John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd

John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd was established in 1969 by the now chairman Mr John O’Conner. A long standing reputable Grounds Maintenance company, the organisation has grown from a one man operation to one now employing upwards of 450 people in the height of summer.

John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd has contracts within the Local Authority, Education and Commercial sectors and although they work predominately in the South-East, the company is continuing to expand across the country.

 

Why Investors in People was needed

John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd initially considered Investors in People in 2007 and invited an external organisation to compare its practices with the Standard at the time. The feedback received was of interest and the company began to address the suggested areas for development. However the Directors felt at the time that there was no real business driver for pursuing the Investors in People Standard. When Lantra became an Investors in People Centre: Neil Cain, John O’Conner (Ground Maintenance) Ltd’s Operations Director was keen to revisit the Standard and to work with Lantra and asked them for a visit. Neil said  “We were interested in finding out how Lantra’s landscape sector experience could add value to the Investors in People process.”

John O’Conner’s Investors in People journey

Lantra’s Investors in People Specialist met with the Directors at John O’Conner (Ground Maintenance) Ltd to understand  the business’s strengths, opportunities and key challenges. The Specialist highlighted that a clear, practical social responsibility strategy could build on existing good practice and should be a priority for the business. Neil said: “Increasingly our customers were asking for this, so we knew we would have to respond. Using that as our focus provided the stimulus for conducting the Investors in People  assessment.”

The Lantra Specialist suggested an assessment be conducted against selected topics of the Investors in People framework, this should identify:

• What good practice was currently in place
• How this could be represented in a meaningful social responsibility policy that clients, the public and the team could all relate to
• Any gaps in current practices, and what improvements could be made to address them
• If the current practices were robust enough to support the plans for growth in the business
• Whether the Investors in People Standard was met.

The first stage of the Investors in People assessment was a meeting with the full board of Directors. Here the Lantra Specialist drew out examples of activity against four aspects of social responsibility including community, environmental, ethical market-place and ethical employer practice. The next steps included the Specialist  meeting with staff to see if the good practice identified by the Directors was happening throughout the company, this involved meeting with all staff. 

“I would recommend that other organisations consider Investors in People. If they operate within the
land-based industry, Lantra is best placed to offer advice and guidance to achieving the standard, motivating your workforce and meeting your business goals. Lantra’s Specialists have a mass of experience in Investors in People, combine this with industry knowledge and you have a winning combination.”

Benefits of Investors in People for John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd

Meeting the Investors in People Standard has provided John O’Conner with a clear framework which:

• helps align their business objectives
• focuses on the value their staff contribute and helps motivate staff
• helps them focus on customers which enables them to meet and exceed customer expectations<
• enables them to focus on social responsibility so they’re able to promote, retain/win more business and recruit high calibre staff
• helps them identify areas for development that support their business growth by strengthening existing practices
• can build leadership and management capability and improve their future capacity to grow

Matt O’Conner, Managing Director of John O’Conner (Grounds Maintenance) Ltd said: “I’m convinced that working towards the Investors in People Standard has helped our business. One of the advantages of working with Lantra is that they have encouraged us to draw a line in the sand so in future we will be able to quantify the difference Investors in People is making and more clearly identify where our people practices are helping the business.”