Why do we need to refresh our brand? Welcome to the beginning of a new brand journey for Rydon. You might well ask “Why do we need to make a change, the Rydon brand is well established?” And that’s true; the Rydon name is recognised among those that know us. But it means different things to different people. And to those who don’t know us, it means little at all. Some people refer to Rydon as Rydon Homes, others as a Construction company and others still as a Maintenance company. Or they might only know us through Ryhurst. And those unfamiliar with Rydon may see our brand on a hoarding or a van but remain oblivious to what we do. So we have many opportunities. One is to help people join the dots and understand what we deliver as a whole. Another is to take away any mystery and provide a definition of who we are. But ultimately it’s about differentiation. We operate in a sector that is fiercely competitive. And we live in a world that is cluttered with messaging. So we need something that cuts through.
For many, what makes a brand memorable is something that creates a meaningful experience. It’s often about satisfaction and ultimately recommendation, which is the best thing a brand can achieve. For example, if you think about a restaurant you raved about to friends, it was probably because of the great food and service and less so about the colour of the table cloth or upholstery on the chairs. For Rydon, the meaningful experience that we create is related to how people and communities benefit from what we deliver. Largely – but not exclusively – that’s across housing, education and healthcare. Of course, our work is focused mainly on creating something to the point of delivery, building and handing over an Extra Care facility, for example. But the quality of our work and the way we engage with local communities and residents, to make sure we address customer needs and satisfaction, are core to the legacy of what we do.
It is in this way we are Shaping Lives. We create and maintain quality living spaces, education facilities and healthcare practices. In fact, when you think about it, we are potentially shaping people’s lives from the moment they are born in a Rydon-built or maintained healthcare estate, through their schooling and housing years, right through to their retirement. Through the brand refresh, we aim to set Rydon apart from the competition and create a clear identity for everyone who encounters us – about how we are different. And, most of all, how we are relevant to a society that increasingly needs more and better living spaces, schools and hospitals.
Partnering with business and communities, driven by a commitment to consistent quality, Rydon delivers solutions for education, housing and healthcare to shape and advance current and future generations. That is the essence of how we are Shaping Lives.
BRAND RELEVANCE Refreshing a brand is a bit like taking stock of life and deciding to do something different. We’ve all been there, reflecting on our routines and figuring out what could make a positive change.
The thing about the Rydon brand is that it’s been around for a while. It serves a purpose, but it could do better. After all, times have changed. The company’s getting bigger, our offer is more diverse and the sector is becoming more competitive. So are we still relevant? This is a critical question if we are to retain and attract the right talent – especially with Brexit looming. What’s more, with customer spending tempered by uncertainty, we have to make sure that we can address any caution with the message that we are the right business to partner with. So where did the re-assessment of our brand personality start? In the same place as many other personality reassessments: in front of the mirror. We were fairly sure we had some good attributes we could do more with, like our commitment to quality and the fact that we are a ‘people’ business. So we wanted to hold these attributes up in front of ourselves, as well as others, and test them. We also wanted to have a good look at ourselves in relation to some key issues that dominate the national agenda today, and see what value we could bring. Issues such as the housing shortage, increasing demand for schools and the crisis in the NHS.
To help us, we hired an external brand research agency who interviewed our Group Board members as well as external customers and partners. The feedback was encouraging. In terms of people, we found that positive views of Rydon are largely shaped by the good relationships our staff have with stakeholders. This includes anyone from a local authority client to a tenant or healthcare facility user.
Our stakeholders really like Rydon’s culture and ethos, which they see as genuine, reflecting a company that is easy to get along with and is focused on problem solving. They also appreciate senior management being visible and accessible, which increases positive perceptions of communications and reliability. Ultimately they say there is a family feel, which makes working with Rydon enjoyable, even fun!
“They are very client focused, it was a refreshing project – they stand out because of their genuine attitude and cooperation.” Maintenance, Customer Stakeholder
“I really enjoyed the last scheme I worked with them on. We had fun. I was enlightened by the partnership.” Construction, Customer Stakeholder
“Everyone feels part of the team and has the same outlook. Their success has been their staffing of quality people and the working relationship their contractors and providers have – they all share the same ethos.” Homes, Supply Chain
“Rydon has attention to detail, they source and buy good quality products, they have a good quality assurance system in place, they rectify things quickly and they have good people on the ground.” Construction, Customer Stakeholder
As for quality, it’s clear that we have won a lot of trust in this area. Rydon is seen as having a shared ethos and commitment to always delivering quality, providing very knowledgeable and consistent teams throughout a project.
We are also recognised for taking the time to plan the delivery of a project. Finished works are appreciated for the great attention to detail given, compared to competitors.
As for Rydon’s relevance to issues on the national agenda, feedback was varied, which really provides an opportunity for us to step up and provide some clarity. It is here that we found the spark for our refreshed brand approach by combining our strengths in people and quality and demonstrating how we can make a difference to society. And the good news is that we are already recognised for what we do in terms of improving patient care as well bettering opportunities in education.
It’s the whole basis of everything they do – improving patient care through increasing efficiency and cutting waste, creating better services and buildings and using what’s saved to put into patient services. The infrastructure is seriously important to the service provided. Ryhurst, Customer Stakeholder
I feel like it’s in their DNA and they have a genuine intent for it. There is potential for it to be a good fit, but they’re currently not gripping onto it and what they do has remained the same for years. They could make more of it so it becomes a real USP, something authentic. Group, Partners & Suppliers
Based on the fact that there is potential to do more, we gathered some insights to validate how a company such as Rydon, that specialises in the built environment, can fulfil the needs of a growing and ageing population in the areas of housing, education and healthcare. These insights were derived from known government and industry white papers on how to improve the productivity and wellbeing of the economy.
For example, Oxford Economics and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) state that:
“Families living in poorer quality, less desirable housing stock face lower life chances”. So, regenerated estates and wellmaintained social housing stock can improve lives. The European Commission states that:
“Since human capital matters for economic outcomes and since health is an important component of human capital, health matters for economic outcomes”. So, good healthcare facilities where clinicians focus on patient welfare can help to improve lives. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy says:
“Research shows that when the average number of years of schooling in a country is higher, the economy grows at a higher annual rate over subsequent decades”. So, good schools amount to good prospects for individuals and societies.
When you combine all three of these areas, they become the broad focus of what Rydon delivers. We build and maintain homes, schools and hospitals as well as Extra Care facilities, student accommodation, community leisure centres and more. And by doing so, we are Shaping Lives through access to quality facilities built for communities with a commitment from people passionate about what they do. It’s a powerful proposition and one that we should stick to when we refresh the way we talk about Rydon. In doing so, we all need to consider who we work for. Is it Rydon Homes or Maintenance or Construction or Ryhurst? Well, it’s all of these and none at the same time. We actually work for one company: Rydon. And, in doing so, deliver built environment solutions across housing, education and healthcare to shape lives. In reality we all work collaboratively in these areas. Take healthcare. This is not something exclusive to Ryhurst. Examples of maintaining healthcare centres, building hospitals and negotiating NHS Trust land disposal for residential use span all our operating companies. You can see the examples in the Shaping Lives video and these are narratives that you can now share with everyone. A wonderful performing arts centre, a caring centre for the socially vulnerable, the transformation of a London estate, the enhancements to a village community. All of it is about Shaping Lives. It defines us and the Rydon brand. It defines our story, which is one that we should all be proud to tell.
THE VIDEO Who better to tell our brand story than our customers? Rydon has many customers and stakeholders who we impact positively at different stages in their business and personal lives. The Shaping Lives video is very much about giving our best advocates a platform
to talk about how all of us at Rydon do this in an honest and powerful way. By putting them in front of a camera, we have captured the different aspects of Rydon that continuously shape lives and create new opportunities. None of the scenes in the video are scripted or acted.
Villicare is the Joint Venture company between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) and Ryhurst. By working collaboratively with the Trust, Villicare made it possible for the young advisors to become the decision makers, tailoring the environment so the facility can best respond and support the needs of the young people, their families and carers, while also procuring the best delivery partners and project managing the development. CWP was also the first NHS Trust to have a formal young advisors scheme. Bella and Sophie, who featured in the video, were part of a group of advisors who really helped to make Ancora House the success story it is and have set the mould for the design, development and delivery of this type of mental health facility in the future. Ancora House is far more than just a building and is true to its Latin meaning of a place of hope, refuge and support. CHRIS TONGE - General Manager, Villicare
We have really enjoyed welcoming all the students and local community groups into the new 1532 Performing Arts Centre. We are working towards making the centre a real hub in the Bristol cultural scene and a seven day a week operation for our new recording facilities, dance and drama studios, as well as our main auditorium and refurbished Mackay theatres, which cover the whole performing arts spectrum from big theatre shows to fringe-style performances. Bristol Grammar School is creating a new buzz around the performing arts and our state-of-the-art centre means that music, drama and dance can be explored in new ways that transform education experiences whilst building teamwork and self-confidence. BETH MORGAN - 1532 Performing Arts Centre Manager Bristol Grammar School
In my role you put yourself in the residents’ shoes. While we are ultimately here to make their homes and communities much better places to live, with any building work there can be inconvenience and disruption, and we are here to minimise or mitigate that. My team and I are the first point of contact for residents on many of our schemes, so we deal with everything from initial consultation before work starts, to organising drop-in sessions, helping residents move home and organising events in the local community, including work placements and fun days for local children. It’s a challenging but very rewarding job where no two days are the same and at the end you can see a visible difference in the improved community environment we are here to deliver. NIKKI DONNELLY - Resident Liaison Manager, Rydon Maintenance
Having lived at Packington for over 30 years I’ve seen a lot of changes. While it was sad to see the decline of the old buildings and the rise in problems on the estate, the sense of community has always been strong and ensured the opportunity to revitalise the neighbourhood in the right way was welcomed with open arms. The visible transformation of Packington is the buildings, but for the people who live here the transformation goes beyond that to the things you can’t always see, such as the feeling of comfort and safety. For everyone to be so involved through the decision-making process gives us all such a sense of pride and I hope this came across in the video. JAN DURBRIDGE - Resident & Chair of the Packington Regeneration Board
It is always satisfying to go back to one of our developments after new residents have moved in and see how the new homes are settling in their new environment. I had personally been involved with this scheme in Bethersden since 2010, when we first recognised a need to create new homes for this small Kent community, so on a personal level it was a great opportunity to describe the end-to-end process. As I mentioned in the video, the local community were overwhelmingly in favour of the provision of new family housing. This came from different corners, including the local primary school who wanted more families to come to the village to ensure its viability, as well as local people who had family connections to Bethersden, but without the affordable housing we provided would not have been able to afford to live in the area. PAUL MEPHAM - Design & Planning Director Rydon Homes
THE GROUP BOARD PERSPECTIVE We asked each of our Group Board members what Shaping Lives means to them.
BOB BOND
Chief Executive
The world around us is in a constant state of change. One constant, however, is the need for a high quality built environment that will help to address the challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow. Rydon and its people are well placed to do this with our focus on housing, healthcare and education. We have a skillset that has made Rydon a byword for quality within communities that need a diversity of residential schemes, schools and health centres. All of our employees are focused on shaping the lives of others and by working together as one team we can become a stronger brand and a strong contributor to a positive society.
MARK MITCHENER Managing Director, Rydon Construction Regenerating communities is at the core of what we do. Our schemes breathe new life into existing neighbourhoods and create socially mixed communities that are shaped by the desires and choices made by the people who live there. We also create schools and muchvalued local facilities in close proximity to new homes as well as new healthcare environments from hospitals to Extra Care. Quality is very much a part of our DNA, from our approach to consultation and urban design to the materials and skilled trades used to deliver the end result. It makes me proud that our people work hard to shape lives and deliver the country’s needs in housing, education and healthcare.
JEFF HENTON Managing Director, Rydon Maintenance We typically deal with older housing stock with the aim of making homes and local facilities decent, warm and safe places to live and enabling residents to be active and positive within their communities. We make places safe even during the process of maintaining or refurbishing them. Often the communities we work in like us to be around because our very presence eliminates a lot of issues such as drugs and violence. So we have a very real and beneficial impact on people’s lives. Our Resident Liaison Team is vital in this respect, being the first port of call and a trusted partner to help with site-related issues and much more. The team also plays an important project management role, helping residents to help themselves to better shape their lives.
WARWICK BARNES Managing Director, Rydon Homes Our aim is to build for the benefit of communities as well as meet local housing needs. Developers are often portrayed as taking a short-term view – build and move on. But the reality is that we are focused on creating and sustaining balanced communities for the long term. The actual process of development draws on local skills and creates local jobs. While on site, our delivery teams always look to support community projects, such as the kitchen garden we created for a school in Lewes or supporting the school fete and community festival in Billingshurst. Revenues generated from building projects are partly invested in local libraries, education projects and other community facilities. So we are consistently focused on improving communities and positively shaping the lives of the people within them.
STEPHEN COLLINSON Managing Director, Ryhurst Healthier environments mean healthier and happier lives and that’s ultimately what we are trying to achieve through our work with NHS Trusts. The current strains on the National Health Service mean there’s a real opportunity to better shape the way we deliver healthcare and hence shape lives. One of the big issues, as has been seen in the news repeatedly, is about communities and access to healthcare – how to create the right cluster of healthcare services, from in-patient services to wider social care in the community, within the context of the financial and resource pressures that the NHS continually faces. People’s lives and experiences are at the centre of what we do and we are continuously looking at how to deliver estate facilities and services that will improve them.
MARK DAY Group Finance Director From a financial point of view, a strong brand adds significant value. Not only by strengthening our relationships with existing customers and stakeholders, but enabling us to engage with new ones. It is always good to be part of a financially successful company, but I believe we can all take added pride and satisfaction in working for one which has a positive social impact and helps to shape lives.
ANDREW GOLDMAN Group Marketing & Technology Director Shaping Lives underpins the quality and people strengths of the Rydon brand. It also puts our customers and stakeholders at the centre of what we do: a passionate commitment to deliver quality facilities for the communities we work for. It’s a powerful brand proposition relevant to the world we live in – a world that needs better housing, education and healthcare. It also resonates throughout the communities we work in and among stakeholders who want to partner with an organisation with a strong set of values they can relate to.
AILEEN IVANEC Group Legal Director Rydon prides itself on the strength of its professional relationships with all of its stakeholders – clients, residents, employees, supply chain partners, funders and investors, and government and statutory bodies. This tenet runs through all of the interactions between our Legal and HSQ&E teams and those stakeholders. Maintaining high quality professionalism throughout, delivering safely for the benefit of the communities we help shape and our delivery teams, ensuring risks rest where they can best be managed and providing robust processes, all of which are verified by audit – all this is encapsulated in Rydon's culture and inherent in our Shaping Lives brand promise.
LISA FITZSIMONS Group Human Resources Director In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, attracting and retaining the right kind of talent is central to a company’s ability to grow. Shaping Lives can be used externally to attract potential employees, and internally to increase engagement and loyalty among current employees. Our aspiration to develop a strong employer brand will be a powerful business tool that can connect our values, people strategy and HR policies to the corporate brand. The benefits of having the right employer brand that conveys the brand values effectively will ultimately ensure we attract the right talent and, once recruited, encourage the right talent to stay.
JUSTIN HUGHES Rydon’s guest speaker at the 2017 Staff Meeting, a former fighter pilot and Executive Officer of the Red Arrows Most work organisations undertake involves people working together. This ranges from those who work on specific activities as constituted teams, to complicated cross-functional project groups, or senior leadership teams comprising ‘heads of’. I spent 12 years as a military fighter pilot, including 250 displays with the Red Arrows, as part of an organisation in which teamwork was not a choice but a way of life. As individuals, you already can achieve amazing things. But working as part of a team, together you can take this further to uncover unlimited potential and be greater than the sum of your parts; to make transformative and extraordinary differences in your work to help Shape Lives. For Rydon, Shaping Lives is about working together to make that difference. Taking the next step as a team, from just constructing and maintaining ‘buildings’ to genuinely creating places that build society and bring communities together for the common good of this and the next generation.
How has the Rydon brand evolved? Early Days
(circa 1978-2000) The unicorn and Rydon name are positioned in oval shapes with two different shades of blue.
2000 The first rebrand saw the introduction of the Rydon scripted logo. Two versions of the logo were used, with one for each division and the Group. Navy and teal are the corporate colours.
2010 Adapting the existing brand, the oval variations are replaced by the single Rydon logo instead of the different divisional versions.
2012 Teal is dropped as a Group corporate colour and silver introduced as a secondary colour. A colour palette now represents each division with refreshed branding on vehicles, merchandise and stationery.
2017 Today! Shaping Lives is introduced as the new strapline with a refreshed colour palette, new graphics and the introduction of the active figure.
Our refreshed brand maintains the existing Rydon logo as the key focus, but evolves a number of surrounding design elements to use colour and inject vibrancy to better reflect our message. The pattern of cubes is an updated progression from the existing coloured squares, which were previously positioned underneath the Rydon logo and represent the four operating companies. Joining together to create geometric patterns, they symbolise how each Rydon division is connected to another through the complementary work we deliver as we collectively strive for the same goals and objectives. Completing the refreshed brand is the new active figure. Cut as a silhouette from the cubed pattern, the introduction of the figure demonstrates how Rydon is far more than a bricks and mortar company. It shows how we are actively shaping people’s lives through creating communities and enhancing life opportunities.
So how should we talk about the Rydon brand in the future? For example, if you are out on site with a subcontractor, in a meeting with a potential client unfamiliar with our business or with a new resident of a Rydon home? How should you answer that seemingly simple question:
What does Rydon do?
As mentioned earlier, the purpose behind the brand refresh and the introduction of the Shaping Lives strapline is to ensure that people understand what we deliver as a whole, what differentiates us and makes what we do meaningful as an outcome of our combined work across the Group. Below are some sentences you can use, which outline who we are and what we do across the operating companies. It’s a new way of talking about Rydon that we will start using across our various channels of communication as we continue in our objective to help Shape Lives:
Partnering with business & communities, driven by a commitment to consistent quality, Rydon delivers solutions for education, housing and healthcare to shape and advance people’s lives.
Rydon delivers quality solutions in the built environment for education, housing and healthcare to shape and advance people’s lives.
We are potentially shaping people’s lives from the moment they are born in a Rydon built or maintained healthcare estate, through their schooling and housing years, right through to their retirement.
Partnering with business & communities, driven by a commitment to consistent quality, Rydon delivers solutions for education, housing and healthcare to shape and advance people’s lives.
