"There is no denying that we are one of the largest surveying firms but we certainly don’t see any drawbacks in this."
One easy stone to cast on larger organisations is that they are too ‘corporate’. By this I mean preconceptions around inflexibility, overly bureaucratic processes and not being as nimble as smaller competitors. This may be accurate for some companies but to tar everyone with the same brush - without delving into any detail - is a little unjust.
In fact, and speaking purely from a Countrywide Surveying Services perspective, the opposite can also be true. There is no denying that we are one of the largest surveying firms but we certainly don’t see any drawbacks in this. Our size and scale allows us to have robust processes and systems in place to manage the vast amounts of data we collect. It also provides us with the resources to innovate by developing new products and helping to shape the future of our sector in the most positive way we can.
For example, we are serious about reducing our negative carbon impact and developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy to deliver a variety of services in a sustainable and responsible way to our customers, while engaging with all our stakeholders in this journey. This is one of the reasons why we have recently created a Head of Sustainability role.
We play a critical part in supporting home buyers make greener choices to reduce emissions from UK homes and we provide guidance and information around the impact of the significant climate change challenge with an aim of reducing emissions. For example, we launched EnergyFact, a report designed to support homeowners to assess and identify potential improvements in enhancing energy efficiency. We also launched PropertyFact in 2021 to allow valuers to complete a comprehensive desktop-based assessment of the property.
As a big business, we understand that it's our duty to bring new people into the industry to increase capacity for the whole market. After all, our training academy is now in its 8th year and during this time we have recruited, trained and delivered close to 250 surveyors into the industry, the vast majority of which are still active to this day. And it’s important to keep filling these gaps and bring the best young talent into the sector as we continue to lose the older end of the surveying spectrum to retirement. As a company, we’re only as good as our people and I am very proud of this recruitment process and the quality of personnel we have attracted into the industry and across the business.
Size isn’t everything but it’s certainly not a weakness and in the surveying sector, it’s an asset that many can only dream of.
