Introduction
We believe in the art of the possible; producing quality homes that are beautifully designed, affordable and have minimal impact on the planet, is completely integral to our journey.
Our homes may be our legacy but the quality of the lives of those who live in them is what truly matters. We have a clear sustainability strategy that guides us to create uplifting places where people can flourish, and in turn, improve the lives of generations to come.
Being truly sustainable isn’t a choice for us, we believe it is central to our success.
Our responsibility to our team
We believe that investment into our people is fundamental to the success of the business, as it is their skills, passion and capabilities that will drive the business forward and allow us to sustain the reputation that we have built up over the last 100 years.
All team members: 209
Average age of team members: 39
A place to belong
We always refer to our team as the Strata family, being a family means we’re in it for the long haul, we’re honest and open, and we genuinely care for each other. We want to create a place where everyone feels they belong.
There isn’t a typical Strata team member. Each one of us is different, with our own skills, background and life experiences. The important thing is, we bring together talented people who share the same drive to create homes and experiences like no other.
Personal relationships are at the heart of everything we do. We see the people who come together under our roof as family - a diverse group of people who share our values and our passion for going beyond.
Whether we are recruiting the next member of our team, working with a key partner or talking to a first-time buyer, we always work hard to build, and maintain, connections.
Communication
Communication is key to ensuring all team members understand the vision and feel confident. We aim to create a place where everyone has an equal share of voice, we provide a number of different opportunities for our team to share their ideas and thoughts.
Our Managing Director films a monthly update that is shared with the full team, it highlights the key moments in the past month, the highs and lows and lessons learned. It sets an honest and open tone for everyone else to follow. This is shared on an online platform that everyone can access.
The past year has seen the live sharing of updates become part of our ways of working. It keeps everyone connected, updated, informed, and importantly allows everyone to celebrate together in the moment and cheer each other on.
Female team members: 40%
Average length of service: 4.6 years
Diversity and inclusivity
Strata are proud to be a progressive business with a commitment to diversifying our workforce. We encourage our team to be confident to be themselves, we know that our diversity is what makes us stronger together. We understand that when our team feel safe and comfortable they can really excel, that’s when amazing things happen!
The construction industry often comes with preconceptions about job roles and we have actively encouraged woman to join the business and strive to be industry leaders.
The best part of my job has to be the people that I work with’
Claire Lindley, Head of Planning
2% of the team are trainees
3% BAME
1% disability
100% receive living wage
Health and wellbeing
We will grow and be more innovative if we have an energised team. That’s why we understand that our teams’ health and wellbeing is also vital to our future success. Over the past year we have hosted a calendar of events that our team have embraced. Whether that’s creating a personalised online health report, attending mindfulness and yoga workshops, joining a lunch and learn session, or even trying something new with their teammates at the quarterly health and wellbeing mornings.
We are really proud that this year we have listed at number 36 out of the top 100 companies in the UK for our health and wellbeing strategy in the Best Places to Work.
Personal development plans
We make sure that everyone’s voice is heard, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute, because we know that the next extraordinary idea could come from anywhere. Whilst collaboration is key to how we do things, we also take each and every team members personal development seriously. That's why each year we run our My Development 121's. This is a focussed conversation about each individual, their development, and their career plans. Each team member has the opportunity to give feedback to their manager and receive feedback on what they are doing well and how they could grow further. Through this process we identify development areas and any training needs required to support them in flourishing in their role. Every team member receives a development plan with agreed focuses for the next 12 months.
Each quarter every team member is encouraged to take one day to focus on their own personal development. This allows them to undertake uninterrupted focussed development time relative to their development.
Anything is possible at Strata, there is no limit to what we can achieve. We are driven by making a difference to people and the world.
Sally Thompson, Forecast Manager
Mental health
We have a team of 17 mental health first aiders who are always on hand to support their colleagues. They are trained to support our team where needed with emotional or mental health. This can range from just an initial conversation to supporting them to seek the appropriate help.
We also provide a listening service for our team members with an independent and confidential listening ear who they are able to share their thoughts and feelings with.
Lunch and learn
Throughout the year, we run a number of awareness sessions, in an informal setting over lunch, relative to health and wellbeing. We run sessions such as financial planning, menopause awareness, and men’s health.
Making
In 2022 we introduced a new online system that will make it easier for the health and safety team to track any recurring issues and work to resolve them before they happen again.
the workplace safer Health & Safety remains a vital commitment for us, and we continuously monitor and review our practices to ensure Strata remains a safe place to work.
We need to do as much as possible to prevent mental ill-health, as individuals, as a team and as society.
Liv Frost, Head of People and Culture
Investing in spaces
We believe that if we create that best possible working environment for our team, then in turn they will be able to deliver their best work, provide outstanding service to each other and create an amazing experience for our customers.
Officially a ’ Great Place To Work’
Great Place to Work is the global authority on building, sustaining and recognizing high-trust and high-performance culture at workplaces. For over 30 years, Great Place to Work has conducted research on the characteristics of great workplaces. Their mission is to build a better world by helping organizations become Great Places to Work for all.
In 2022, 129 Strata team members participated in the trust survey, that represents a 65% participation rate. We are delighted to have received our accreditation, and to have scored so highly for Wellbeing that we have been ranked number 36 for Best Place to Work in the UK.
This is a physically safe place to work.
98% My work has special meaning: this is not "just a job".
95%
When people change jobs or work units, they are made to feel right at home.
95% If I am unfairly treated, I believe I'll be given a fair hearing if I appeal.
90%
People here are treated fairly regardless of their race.
100%
People here are treated fairly regardless of their age.
96%
I feel good about the ways in which we contribute to the community.
91%
I get empathy and support from my manager/supervisor when needed
92%
There is a "family" or "team" feeling here.
92%
People care about each other here.
96%
People here are treated fairly regardless of their gender.
97%
This organisation actively promotes mental and physical health among its employees.
98%
People celebrate special events here.
96%
I am treated as a full member here regardless of my position.
95%
People here are treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation.
100%
I can be myself here.
92%
Our responsibility to our customers
We strive to exceed customer expectation and deliver sustainable homes and neighbourhoods what will stand the test of time.
We want people to come on a journey with us, be part of what we are creating and be part of one big Strata family.
Customer feedback
We devised all of our people processes, from land acquisition to after care service, around our customers. We made it our mission to really know them: how they live, their worries, dreams and desires. This inquisitiveness has allowed us to listen and learn without fear or presumption. All of our procedures and communication are intertwined with their journey, service and interaction. We have based our support office and our entire way of working around this concept.
Community cohesion
We have seen time and time again how our developments create a strong sense of belonging and community, our focus has been to continually provide ways to enhance this further and enable opportunities for people to come together. We do this by arranging community initiatives and events.
Each Strata development hosts a monthly Fika, where we open our doors and invite the community to join us to get to know their neighbours, we provide the coffee and cake, and the platform for the community to grow.
Maintaining community cohesion and the sense of belonging to the wider neighbourhood throughout the life of each development is a focus for us. We work closely with local residents and stakeholders to facilitate community events that will bring people together and leave a positive lasting impression for everyone.
Purchasing a new home is a big deal, I am absolutely delighted with my Strata experience.
89% of our customers would recommend us to their friends.
Michael Stratton, Customer
Our responsibility to the environment
We are living in game changing times. Businesses across the world are changing their focus to ensure they create a sustainable future that serves the wellbeing of all. We have started this journey too, in fact we have made great strides forward over the past couple of years.
We are committed to regularly reviewing our impact on the environment and looking at ways that we can make reductions by implementing greener solutions through various initiatives. We aim to achieve this through a combination of large and small projects.
Our homes
We want to be at the forefront of the drive towards more ecofriendly, low carbon, sustainable homes.
As part of this approach, we are embracing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and have invested in a range of research initiatives and secured partnerships which allow us to deliver timber frame and panelised homes at varying speeds and efficiency standards.
We have developed a close working relationship with a number of partners, who can deliver an MMC product which utilises sustainable timber frames with a closed panel design.
The product has been designed to be as thermally efficient as possible with the lowest carbon footprint practicably possible, allowing our customers to then select additional bolt on technology to improve the performance of the homes to potentially maximise the efficiency and achieve a net gain.
Each MMC home is manufactured offsite and transported to the building plot on the morning of the erection date with the process taking around 8 weeks from delivery to construction.
In terms of environmental impact, we have summarised below how MMC can reduce carbon emissions: of CO2 by replacing the bricks with timber cladding as an external finish.
Forest
The key raw material for the panelised system is wood. Each tree felled has been in the forest for 25 years capturing carbon and producing oxygen and, as a member of the PEFC, two trees are planted for every tree felled to continue the sustainability cycle.
Sawmill
There is 100% utilisation of the raw material through the use of CNC machines to maximise the yield from the logs into engineered timbers and ensuring all unusable timber by-product being fed into the on site biomass energy plant.
Production factory
Offsite manufactured in a controlled environment which allows much greater quality control, minimalisation of waste and increased reuse and recycling.
Transportation
The product comes pre-made flat pack which means the number of site deliveries and their associated emissions are substantially less.
Construction
Unlike traditional build, as the system is premade, if factory installed external cladding is used there will be almost no waste generated on site during the construction of the building fabric.
External timber cladding in-lieu of masonry
It is estimated that we can save around 362 tonnes of CO2 by replacing the bricks with timber cladding as an external finish.
360
360 is our first development of zero carbon homes. We have designed a range of high quality, zero carbon homes at affordable prices. The sustainable timber engineered homes are constructed offsite, ensuring efficiency and the highest quality standards. The closed panel design helps you keep the heat in and the draughts out, this means the homes cost significantly less to heat, and exceeds the standards of a traditionally built home.
We believe a home should provide a safe place and protect from external influences which may adversely affect wellbeing and actively promote good health. Reducing the running costs of the home will enable the resident to have more disposable income, reducing fuel poverty and having a positive impact on the local economy.
Location
Chester field S41 9FG
Project Size
32 homes
Completion
April 2022
In 2022 we were so proud to have won the award for Best Approach to Modular Housing at The Northern Housing Awards. In partnership with
Purity
Purity in Chester field is our next development of lower carbon homes and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to building more sustainable homes and communities.
The collection of 15 five bedroom properties will be complete within the next 12 months.
All homes will be built using a closed panel timber frame construction, we will then combine this with smart technology and an intelligent living system that applies machine learning and predictive modeling to make the home more efficient, comfortable and cheaper for the homeowner to run.
The design for this development focused on creating a community at one with nature, the adjacent woodland will form part of the shared open spaces and will accessible to all residents.
Location
Loundsley Green, Chester field
Project Size
15 homes
Completion
Spring 2024
Sustainable home metrics
% of all developments within 500m & 1000m of a public transport node, accessible through active travel modes OR average PTAL of developments 100%
% of timber procured that has FSC or PEFC Chain of Custody Certification
Company cars
During 2021 we changed our company car lease provider to encourage the use of electric and hybrid vehicles and move away from a reliance on pure diesel and petrol vehicles. Since the introduction of the scheme in late 2021, 48 new cars have been ordered of which 85% are fully electric or plug in hybrid models.
As part of the transition we are supporting our team by providing financial support to allow company car users to install car charging point at their homes. Our Quay Point office already has 8 charging points and all are currently free to use for our team members and visitors to the office. We are also exploring options for increasing the number of chargers further to support the move to an electrified fleet.
Our responsibility to the local community
It is important to us that we have a legacy that is beyond bricks and mortar.
Alongside delivering new homes, we are also committed to delivering social and economic opportunities for local people.
We want to ensure our developments create neighbourhoods which people choose to live for many years and create a long term sustainable environment that meets the needs of the future.
Social purpose
Alongside delivering new homes, a key part of Strata’s approach is to invest in local communities, committing to improving social and economic value in the neighbourhoods we work. We don't do it because we have to, we do it because we enjoy it.
For every project we’re involved with, we can deliver bespoke employment, training and social inclusion programmes which are tailored to the local community and Local Authority’s needs.
Connecting with local schools
When we think about the longevity of Strata as a company, we know that young people will play an important role. For this reason, connecting with local schools, colleges and universities, as well as students in the wider construction community, is an essential task.
In 2022 our team attended business insight days, mock interviews with local secondary schools, career fairs, design workshops, a guest lecture at Nottingham Trent University, Engineering guidance panel with Sheffield University. We have two female STEM ambassadors within the team that are actively promoting the STEM roles within our industry at many schools events throughout the year.
During 2022 we also worked closely with Sheffield University on a funded research project with one of their master’s students, this involved a 3 month secondment within the business.
Our local suppliers
We believe it is vital to support other businesses based in the local area to help ensure they continue to grow and develop alongside Strata and our community. We have a number of longstanding relationships with businesses in Doncaster and the wider South Yorkshire region, who provide us with everything from materials and subcontractor trades to photography and catering for events!
I am so proud to be a STEM ambassador, I believe that by sharing our experiences we can help and inspire the next generation.
Lucy McDonald, Architectural Visualiser
Gemma Smith Managing Director
Vernon Cunningham Chief Operating Officer
Julian Davis Chief Financial Officer
Lee Wilson Product and Specification Manager
Martin Monaghan Architechural Technician
Claire Linley Head of Planning
Olivia Frost Head of People and Culture
Matt Bloomer Head of Customer Journey
