Balfour Beatty: the power of sharing ideas 

It is not uncommon for employees to have an opinion about how things should be done differently at their company. 

But not all employees are actively encouraged to share their fresh thinking, and then see their innovation come to fruition.

Balfour Beatty’s My Contribution (MyC) programme is doing just that. According to the contractor, the main objective is to harness enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise across the workforce. 

Over the past six years, employees have submitted more than 15,000 ideas through the programme. Around 25% of these submissions have been implemented to create meaningful change in the business. 

In 2024 alone, contributions to the programme have helped to deliver savings of 53,800 hours and an estimated £3.2m in costs.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty’s group chief executive, who is due to step down in the autumn, introduced the concept for MyC when he joined the business. 

Quinn is a passionate champion for the programme, says Melanie Page, Balfour Beatty’s head of group innovation programmes, because he understands that “our employees are our greatest asset”.

Page, equally enthusiastic about MyC, describes it as an opportunity for employees to leverage the things that are working in the business, while also identifying what needs to be fixed.

“We have thousands of experts across the company. They are the ones who know what we should be doing to make the company as strong as it can be,” she says.

“It is an incredible engagement tool to connect employees to the company’s strategy. We have top-down initiatives and plans, but how [those are delivered] is where employees can have real ownership and get involved.”

Page insists that the programme is more than just a “suggestion scheme”. “If you submit an idea [through MyC], you are expected to take an active role in developing it with colleagues and making it happen.

“We recognise, for example, somebody could have an idea about creating an app but they might not have the expertise to create it. However, they can still be involved in explaining why the app is needed and they can help shape the requirements or be part of the testing phase. There are lots of things everyone can do to actively pursue their idea.”

The programme aligns with Balfour Beatty’s wider ‘Build to Last’ strategy, which Page says is all about “how we transform and stay market-leading”.

The strategy’s five pillars focus on the business being lean; expert; trusted; safe; and sustainable. 

“The key output is that it helps make sure that Balfour Beatty is a great place to work,” Page adds.

To share ideas, employees use Microsoft’s Viva Engage platform. “It’s like a social networking tool within the company,” Page explains. “It’s fully open and transparent.

"People can post their idea and we encourage them to seek feedback. Do other employees support the idea? Does it resonate with them? Are there other experts who can give advice or guidance on how to take the idea forward?”

As a major contractor, with hundreds of live projects and various offices in different regions, employees often find that someone else within the business is working on a similar idea or has already found a solution. 

“It is a great way to connect people,” Page says. “We describe it as ‘punching down silos’ across different teams and business units. 

“You don’t have to know everyone. You don’t have to be sat next to them. But you can chat to them about your idea and anyone in the company can see it and pick it up.”

MyC is also supported by more than 400 volunteers across the company who champion employee engagement and help to process submitted ideas.

The programme is structured around a decentralised model, allowing different business units to tailor it according to their specific requirements. 

“We can connect people we think can help the submitter to develop their idea and get support to implement it and bring it to life,” Page explains.

“When we’ve got a solution and we’ve implemented that change, we can then quantify the impact. It could be a tangible benefit – for example where we’ve saved money or we’ve generated revenue.

“It could also be something around productivity – perhaps we’ve saved somebody’s time or saved project time. Or it could be something that’s not so easy to measure but it improves health and safety, sustainability, wellbeing, diversity, inclusion or employee experience.”   

Senior project manager Matt Twiss, who is currently working on the High Speed 2 project as part of the Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture, is a major contributor to the MyC programme, having submitted the biggest cost-saving idea to date. 

The idea was born from Twiss’ drive to cut energy wastage and carbon emissions on site.

“A significant proportion of the energy on site was being wasted by devices left on standby,” he says. “We have a lot of things that we plug in on a daily basis. For example, engineers often plug in their instruments and they are fully charged in two hours, but then sit there overnight.

“That phantom load is an unnecessary cost, both in terms of fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”  

To address this issue, energy-saving plug sockets have been installed at the site. The sockets from Measurable Energy use artificial intelligence to automatically identify and eliminate power wastage. 

“[The sockets] have allowed us to shrink Balfour Beatty and HS2’s carbon footprint for the site operation,” Twiss says. “Every kilowatt saved translates to a reduction in carbon emissions. 

“There is also a safety improvement. We’re mitigating electrical hazards – when we’re not here, the plug sockets are off.”

Following a pilot, 1,123 sockets have been installed, resulting in a saving of around 10,000kWh each month.

Twiss’ contribution was showcased at Balfour Beatty’s inaugural Icon Awards last September. He received the My Contribution Kudos Award, in recognition of his commitment to the company’s values and the significant savings his idea has helped to deliver. 

However, Twiss does not focus on the rollout of the energy-saving sockets as a personal achievement. “The most rewarding part has been watching the level of engagement across the team,” he says.

“It shows that this is not just a quick fix or flash in the pan. It is a genuine improvement that is going to change our operations and our culture.”

Page agrees, explaining that MyC is ultimately about empowering employees. 

“It’s our culture. It’s helping to drive performance, but it’s also about giving everyone a voice,” she adds.

The programme has also been hugely illuminating for the company’s leadership team. 

“Senior leaders often only see the tip of the iceberg of what is happening across the company because they can’t be everywhere all the time. There’s a huge amount that goes on under the waterline,” Page says. 

“MyC has given senior leaders a much easier way to see what is on people’s minds. It is easy for them to connect into what’s going on and what’s being discussed across the company.”

The programme also provides an opportunity for senior leaders to celebrate employees’ personal development and contributions to the business.

“There are so many people, like Matt, who go above and beyond,” Page says. “They care about the company. They care about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. It’s so important to recognise their contributions.

“For me, MyC gives Balfour Beatty a real USP – not every company actively seeks feedback and ideas from colleagues and empowers them to take action.

“It is a powerful cultural tool that has had a huge impact on both the business and our people.”

Main image: Balfour Beatty’s MyC team pictured at the Engage Business Awards in November 2023 (credit: Engage Business Awards)