Leading design and build specialists, Concorde BGW, breaks boundaries by branching out into new sectors and looking after its most important asset – its team
Known for its outstanding achievements in the hospitality market, Concorde BGW is now taking on new challenges. As Sophie Oldfield, the company’s Operations Director, reveals: “We’ve been doing fantastically well recently. Over the years, we have been shortlisted and have won various industry awards, which has really helped boost our credibility as experts within our field. Our award-winning in-house design team continue to compete successfully against design-only studios, which is a huge endorsement to the design and build model which Concorde offers.
“Design and build is what helps differentiate us from our competitors. We have an amazing team of industry experts, as well as the accolades to prove it. I think that sums up where the business is right now. We’re following on from some major changes. Ever since 2018, the company has been going through a period of change and transition.” 
Cultivating culture
Company culture can make or break a business. A community driven approach changed the game for Concorde BGW, as Sophie details: “We focussed a lot on improving the community and internal culture of the business. We wanted to make sure it was a really great place to work, so we brought in team perks, improved processes and documentation, and greater clarity over people’s roles within the business and their paths for development.
“We recognised that the working culture was changing, and we didn’t want to be left behind. Back in 2018 we realised that our team turnover was increasing, and this was impacting morale, we knew it was time for a change. A lot of our managers went through additional training, as many of them had been organically promoted from other roles, and that led, hand in hand to an overhaul of our internal processes as well. We really dug into and defined our mission, vision, and values. Now, everything we do is based on clear criteria, and a shared understanding of what drives the business forward. Even our yearly strategy is centred on the company’s core values.
“We also developed a leadership charter, which is based on the core values and how they impact people’s attitudes and behaviours. Our managers lead by example, giving clarity to their team members, and providing feedback on their performance that is both positive and constructive.
“Changing the company culture has had a huge knock-on effect for everything else within the business. We put a spotlight on positive contributions, so everyone can nominate team members that they think have done a great job, and we take the time to recognise that. We also offer financial incentives, vouchers, and holiday days. Some of this happens at our monthly and quarterly reviews, while for bigger accomplishments we make time to celebrate them at our end of year company awards.
“Concorde has been my work home for 14 years, and every day is different. We have a wide range of projects ongoing at any one time, so there is never a fear of getting bored. At the moment, we have a really diverse variety of clients, all of which are looking for something unique to them. One project can be a £100 reactive maintenance job, the next it’s a £5 million pub refurbishment. It keeps the team really interested and engaged, and it’s different to a lot of other jobs, where things can be very monotonous.
“The other asset we have is that when a challenge comes along, we face it as a team. I think that really speaks about our company culture. It’s easy to become disunited when facing adversity, but we always come together to solve the problem and complete the project. Every time. I think that is so important.”
Robust relationships
With a strong, united workforce behind it, Concorde BGW has quickly become one of the UK’s fastest growing enterprises. The team’s passion for people is the driving force behind the company’s recent successes, as Sophie asserts: “Providing next level service has really helped us get where we are. Our team is incredibly dedicated, and they understand that this is a people business. They make friends with the clients, gain their trust, and build that relationship from the get-go. As a business, we like to have a family feel, which is again something that has become a lot easier since we overhauled our internal culture. We’re getting bigger and bigger, but if we remain focussed on those relationships that are at the core of what we do, we’ll retain that feeling of being a family as we continue to grow.
“We treat our clients like part of our team because they are. We’re all working together. To reach more clients, and build more of those relationships, we’ve diversified our offering considerably over the past couple of years. We used to work specifically with clients in the hospitality industry, but we’ve been able to branch out into local authority and commercial work as well as growing our facilities management services. This has added a lot of stability to the business, as hospitality is traditionally a very seasonal industry. During what would usually be quieter periods, we now work with customers in a variety of industries, all of which offer exciting new opportunities, and of course, growth.
“What’s important is that we’re not afraid to try new things. Even if we face challenges, we reflect, we learn and we still try. Innovation is one of our values and I would say it is one of our most important. With innovation, comes resilience. Nothing is a ‘silly’ idea. We’re always revisiting past projects, looking at how we could make things better, or create a smoother process going forward. It’s an ongoing process of reinvention that’s really refreshing for everyone involved. In terms of innovation, we’re not just looking at processes. We also think about technology and software, and how it can be used to support our clients in reaching their goals. Nothing is off the table, and our team knows that.
“In order to promote that kind of curious and creative thinking, we encourage our teams to attend trade fairs and industry events as often as possible. This also helps us keep our finger on the pulse. We get to see what new products and developments are coming into the construction industry, right at the early stages, which means we can feed them back into our processes and stay one step ahead.”
Growth trajectory
Remaining agile has helped Concorde BGW adapt to changing industry demands. As the company continues skyrocketing to success, Sophie ruminates on what the future might hold: “I’d like to see the business continue moving into a variety of sectors. There’s a lot of potential in the commercial sector, and we’ve only scratched the surface so far, so we will continue to explore commercial opportunities and we’ll also keep working with our core client base on hospitality projects. We are also growing our reactive and planned maintenance services, we have just launched our brand new Nottingham office which will be key for our facilities management team. Ideally, in the future half our work will be core projects with the other half made up of facilities management works. In the long run we are planning further growth, building on our successes, and continuing to innovate and develop our team.