Murphy

This holistic EDI programme was lauded by the judges as having an “excellent alignment of objectives, initiatives, annual targets and measurements to strategic goals”. J Murphy and Sons’ People and Social Value Strategy was born out of a skills shortage in the construction and engineering sector, and the civil engineering company’s aim to “improve life” for both current and future employees and the communities in which they work.

Murphy recognised that many ad hoc initiatives relating to EDI had been tried across the sector “without sustainable success” and the team was “driven to change that”. To achieve this, it knew its strategy needed to be “holistic and innovative in a way not seen before” and closely aligned to these and wider challenges.

The People Strategy is openly available, with clearly outlined focus strands, key deliverables and outcomes. The measures are internal, external and employee driven, with delivery involving input and feedback from clients, objective assessments, regular internal monitoring and external benchmarking. 

In 2023, for example, Murphy became the founding member of the first National Prison Employment Advisory Board, a unique initiative offering prison leavers a journey into employment. This employment model received recognition in parliament and is now being replicated in 91 prisons across the UK. 

Murphy also became the first company in the sector to adopt the Ambitious about Autism programme, creating long-term employment for neurodiverse candidates. The organisation also partnered the Home Office to create a scheme that helps refugees settle into their new lives and find meaningful work. The refugee programme was featured in the national press and created more than 100 job opportunities. 

In addition, all job advertisements went through gender-neutral language screening to ensure they were accessible to all candidates. Murphy also rolled out an in-house BIG Inclusion programme to bring employees together at all levels to have open discussions about equality, diversity and inclusion. Now, 24.37 per cent of teams are from underrepresented groups, which the judges noted was challenging given the firm had a starting point of less than 10 per cent at the end of 2020. 

The judges were also impressed by Murphy’s plans to “continually improve” and build on its successes, for example, plans for a £40m training facility at the plant depot in Nottinghamshire, “which will help the local community by investing in skills and boosting employment”.