Listening leaders
Our employees skills and capabilities are what sets us apart. By creating an organisation and culture that is diverse, equitable and inclusive, we aim to be the employer of choice for high quality, talented people and harness their creativity and innovation to make us a better business.
As a company that looks to achieve meaningful, sustainable changes – not quick fixes – we recognise that change must be led from the top and our Group Chief Executive, Leo Quinn, is our Board-level sponsor for diversity and inclusion.
In the UK, our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is helping us to create an open and welcoming workplace and culture where everyone can thrive. Its strategic goals are delivered via our UK Value Everyone Action Plan and, since setting our baseline in 2021, we have made steady progress towards our targets to improve Female, Minority Ethnic and Black representation across our UK business.
In 2024, over 26% of our UK early careers population were female and over 20% of hires were from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Creating an inclusive culture
Across the UK and US, our Affinity Groups provide a place for our people to connect, raise awareness and develop and deliver ideas that help create a more inclusive workplace. They are helping Balfour Beatty to make meaningful changes in the medium to long-term and have been instrumental to delivering improvements to how we operate. An example of how they have driven change is through the development of our EcoSense cabins which include a range of disability and neurodiverse features including wider corridors for wheelchair users and tri-coloured LED lighting for those who are hyper-sensitive to bright light. Following a successful trial, EcoSense cabins are now used as standard across our UK operations.
Understanding that we operate in an increasingly dynamic and fast-paced environment and that businesses and individuals need to do the right thing, we hold high standards for the conduct and behaviour of our people to ensure everyone feels safe, comfortable and able to reach their full potential. To support our people in upholding these standards, our Code of Ethics clearly sets out the principles that guide our everyday decisions. Recognising that it is not always clear where the lines or boundaries are, our Right to Respect programme has been rolled out across the UK and is in pilot stage in the US. The programme is helping everyone who works for or with us to develop a shared understanding of the behaviours we expect, empowering our colleagues and partners to hold each other to account.
Accessing a diverse pipeline of talent
As part of our efforts to attract a diverse range of talented people to Balfour Beatty and our industry as a whole, we engage with schools and universities to promote STEM careers as well as mentoring and providing placements for students in both the UK and US.
In the UK, our Breaking Barriers Pathways to Work support individuals from underrepresented or marginalised groups into meaningful employment. These include tailored pathways for refugees, people with disabilities, care‑experienced young people and those not in education, employment or training (NEET). Our Pathways include:
- Our Returner Citizens Pathway for prison leavers. Delivered in partnership with Inside Connections, it offers employability training and paid placements through Release on Temporary Licence and direct hire opportunities into sustained employment – backed by wrap-around support from recruitment through to reintegration.
- Our Military Talent Pathway. Helping service leavers transition successfully into a civilian career. Our focus on hiring ex-military talent has seen us welcome hundreds of veterans to Balfour Beatty who benefit from our Military Talent Pathway which aims to set them up for successful careers in our industry.
To help minority groups to have a successful and fulfilling career at Balfour Beatty, our UK Evolve development programme helps participants create a targeted plan for career success.
¹ Measured against the 2021 baseline