The last twelve months have been very difficult. Some jobs have pushed us to the limit, but we continue to go forward, striving to be the best and investing for all our futures. You have probably noticed some of the changes, such as the pension and private health schemes, the new sickness policy and staff assessment, but there are many more things happening behind the scenes. New initiatives on training, annual reviews, mentoring are underway with many more in the pipeline.
We continue to win work in an increasing difficult market place with the so-called credit crunch starting to bite into the construction sector. Nevertheless, our performance as a company is still good and this is down to our people. That is why I feel confident for our future and that is why we are looking to expand when others are looking to cut costs. In the next twelve months we will increase our staffing levels by 20%. This will not be easy but it is achievable and our new recruiting policy will assist in attracting the right staff.
I trust you will enjoy reading this inaugural issue of Ashford News, and hope that you will contribute to make it what it should be, a newsletter for the staff produced by the staff.
Roger