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TRANSACTIONS COMPLETION OF THE SALE OF UK POWER BUSINESS Babcock International Group PLC announced the completion of the sale of its Power business to M Group Services for a gross cash consideration of £50 million. Babcock’s Power business is a leading provider of engineering services in the UK overhead line electric transmission and distribution industry. It is trusted to deliver high quality outputs to clients including National Grid, Scottish Power Energy Networks and Western Power
Distribution. Following the sale, the business will form part of Morrison Energy Services, a division of M Group Services. The business is a part of Babcock’s Land sector. For the year ended 31 March 2021, it reported total revenues of £70 million and profit before interest and tax of around £7 million before allocated overheads. Babcock CEO David Lockwood said: “I’m delighted that we continue to make
real strides in delivering our plan of streamlining the Group. The business is a great fit for M Group Services, and I wish them every success as they continue to grow their operations.” Babcock is an international aerospace, defence and security company. We have a leading naval business, and provide value-add services across the UK, France, Canada, Australasia and South Africa. Babcock also operates in, and exports to, additional markets.
quickly realized that replicating the social closeness proved far more difficult than efficiently transitioning work tasks. We did what most other firms did – organized Zoom happy hours and special “virtual” events. We provided every employee with an annual subscription to the Calm app to help them find an outlet for relaxation and mindfulness. We encouraged leadership to take a more personal approach to management, routinely check in with their teams, and be sensitive to their personal and professional needs. We communicated openly and honestly about mental health and highlighted the resources available for those in need. But in the end, we only found true resolution when staff began to return to the office; even just a day or two per week was transformative. WHAT IT ALL MEANS. Up until now, I have discussed the many challenges we faced and the lessons we’ve learned from them, but the more difficult task is putting a solution into practice that understands and respects the new realities of our workforce and our workplaces. Some companies reacted too quickly, stating that their staff would never return to the office, while others set arbitrary deadlines for staff to return “or else.” The prudent response lies somewhere in between. The days of having a physical presence are not over; they remain an important and salient bond among the staff. At Ardurra, we talk about culture a lot – it’s what sets us apart from other firms and is central to our business strategy – and I don’t know that a company culture can exist without a physical space where people intersect. I believe that more today than I did before the first mention of COVID-19. However, I don’t think that translates back to what work looked like pre-pandemic. The future I see is variable, where staff find a balance of remote and in-person work that best suits them and the business. This necessarily refocuses “in office” time as social and collaborative, while remote work becomes independent, concentrated, and productive. In the end, there can’t be one solution to meet the needs of every person and every business, but I knowwithout question that those companies that are resolute, agile, and creative will define the workplace rules of tomorrow, while the rest will be forced to follow or buckle beneath the pressure. Kevin Brown, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is chief human resources officer at Ardurra. Contact him at kbrown@ardurra.com.
KEVIN BROWN, from page 9
were. It broadened our reach and we began to cast a wider net that resulted in organically opening new offices in new geographies that we hadn’t specifically targeted before. It also provided access to candidates who were dissatisfied with how their current firms were dealing with the pandemic. While we proved resilient, others were less adaptive or lacked the technology to support remote work effectively. “There were indeed great benefits from remote work – time saved on commute, more flexibility to balance personal responsibilities, etc. – but many found it hard to turn work “off” after normal business hours.” NEWPEOPLE CHALLENGES. While the transition to remote work proved that we could be successful without the physical proximity an office setting provides, it brought with it new challenges. A few months into the pandemic, we surveyed our staff and found that this new reality was having profound impacts on their mental wellness. Almost 20 percent reported being lonely, while others reported increased anxiety. For years, the elders of the industry believed that remote work was not feasible because there would be too many distractions and not enough oversight. What we found was the opposite; instead of employees becoming neglectful of their work, the real challenge was maintaining a healthy work-life balance. There were indeed great benefits from remote work – time saved on commute, more flexibility to balance personal responsibilities, etc. – but many found it hard to turn work “off” after normal business hours. There simply wasn’t a significant differentiation between work and home when you’re working from your couch or dining room table. We take for granted the psychological value of brief talks around the watercooler or a shared lunchtime in the employee lounge; work is a key source of social interaction and support that was immediately lost. We found that employees stopped using paid time off; they reasoned that there wasn’t anywhere to go, so why waste their vacation time on a day stuck at home. At Ardurra, we recognized this challenge and went to work at it – and we
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 10, 2022, ISSUE 1423
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