Bouygues UK’s strapline is ‘Building for Life’ – and that's an excellent summary of their dedication to creating lasting value for the communities it works within.
We recently had the chance to sit down with Jeff Joseph, Head of Social Value UK at Bouygues, to discuss the evolution of Social Value in construction and how the business is driving positive change.
Watch the full conversation below:
Or, keep scrolling to read the interview highlights!
How have you seen the Social Value agenda change in the construction industry – and at Bouygues in particular?
In the construction industry, the biggest change is the weighting clients and consultants now put on Social Value.
In years gone by, it was about health and safety, about production, about build – the physical. The social and economic is now as important. I've seen tenders recently with 25% weighting just on Social Value. Previously it was like a nice to have, but it was also smoke and mirrors. Now the smoke and mirrors have disappeared and there's more policies in place. Social Value is now a career for the younger generation, and it's now embedded in main contractors and organisations.
Bouygues, in particular, have taken it more seriously. We've got someone on our senior leadership team who's championing Social Value. It was nice to have – it's now a necessity.
Are there any Social Value initiatives that you're particularly proud of?
Getting people into work has been key. So on the Tustin Estate in Southwark – we'll take someone who's unemployed, on job seeker’s allowance, get them a CSCS card, and get them into industry in an entry level job. Now they're progressing, they've got qualifications, and they now see construction as a career, not just a job.
Another one was even better – again, on the Tustin Estate in Southwark. It's quite a vulnerable area with the cost-of-living crisis, and what our Social Value advisors have done is try to give back. For example, next half term we're taking a group of children to Chessington World of Adventures - we're hiring a coach and taking probably 25 families with passes for the whole day.
What about measuring your Social Value impact?
We've been a Social Value Portal member for the last six years. We measure Social Value on every job we do, regardless of location or size of contract. We've got nine officers across the UK, that are trained in Social Value and monitor everything.
The examples I’ve just given about worklessness, training, coach trips, volunteering – every single aspect of what we do, whether it be in London, Wales, or Bristol, we measure the Social Value. We've now got quantifiable data. I think that's the biggest key.
In years gone by, you would just say: this is what we've done. To quantify it now, and have measurable targets, makes a huge difference.
If I’m talking to a quantity surveyor, project manager, or managing director, for the first time ever I can say this is the difference we're making to communities we're serving. Quantifiable data, qualitative data – that information is now key.
Do you have any advice for other businesses on started with Social Value?
I've been in this game a long time, and it was called “community investment” at one point, then “added value”, then “community development”. Regardless of label, Social Value is about giving back.
You've got small companies who are doing it right now, but probably not realising they're doing it. So, first of all, in the company business plan, have a section on Social Value. Define what Social Value is for you. Don't do it via AI – analyse your own product and then write a business plan, suit it to what you do.
Off the back of that, get a few key quick wins, and analyse them. We've got four pillars of Social Value – and these smaller companies need to define what their pillars are and then start delivering. Say they’re working near a school and they're donating top-soil, or sleepers, or scaffold boards – that is Social Value. Write that down, understand what the Themes, Outcomes, and Measures are, and from there, start measuring.
Is upskilling an important for implementing a Social Value strategy internally?
Massively. Things change quite frequently – we just had a new PPN, just had the Procurement Act. For staff who work in this field to know about it, they need to be upskilled. I just did my team's appraisals in the last month or so and they need to understand the changes in the law and the client drivers.
The TOM System is also changing continuously – understanding what's changed, making sure the data we’re monitoring is correct, is a massive thing. We are trying now to upskill the team so they've got a better understanding, and so that we and Social Value Portal can work better together.
18 months ago, we were chosen to pilot the Social Value Academy. You’re now rolling out part one and part two and my team will do it again. In their appraisals, every member staff said, “Jeff, we've been in this space now for three, four years working as Social Value advisors. We've got no formal training like project manager or site agent has.”
I think whether you're five or 50 – everyone likes a certificate. Having a certificate saying “I've passed a qualification in Social Value” goes a long way.
So the Academy is opening people's eyes. Even people who aren't advisors, like our Procurement Director – he's now looking at the Social Value academy to teach his team. It’s part of the induction process for Bouygues’ staff. Social Value Academy 101 is a great toolkit for someone who might come from a different background.
How has working with Social Value Portal impacted Bouygues’ Social Value delivery and success?
It's made it easier to quantify - that's the first thing. The second thing is explaining what we’ve done for communities. It makes it easier. The products and services you've got, the Social Value Academy, are cascaded down to the team. It’s helped us understand what we're doing in this space, and then once again our client is the key driver.
What do you think the future holds for Social Value at Bouygues?
I think short-term: redefining Social Value. We defined Social Value in our annual report and it's on our mission statement - every six months we've got to look at that statement, make sure it’s real and current.
Long term, we've got something called Project 2030: our long-term goals for the next five years. It's about procurement, community investment, upskilling, worklessness. It's making sure that for every job we've got, no matter where it is across the UK, we're delivering the Social Value – and more importantly, that it's long term.
Our strapline is: “Build for life”. That encompasses what we do brilliantly – it’s about building communities from the foundation upwards, going beyond the bricks and mortar.
We’ve recently come up with our Social Value statement and strategy: “The Social Value we add to improve communities not only alleviates immediate hardship, but also contributes to long-term sustainable communities and prosperity" - and that's it.
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