People are at the heart of everything we do – whether that’s you, our wonderful customers, or our colleagues who help and support you along the way. In this article we introduce you to some of our amazing team.
What is a five-star builder?
You may have heard Redrow referred to as a five-star builder and wondered what that means.
The star rating is awarded to us by the HBF and is based on our customers’ experience and how likely they are to recommend Redrow to family and friends. Home builders who receive a recommendation score over 90% are awarded the coveted five-stars. You can find out more in our article: The HBF five-star rating explained.
While our construction teams are made up of highly skilled craftspeople, it takes a whole community of staff members to give you a five-star service. So it’s time to meet five of them, who just happen to be award-winners, working together with their wider teams to provide great service.
Alun Williams - customer service technician, South Wales
A skilled carpenter, Alun says creating a finished result he can be proud of is all the motivation he needs. He said: “Customer service has always been a key part of my job since I was an apprentice. It was part of the learning curve to ensure we always looked after our customers and addressed their concerns.”
Named as Redrow South Wales’s ‘customer service employee of the year’, Alun holds the trusted role of assisting customers with any issues once they have moved in. Working in customers’ homes is a responsibility he takes seriously. “My main focus has always been to firstly put the customer at ease, then to rectify any issues they may have with their home quickly,” he said. “My favourite part of the job is seeing a customer smiling and saying thanks for all the work I have done.”
Alun’s confidence in Redrow’s quality is clear – both his daughters own Redrow homes, and he wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. He added: “I have worked with all the big developers over the last 38 years and, from location to design and every department within the business, Redrow are the best out there. We are getting it right, right across the board.”
Ella Pike - sales consultant, South West
With a keen interest in property and interior design, after graduating from university Ella found her perfect job selling beautiful new Redrow homes for our South West division. She explained: “I'm a people person so the customer service side of the job appealed to me as well as the thriving sales environment.”
Ensuring her customers are well looked after is Ella’s main priority, and part of the reason she was named divisional ‘sales consultant of the year’ – a well-deserved award she was “thrilled” to receive.
She added: “I enjoy getting to know people throughout their journey and I like to think I make a positive contribution to their experience with Redrow, by providing good customer service and trying to meet their needs at all times.”
Ella also loves the contrasting sides to the role and that no two days are ever the same. “One day you'll be doing a glamorous show home demonstration, and the next you're on a muddy construction site,” she said.
“I think the passion of our sales teams really shines through at Redrow because we are genuinely so enthusiastic about the homes we sell. The company is dedicated to ensuring we provide industry led processes and our online services also set us apart. For example, via My Redrow our customers are able to choose their specification options from the comfort of their own home with their feet up.”
Going through the experience of buying a Redrow house herself, gave Ella an insight that she could share with others. She added: “When it came to choosing our own home to buy three and a half years ago, there was no question. Having worked for Redrow for a few years, I knew the high quality of the designs and the specification.”
Nicola Edwards, customer services manager, North West
Nicola has worked in the housebuilding industry for the whole of her 25-year career, mainly in customer services. Her wealth of experience makes her an asset to our North West team and she was named the division’s ‘customer service employee of the year’ for 2021.
She said: “My focus is always on building positive relationships with our customers and maintaining this throughout their journey. For this to happen, she believes, “communication is key”. “The hard hat tours and home previews we offer to customers sets our service apartment from other developers, along with our professional teams and the quality of our product.”
Nicola’s favourite part of the job is seeing the excitement on customers’ faces when they see their homes finished for the first time. She added: “It’s wonderful to see people so happy, with the keys to their new home. It’s important to me to be able to promote a product I truly believe in. I feel proud to be part of such a successful company and that we have retained our five-star rating given the challenges the industry has faced,” she added.
Simon Nix - project site manager, Lancashire
Simon has worked for us for 12 years and built a strong reputation for quality and service. He is the deserving winner of no less than four Seals of Excellence and six Quality awards as part of the National House Building Council (NHBC) annual the Pride in the Job Awards.
He said: “It’s a testament to the whole team because it’s not just me who wins the award, but everyone on site too. You can’t do it alone, you have to develop that we mentality, they want to win it just as much as I do.”
After scooping his most recent award at the end of last year, Simon followed up his success with a promotion to project site manager with our Lancashire division.
“I am working on the quality side now, so I will be helping the newly promoted site managers to ensure they are aware of Redrow's standard details and encouraging each of them to try their very best to continually raise the standards and quality on their sites, as well as working closely with the subcontractors,” he said.
“Another part of my role will be setting up the new sites to make sure that when the manager arrives on site they have the best opportunity to make the site a success, and that the first impression of the site is something in which they and the subcontractors will be proud to work on.”