments on similar agreements. 
  • Increased our legacy buildings safety provision by £275.0m for the year ended 31 December 2022. 
  • Contributed c.£100m to local communities through planning contributions to local authorities. 
  • Continued to support Community Champions and the Persimmon Charitable Foundation.

Suppliers and subcontractors

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Relevant material issues

  • Climate change action and resilience
  • Build quality and safety 
  • Supporting sustainable communities

Why do we engage?

The Group benefits from long standing relationships with many of its suppliers and subcontractors. This assists in securing the quality and supply of materials to deliver the Group’s build programmes effectively.

We engage with suppliers and subcontractors to ensure adherence to our stringent health and safety standards and required standards of ethical behaviour and integrity, supported by the introduction of Framework Agreements inclusive of Group Policies.

Engagement with our suppliers and subcontractors assists us in continuing to improve the long-term sustainability of our supply chain.

How do we engage?

  • Quarterly business reviews, regular, informal discussions with our key suppliers through our Group Procurement team, who are responsible for arranging and negotiating Group Framework Agreements and Service Level Agreements to ensure our suppliers are compliant to standard terms.
  • Our local operating businesses’ buying and technical teams regularly engage with local suppliers and subcontractors.
  • Our ‘Toolbox Talks’ ensure our subcontractors understand and adhere to the health and safety standards required on our sites.
  • All Group suppliers sign up to the Group’s supplier principles, equivalent Group Policies and key performance indicators, which describe our requirements and expectations.
  • We are partners to the Supply Chain Sustainability School which encourages engagement across the supply chain. 
  • We are part of the Future Homes Hub Embodied Carbon Task Force. 

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What did they tell us? 

  • The Group works in partnership with its suppliers, to provide material requirement forecasts. This ensures continuity of supply, providing continuity and visibility of future work flows. 
  • Timely payment of invoices is important. 
  • They continue to monitor the impact of global supply chain and price sensitive impacts to enable continued service delivery.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement? 

The Group Procurement department provides routine monitoring of trends and supplier performance.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions

  • Our tendering processes have been strengthened through greater central oversight and an expanded use of framework agreements. 
  • We remain a signatory to The Prompt Payment Code (PPC). 
  • The department seeks to secure Group wide deals covering all major elements of our construction process. These relationships and agreements will allow the Group to establish consistent standards of quality, security of cost and supply of materials whilst providing our suppliers with certainty over volumes, revenues and cash flows. 
  • Developed trials to evaluate the most effective method of transitioning to the Future Homes Standard and beyond to net zero carbon. 
  • We have also been engaging with our suppliers to assess the embodied carbon of our house types in order to identify materials with the most impact.

Shareholders

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Relevant material issues

  • Supporting sustainable communities 
  • Build quality and safety
  • Reinforcing trust: customers at the heart of our business 
  • Disciplined growth: high quality land investment 
  • Industry leading financial performance

Why do we engage?

Access to capital is important to the long-term success of the business.

Through our engagement we aim to create investor buy-in of our core focus areas and how we execute them.

We create value for our investors by generating surplus capital beyond the reinvestment needs of the business as the market cycle develops.

How do we engage?

  • The Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive and IR Director hold regular meetings with analysts and investors as part of the Group’s reporting cycle. 
  • We hold shareholder roadshows. 
  • We obtain feedback from the Company’s brokers, market analysts and shareholder groups. 
  • There is a regular report from the IR Director to the Board. 
  • All Board members attend the Company’s Annual General Meeting and we conduct the vote on resolutions by poll. 
  • The Chairman and the Non-Executive Directors are also available to attend meetings with major shareholders to gain an understanding of any issues and concerns.
  • During the year the Remuneration Committee Chair engaged with major shareholders on the proposed remuneration policy and implementation of the policy for 2023.

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What did they tell us? 

  • Fair pay for the whole workforce. 
  • They would like an environmental metric for incentive awards. 
  • Requirement of a diverse Board and pipeline of talent for succession to executive positions. 
  • Preference for a sustainable dividend.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement? 

  • Reports from the Group’s IR Director. 
  • Feedback from analysts and investors. 
  • Movements on the share register.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions

  • The Group continued to be an accredited Living Wage Foundation employer. 
  • Maintained a rigorous process for each Board appointment, led by the Nomination Committee. 
  • Inclusion of an environmental metric in the performance condition for 2023 share awards. 
  • New capital allocation policy announced in November 2022.

Government, regulators and industry bodies

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Relevant material issues

  • Supporting sustainable communities 
  • Build quality and safety 
  • Reinforcing trust: customers at the heart of our business

Why do we engage?

We engage with national government regarding government policy that could affect the Group.

We meet with local authority planning departments to ensure we are able to create sustainable communities with high amenity value in places where people wish to live and work.

We engage with the Health and Safety Executive in relation to industry-wide initiatives to reduce health and safety risks to both our workforce and local communities.

How do we engage?

  • We are a member of the Home Builders Federation. 
  • We engage with government departments directly, and working with the Home Builders Federation and Homes for Scotland, to explain industry opportunities and challenges. 
  • By participating in industry meetings with Ministers. 
  • Regular dialogue with the Health and Safety Executive. 
  • Engaging with local planning authorities. 
  • Engaged with Home Building Skills Partnership.
  • Dean Finch, Group Chief Executive, is a member of the government’s Net Zero Buildings Council, a partnership between the government, industry and third sector which focuses on the delivery and implementation of key objectives within the Heat and Buildings and Net Zero Strategies.

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What did they tell us? 

  • As part of the UK achieving its target of net zero by 2050, the government is consulting on the Future Homes Standard which aims to significantly reduce the carbon emissions of a home built to current regulations.
  • It is essential to maintain a skilled and well resourced Health and Safety Department.
  • In December 2022, the government launched a consultation into the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which seeks views on the proposed approach to updating to the National Planning Policy Framework.

How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement? 

The Board receives updates from the Group Chief Executive regarding direct engagement with government, Homes England and the Home Builders Federation.

Outcomes and effects on Board decisions

  • To protect leaseholders, we signed the Developer Pledge and have worked positively with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to agree a final developer remediation contract.
  • Introduced a Placemaking Framework which considers social value and the well-being of our communities within our site design, for example providing public open spaces, walkways, play areas and enhancing bio-diversity. 
  • We become one of only 10 companies to be awarded a Certificate of Commitment and Progress – Building Safety Stage 1, as part of the Building a Safer Future Charter Champion application process.

Materiality matrix

Focusing on what matters most

Materiality Matrix

UN SDGs

Addressing global challenges in a meaningful way that is relevant and aligned to our business strategy.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Governance

Our Sustaianbility Governance Framework

Governance