Turquoise Thinking, a Barnstaple, Devon based Market Research firm have been selected by Hinkley Point C (HPC) to run their twice a year site-based Workforce Survey. Some of the information necessary to do this is easily accessible within IT systems, but other data, such as the type of accommodation people working at site temporarily live in, can only be collected by asking people.
The survey has been running since December 2016 and previously utilised different companies that HPC worked with to do the various tasks that it involves; designing the questions, running the software, conducting the survey face-to-face at HPC analysing the results and then producing the reports before presenting them to the management team.
Barry Horgan who co-ordinated the tender said: “We realised that it was time to bring these disparate activities under one supplier, to give a more seamless service.
“The companies involved before were all experts in their field, but none were true market research firms and so we were looking to partner with someone to help better understand what the survey results were telling us.”
Over 1,400 people responded to the last survey in May 2018; the results of which gave EDF valuable information on the types of accommodation people are living in, as well as providing information on bus usage that had led to the altering of timetables to better suit the travel patterns of the workforce.
Theresa Bryant, Resource Planning Manager for HPC was very pleased that firms from Devon, Bristol and Bath were tendering alongside a global firm based in London. She explained: “Like our other locally based partners across the Project, this really shows that there is huge talent and expertise in the South West that is ready and able to provide a high quality service to the HPC Project.”
She added: “All of the bids were of a high quality and we were impressed with the innovative ideas and approaches that were suggested, particularly by Turquoise Thinking whose proposal offered the best value to the project.”
The joint Managing Directors of Turquoise Thinking, Mark Harvey and Lisa Ollerenshaw said: “Turquoise are delighted to have been selected to partner with Hinkley Point C to conduct their regular workforce survey. This type of world-class project rarely lands on our Devon doorstep, so we count it a real privilege to play a small role in such a gargantuan undertaking over the coming years. Our analysis will deliver the insight required to ensure a happy and productive workforce as they deliver low-carbon electricity and lasting benefits to businesses and communities in the South West.”
Guy Hazlehurst, Construction Workforce Development Manager, believes that long-term collaboration with a firm like Turquoise will be good for HPC. He says: “We are required to produce reports during the life of the construction project, so we are looking forward to the relationship developing between the first survey and reports we work together on in November 2018, right through to the last one before Unit 2 goes live.
David Eccles, Head of HPC Stakeholder Engagement says: “The team will be using a range of innovative methods to get maximum response rate from a very busy workforce, such as kiosk tablets in public areas and giving people the option to complete the survey in a wider variety of locations, perhaps including at ‘Toolbox Talks’ which take place every day on Site. It only takes a few minutes and gives us vital information on the living and travel patterns of the workforce along with suggestions on how we can improve working conditions at HPC.”