Inside Select; The Utility Surveyors

Two months ago, I published an article highlighting the high-risk state of the Land & Utility Surveying industries, questioning whether or not firms are doing enough to ensure longevity of their operations by having quality surveyors in place to help them to deliver on an abundance of contracts. We were subsequently contacted by different firms for conversations that could lead them to surviving the next 5 years, and we were pleased when one of the industry's most credible players - Select Surveys - showed particular interest in sharing their perceptions.

Our conversations with the Managing Director of Select Surveys revealed that their ambitions aligned with the concerns highlighted in the article, so we immediately accepted the invitation to visit site at short-notice, to ensure that they had little time to prepare their staff and allow for an honest representation of how the workers saw the state-of-play in conjunction with the company's potential. It has to be noted that Select Surveys are already working on prestigious projects consistently and they already hold enough market-share to satisfy most boards, but having recognised the shift that is underway, they are undoubtedly committed to proactive preparation and planning.

"We are very efficient in what we do and we are always neat with our presentation, including the floor markings, because we have established conformed methods to make it easy for anyone to pick up"

On site, the team of four included a Topographical Surveyor, a CCTV Surveyor & two Utility Surveyors, all mapping out an underground network established in a residential area in West London. From the minute we pulled up on site, it was apparent that the culture was positive, at least between this small multi-national team, as they were unpacking the van and sharing light-hearted conversation... One of the surveyors joked that you can't always get on with the job but if you get on with the gang on site then every day is a good day. As the team explained the technical contributions that they each made on site, we tried to look for clues that would give us a better indication of whether they believe Select are the same company as head office project.

Most of the conversations reverted to pride in work; working as a team to ensure that work is carried out properly the first time round; and offering unconditional support for new recruits. The Lead Surveyor on the job explained that guidance towards to sector has been scarce and that none of the guys on site thought this was what they would end up doing. He eluded to his frustration at the fact that utility surveying isn't presented as an option to school-leavers but he credits his employers for having such an open door to anyone with ambitions to join the trade. As well as it being a logical initiative for the overall industry, he said that it makes his job in training a lot easier because they haven't picked up any bad habits yet. His sentiment is that a lot of Utility Surveying companies play reactive to poor surveys, so if he can get hold off them before they have seen these practices, then he is confident that he can make a good Utility Surveyor out of anyone.

"We have some of the best surveyors in the country, a lot of in-house training and three surveyors that have accumulated over 40 years’ experience at this company, so we have a lot to offer to new generations"

This extra commitment gives them the opportunity to ensure that their training programme provides a credible foundation to build on, and whilst they acknowledge that this might make them easy-pickings for competitors to pick up good surveyors, they also want it to be clear that they set the precedent for quality & development in their sector.

In a society where work-related stress levels are increasing and in an industry where work-pressures can be elevated due to deadlines & detail, we approached the CCTV Surveyor on site to find out what the work-life balance was like.

"It’s pretty good. If you don’t want to work overtime, then you don’t have to. That’s the long and short of it really. It’s your choice if you want to work weekends or nights, you do have the decision, which is more bonus for us"

He projected that Select are very conscious about ensuring their staff are rested & productive by encouraging them to be with their families as much as possible. Client-orders can be relatively last minute and Select are often drafted in to rectify projects taken on by other firms, so whilst the team are also carrying out planned works, they have to be flexibly reactive to accept new business and grow together. Of course, this can be frustrating as a surveyor, but he said that everyone works with it because they appreciate that the next week, they will have a job where they are finished by 11am and they can go back to the family with a full days' pay.

"We're lucky because we get a lot of jobs where we get in, do our job, and as long as we do a proper job, we can get straight back out"

The "Job & Knock" approach requires a lot more trust than most employers are often comfortable giving employees, but Select maintain the fact that good people will deliver good work, if you let them. The onus is on the business to recruit well, train well and reward well if they are going to retain a strong delivery-model as they pick up more and more contracts from a growing number of struggling firms. One of the most important observations from our point of view, is that the site workers' opinions aligned with the Directors' intentions and that they felt the gratitude towards the business taking risks and empowering their workers. It has been said before, that this can be a challenging role - filled with problems to solve, weather to embrace and a heavy skill-shortage - but as Select Surveys are embracing autonomy, respect, empowerment & support for new and experienced surveyors, I am predicting that they will emerge from the next 5 years as established market-leaders with a bigger team and a bigger order book than ever before... as long as their commitment to the long game continues.

Did you know?: You can find water with coat hangers. Lead Surveyor (Greg) explained that you can find plastic water mains by holding two bits of wire in your hand and walking across the mains. If they cross over, start digging and there will be a water main.

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