Engaging with Stakeholders
Culture and engaging with our stakeholders
To implement our five key priorities and to promote the success of the Company, we aim to build strong relationships with all of our stakeholders. We regularly engage with our key stakeholders to understand what matters most to them, how we can meet their interests and the likely impact of Board and management decisions
The Board receives regular updates on stakeholder engagement at Board meetings. There are standing agenda items in order that the Board can review progress against our five key priorities and their impact on our key stakeholders. The Board also engages directly with key stakeholders, particularly shareholders and employees. Our key stakeholders, how we engaged with them and the results of that engagement are set out on the following pages. The following disclosure forms the Directors’ statement required under section 414CZA of the Companies Act 2006.
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 be aware of their changing needs and ensure our 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 social housing partners ensures that we provide the appropriate range of affordable homes to meet the needs of local communities. Maintaining positive relationships with all of 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 staff, who are in regular contact with our customers from the point of reserving their new home to moving in day; through our site teams who attend various touchpoints with our customers in the lead-up to and immediately after legal completion; and also 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 two national new homes surveys run by the Home Builders Federation to obtain independent feedback from our customers.
- We engage with our social housing partners through regular contact and meetings.
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 key priorities:
- HBF eight-week and nine-month customer satisfaction survey scores.
- Trustpilot 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.
- We are increasing our investment in our customer experience function, including in digital technology and in training.
Employees
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Relevant material issues
- Build quality and safety
- Talent attraction, development and diversity and inclusion
- Supporting sustainable communities
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. Engaging with the workforce significantly contributes to the success and wellbeing of both the business and our employees. Engaged employees are more likely to be motivated and committed to their work, leading to higher levels of productivity and increased innovation and creativity. Engagement leads to stronger team collaboration, better communication and creates a positive culture enhancing customer satisfaction. Engaging with our employees also helps ensure they understand and align with the Group’s strategy, vision and values and helps us to understand the changing needs of our workforce, to better attract, develop and retain employees.
How do we engage?
- Through our Employee Engagement Panel, which meets regularly throughout the year. Each meeting is usually attended by a Director and is chaired by the Chief Human Resources Officer. The Chairman, Remuneration Committee Chair and two Non-Executive Directors attended meetings in 2023.
- Through annual employee engagement surveys and the resulting actions and plans.
- 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.
- Through our Women’s Network and Persimmon Pride.
- Through role-specific conferences.
What did they tell us?
- Our 2023 engagement survey had an 81% employee engagement score, with 90% committed to the Group and what we are trying to achieve.
- Recognition is important and employees want to feel valued and appreciated.
- Many of our colleagues have been 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 IT improvement and 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 and absence rates.
- Through our customer satisfaction surveys and quality measures.
Outcomes and effects on Board decisions
- We have continued to develop our Talent and our Diversity and Inclusion strategies.
- We implemented a 5% base pay increase made in two stages, with a 3% increase in July 2023 and a further 2% in January 2024.
- We continue to be an accredited Living Wage Foundation employer.
- We have further improved our Learning Management System to better record employees’ training and enable further development of our e-learning courses.
- We continued to improve our internal communications strategy.
- We continued our communications 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 any planning and technical issues in order that the impact of our activities on local communities is minimised, including using 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.
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 quality of our developments and our ability to demonstrate how local priorities have been met.
- Through the impact of our Community Champions initiative.
- Reports from the Group Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs.
Outcomes and effects on Board decisions
- Developed a Placemaking Framework, to improve the guidance and tools our planning and design teams need to create attractive developments, which promote wellbeing through, for example, the provision of public open spaces.
- The Company signed self remediation contracts with both the English and Welsh Governments to protect leaseholders from having to pay towards cladding removal or fire-related safety issues on buildings that the Group constructed. We continue to work positively with the Scottish Government on a similar agreement.
- Invested c.£2.3bn in local communities over the last five years.
- 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. These assist 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 continued implementation of framework agreements inclusive of policies, KPIs and expected service levels. 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 and 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 Whole Life Carbon Oversight Group.
What did they tell us?
- The Group works in partnership with its suppliers, providing material demand forecasting, with periodic updates detailing any variations. This ensures continuity of supply, providing continuity and visibility of future workflows.
- Timely payment of invoices is important – we pay invoices within agreed timescales.
- They continue to monitor the impact of global supply chain and price-sensitive impacts to enable continued service delivery.
- Material delivery monitoring and reporting is important, to support compliance and identify opportunity for reduction of excess stock to develop a robust supply chain.
- They want to work collaboratively to identify innovative solutions and alternative products to support changes to statutory requirements and Building Regulations (such as transition to Future Homes Standard) and delivery of our objectives.
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 standardisation of our procurement process, greater central oversight and an expanded use of framework agreements.
- 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 for 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 Executive Directors and IR Director hold regular meetings with analysts and investors as part of the Group’s reporting cycle and formal roadshows.
- We hold shareholder roadshows. In addition, throughout the year, the Executive Directors and IR Director participate in calls, investor conferences and site visits to meet prospective and existing investors, to communicate the Group’s strategy.
- 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, where the Chairman and Group Chief Executive update shareholders, 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.
- The Remuneration Committee Chair engaged with major shareholders on the proposed Remuneration Policy and implementation of the Policy for 2023.
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?
- 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.
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 councillors and 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 and Homes for Scotland.
- 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 Homes England and with the Health and Safety Executive.
- Engaging with local councillors and local planning authorities.
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, Safety and Environment Department.
- To better reflect the views of local authorities and communities in the plans we develop.
How do we measure the effectiveness of our engagement?
- The Board receives updates from the Group Chief Executive and Group Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs regarding direct engagement with Government, Homes England and the Home Builders Federation.
- Our engagement has led to an enhanced planning approach, with c.11,000 plots achieving detailed consent.
Outcomes and effects on Board decisions
- To protect leaseholders, we signed self remediation contracts with both the English and Welsh Governments to protect leaseholders from having to pay towards cladding removal or fire-related safety issues on buildings that the Group constructed. We continue to work positively with the Scottish Government on a similar agreement.
- We were awarded Building a Safer Future Chartered Champion status in March 2023. We were applauded for the work we have done to act as a spearhead for the industry to step up and take responsibility
UN SDGs
Addressing global challenges in a meaningful way that is relevant and aligned to our business strategy.
UN Sustainable Development Goals