So far this year
we’ve saved:
9,420 tonnes of carbon from domestic projects
15,066 tonnes of carbon from commercial projects
Introduction
Welcome to the first SCIS Group monthly newsletter – our new way to regularly communicate the major news and activity across the Group.
This first issue coincides with our new financial year which starts in April, so we’re sharing a few of the fantastic key results we achieved as a team last year, as well as highlighting some of the major activities coming up over the next couple of months.
We’re bringing you an update on our Bundle proposition – something you’ve probably heard mentioned but may not know much about – until now! This is via a two minute video, allowing you to view it at a time convenient for you.
We’ll also be having a dedicated employee focus feature every month which is your opportunity to tell us a bit more about you and the team you work in. Our first “volunteer” for this feature is our new Managing Director for SCIS Ltd, Bob Kerr, so do let us know via the feedback form at the end of this newsletter if there’s anyone you’d like to nominate next!
We’re also sharing some Smart Saver energy saving tips via our social media channels. You may have seen Barb, our Sustainability Director in our first one, so if you’d like to be part of future ones and have any Smart Saver tips, do let us know!
Finally, we’re keen to get your feedback on what you’d like to see in this newsletter going forward as we’re committed to ensuring this is an engaging communication that delivers to your needs, so please do let us know using the feedback form at the end of the newsletter.
Key business updates
2023/2024 financial performance
Our financial year finishes at the end of March every year, so we are delighted to share the fantastic performance and key results we achieved as a business last year.
- We had our highest ever sales levels at SCIS coming in at £35m, whilst our overall sales were almost £50m when including CEG as well!
- The profit of CEG tripled in their first year of being part of the group whilst we also had our biggest year in partnerships
- We’ve delivered energy efficiency projects across four of the big six utility companies
So overall, a fantastic year that helps us continue on our growth journey.
Flexible working requests
On 6thApril, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 became law, making several changes to flexible working legislation.
Whilst flexible working is not new, this law change means that you have a statutory right to make a flexible working request (FWR) from your first date of employment, rather than being required to wait until 26 weeks. In addition, you are entitled to make up to two FWR’s within 12 months rather than one and we must make a decision on an FWR request within two months rather than three.
We have created a Flexible Working Policy saved on SharePoint and if you’d like to submit a flexible working request, please complete this Flexible Working Request Form (available via SharePoint) and submit to your line manager and HR to progress.
New surveyor app
We will be rolling out a brand new surveyor app over the course of the next month.
This is one of the very first parts of our Bundle proposition, and will transform a surveyor’s ability to assess the suitability of a customer’s property.
It will significantly improve the evidence submission process from a surveyor perspective, as well enable surveys to be undertaken in substantially less time.
In turn, this will help increase productivity and is a key enabler for our future growth. Watch this space for further app developments for our installers coming soon!
New Liverpool office
As an integral part of our growth strategy, we’ve recently made a significant investment in establishing a new Liverpool office.
With a population of 1.6m (and a further 6m within a 1 hour drive time), the region delivers the 3rd largest economy in the UK and has over £800m of public and private funding planned over the next 10 years, creating 8,000 jobs. Our new office provides us with a major hub to expand our offering across the North of England and launch our Bundle proposition from. As well as being a base for our regional installer teams to operate from, the site holds strategic importance as the heartland for our key partner, Scottish Power, as we commence our new Smart Heat contract.
In addition, the new office accommodates our new customer services team. We’ve created this additional headcount to support the operational teams in the South and help drive customer service efficiencies, delivering improved call-handling and higher quality service levels.
As you can see from the picture above, the offices will be aligned to our Bundle brand and whilst there is some further internal decorating to be completed, the site has fantastic potential to develop a retail footprint from – so watch this space!
A video introduction to Bundle
Not sure what Bundle’s about or what it means for the business? Take a look.
If you have any further questions, use our feedback form to ask them.
Employee focus
Bob Kerr, new Managing Director at SCIS
“Having been with the business for six weeks already, it’s fair to say it’s been a whirlwind start!
Most of my time has been spent meeting people across the business and understanding the details of the operational and financial aspects, so there’s been a lot of information to absorb and digest.
I’ve spent the vast majority of my working life in the energy sector, including nearly 30 years with British Gas across a wide variety of roles. I started as a 16-year-old engineering apprentice before rising to several senior operational and management roles.
I love working in the energy sector and one of the brilliant things about it is how it is always constantly challenging and changing. I firmly believe that you’re never too old to learn new things and firmly believe that you learn from everyone that you work with no matter what role they carry out within the business.
To that end, I am really looking forward to spending some time with our insulation installer teams shortly and seeing first-hand the process of delivering to our customers.
In terms of my interests outside of work, I love football and am a passionate West Ham United season ticket holder for my sins! I live in Andover and am married with a son, daughter and step-son. My son also seems to be following in my footsteps as a gas engineer himself, and I’ve been informed by our marketing team that we might well be tapping into him for front-line research purposes!
I’m really delighted to have joined SCIS and have been really impressed by the passion and dedication shown by everyone I have met so far. For those of you who I haven’t had the chance to meet yet, I hope to do so over the coming days and weeks. I’m always open to new ideas and feedback, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly if you have anything you’d like to share.
We’ve seen fantastic growth over recent years including the latest financial year and I’m very excited about leading our journey through future growth and working closely with you all to maximise the huge opportunities out there.”
Have your say
Smart Savers:
we want you!
What would you like to see?
We’re not going to stuff this newsletter with fluff pieces you don’t care about. We want to know exactly what you’d like to see in future editions.
Get in touch via the feedback form below and tell us what you’re interested in.
Any further questions?
If you’ve got any questions about Bundle, what’s going on in other departments, or anything else – click the button below and let us know.
Responses are anonymous, so feel free to ask whatever questions you like – within reason, of course!