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We were delighted to learn that we’ve been shortlisted in two categories in this year’s UK Company Culture Awards – Best Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DEIB) Initiative and Best Culture Transformation Initiative.
Structura is an architectural glazing business specialising in restoring landmark buildings. We undertake bespoke, ambitious and out-of-the ordinary projects, and over the years we’ve been entrusted with landmark buildings such as The National Gallery, BT Tower and The Royal Academy of Arts. We’re unique in so far as we design and fabricate all our work in a custom-built facility within the M25 and then install on site, often in busy and restricted central city locations, which requires the highest standards of safety and logistics.
Our business has grown significantly since we started and today, we’re a 100+ strong team of more than 15 nationalities working from multiple locations around the UK.
These two awards hold particular significance for us due to the complete turnaround we were forced to face in the wake of very challenging period. In 2021, facing a near-zero valuation and near collapse due to industry challenges, we made radical changes, implementing a transformational five-year roadmap across all areas of the business and with a strong focus on People, Planet, and Prosperity.
In 2024, a diversity survey reflected who we are as a business, building a picture of our range across ethnicity, race, age, gender, and neurodiversity. We could see that our business was heavily male dominated with little in place to encourage diversity.
We set out to create an inclusive environment for our employees to thrive – a gold standard values-led culture for the construction industry which has suffered a severe lack of gender and ethnic diversity in the past.
Discovering 23% of staff identify as neurodivergent, we rolled out company-wide neurodiversity training, established Neuro Ambassadors, redesigned our offices, and ensured accessible technology for all.
We doubled our female colleagues in a year, and a career development journey is in place for all 86 employees (92% of whom skills trained). We’re also championing initiatives such as The Envelope Collective which champions women in construction – pushing ourselves to act beyond token gestures often seen around International Women’s Day.
But perhaps the biggest operational shift in giving all employees a stake in our future was our transition to an Employee Ownership Trust announced at Christmas. Through an Employee Ownership Trust model where every employee now has equal ownership of the business, we are championing job security and ‘in it together’ collaboration, with a target to transfer ownership in November 2026.
“For us an Employee Ownership Trust was the right and natural next step: it protects our independence, rewards those who have built the business, and locks in the standards and values we’ve maintained. It makes the future one that we’re all equally invested in making a true success.”
- Daniel Rickman, Managing Director
Despite these newer changes, our strong roots as a family business have always put fair and equitable practices at the heart of what we do. Over time these have been formalised into ISOs and accreditations which we believe are the backbone of any business doing things the way they should.
“Our longstanding investment in people spans several important initiatives, including being members of the Building Mental Health Charter with assigned Mental Health First Aiders, offering family-friendly working conditions, enhanced paternity leave, and investment in our local community supply chain. What’s more, we regularly review it all to ensure we’re continuing to lead the way.”
- Anne Beal, Company Director
By successfully integrating DEIB into our core strategy and ways of working, we we’ve been able to foster a high-retention culture and recruit new talent, showing that inclusion drives both social and commercial success – enabling us to achieve 13% turnover growth in FY2024-2025.
It’s not all metrics and measures, however. Simple steps such as introducing quarterly socials and monthly food trucks (complete with sombreros and even the occasional live mariachi band!) have helped to foster a culture and camaraderie that many of us hadn’t realised was missing. Making real and lasting change for us is about taking both the big steps and small ones – the ambitious accreditation goals and the smaller daily gestures that we hope adds up to the kind of workplace where we all want to be.
Congratulations to all our fellow nominees – we look forward to meeting you at the Awards ceremony in a few days time.
