The latest issue of East Durham Business magazine features an interview with George Bowden and Sally Jameson from Seaham-based telecommunications company L3 Optics.
The directors chat about their staff health and wellbeing programme, and in particular the mental health support offered to the team which is driven by alarming suicide statistics within the construction industry.
EDB: Firstly, tell us more about L3 Optics. GB: I founded L3 Optics back in 2018 after a career working in the utility and construction industries. I had run companies previously and knew the fibre optics and telecommunications industry was in the process of growing massively, so it made sense.
When we first started we worked out of a shipping container, before we moved to a small office in Newcastle. As the business began to take off we moved to Cold Hesledon Industrial Estate, but very quickly we had grown beyond the unit we occupied.
And as we began to pick up bigger contracts, the team had to grow as well. That meant we got to the point where we reached capacity at our existing premises. We tried to create additional space but within two years we had outgrown the unit.
We knew it was the right time to look at alternative buildings and found out about the space available at Spectrum Business Park. We came to have a look at it and knew it was exactly what we were looking for — it was a shell so it gave us a blank canvas to build offices that were right for us.
EDB: Your workforce has grown massively hasn’t it? GB: Yes, it has. We now employ around 130 people but we are confident that we will grow to over 200 people. There are some exciting developments in the pipeline, and while we can’t say too much at this stage, we are confident they will come off.
Our people are the lifeblood of our business. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to grow and establish ourselves as one of the leading, most reputable communications build partners in the country.
That’s why we are so passionate about investing in them and not only making sure they have the chance to progress, but also that they have the right support in place to make their time at work as happy as possible.
EDB: Staff health and wellbeing is a big focus for you as a company isn’t it? SJ: It is, yes. The construction industry, of which our business is a part, has the highest suicide rate of any sector and that’s because it is very male dominated and due to the average age range of the people who work within it. So as a company that is committed to its employees, we want to do everything we can to ensure our staff are supported.
So many businesses claim to be leaders within health and wellbeing, but don’t necessarily back that up. However, at L3 Optics we are doing what we say we will.
There are 2.2 mental health first aiders for every 10 employees, and every single manager and supervisor has some form of mental health training.
But it’s not just the managers and supervisors that are doing their bit, we have also encouraged our workers on the ground to become mental health champions. This is crucial as we know some people will more willingly talk to their peers, as they think they’ll more easily relate to them than a manager would. Also, they don’t want their line manager to think they aren’t coping, but opening up to a colleague is not so daunting for them.
EDB: Your staff are encouraged to talk aren’t they? SJ: Absolutely. We want everyone within our business to know it’s okay not to be okay, and that if they do feel like that there are people who can help. We don’t want anyone to feel alone. Mental health is something that can affect anyone, and there is no shame in needing help.
EDB: Tell us more about some of the other incentives you offer to your staff. SJ: Everything we do is about our staff, and that’s why we have such high retention levels and low rates of sickness too.
We run an Employee of the Month scheme which is all about recognising a member of the team who has gone above and beyond or achieved something particularly important to them. It’s us saying thank you and letting them know we appreciate everything they do for us.
We also have a management development programme, which is very unusual for a business of this size. It enables us to continue to invest in our current crop of managers and nurture managers of the future too.
EDB: It’s quite clear that your staff are your family. Why is that so important to you? GB: Quite simply, we wouldn’t be the business we are today without them. If we are to continue to grow, we need our people to grow with us and the only way that can happen is if they are valued. We want everyone to feel as important as the next, regardless of their position or level within the business.
SJ: I have worked for many larger businesses but without a doubt L3 Optics is the best in terms of their commitment to staff. You just need to look around to know that we are a family, that our employees genuinely love coming to work. There is no Monday morning dread. They are prepared to go that extra mile because they know they are looked after and their efforts are rewarded.
