EG Carter and Company
Organisation Size: 103
Sector: Construction
Organisation Location: South West
The Organisation
EG Carter & Company Ltd was established in 1945 by Edward George Carter. The
Gloucester-based building contractor is now run by his grandsons – brothers and joint
Managing Directors Michael and Richard Carter.
Almost all the turnover is divided equally amongst clients in social housing, commercial building, private development and school and hospitals projects. The rest comprises general and smaller work type projects.
The Challenge
When EG Carter first started the IiP journey, the company was experiencing the start of a buoyant period in the construction sector. It was vital that they were able to keep dedicated staff and formally recognise their personal contribution to the company's success.
"When we adopted IiP we were able to standardise some existing practices and introduce new initiatives to measure and demonstrate investment in our staff – not just for the recognition process, but for the satisfaction of each member of staff," said
Michael Carter.
"It was reassuring to know that we were already up to speed on many of the requirements, and that we just had to invest a little extra time in recording the processes and outcomes of some of these activities."
The Strategy
The goal was not only to achieve the Investors in People standard but also to adopt good management practices throughout all areas of the company, to underpin the business plan.
"Business Link Gloucestershire gave us vital guidance when we developed our original action plan for Investors in People recognition," Michael Carter explained. "While we continue to benefit from Business Link's support and clarification of Investor in People issues, we believe that actively managing the standard is our responsibility and should be a part of the company's internal dynamics.
"Ultimately Investors in People reinforces the collective will of the whole team – for both managers and staff alike. We are able to demonstrate our commitment to people development through the badge of the standard, and in turn we benefit from the positive impact it has on the culture and business planning within the company."
The Result
Since achieving the Investors in People standard in 1998, turnover has increased from
£10 million to approaching £17 million and the number of employees has risen from 60 to 103.
In addition, this well-established business – which has always had a committed and loyal workforce – has recognised systems in place to ensure staff benefit from the best training and management practices.

Internal communications are key to this success and have been strongly influenced by the IiP standard. All staff benefit from the internal cascading of information from management, and take an active part in team meetings, structured inductions and performance appraisals.
The mission statement recognises staff development. The promise is to 'employ good quality conscientious staff and ensure the skills, abilities and knowledge of staff are maintained through continuing training, development and appraisal'.