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Light-industry firm, Eland Cables, is one of those companies where 99% of people will probably have never heard of it, but 100% of them will have likely benefitted from its existence.
Whether it’s supplying the overhead cables that allow trains to run on the Paddington to Cardiff line, or the cabling used by data centres ranging from Tesla, GE and Network Rail, Eland Cables helps power other organisations. But Eland has itself been powering on, more than doubling its headcount since 2020 alone, and according to Deborah Graham-Wilson, is Head of ESG, it’s fundamentally down to one main reason – making its environmental social governance (ESG) commitments front and centre, and above industry minimums.
Deborah Graham-Wilson
Head of ESG
She says: “In the last few years, ESG hasn’t just been pushed out hoping our staff take notice of it. It’s become fundamental to everything we do. As such it ‘is’ the lifeblood of the business, and has influenced our entire culture. The result, is that it’s key part of our attraction and retention.”
Recent ESG-related initiatives have included Eland cladding its entire factory in solar panels; recycling every bit of factory waste and converting its entire HGV fleet to biofuel. For these measures and others (including becoming a Living Wage+ employer – see later), Eland was last summer awarded Gold Medal status by EcoVadis – the global ESG ratings platform. This places the organisation in the top 5% of companies assessed, and in Graham-Wilson’s mind, there is absolutely no doubt its strong ESG showing is what sees its staff stay-put where similar, competing firms see their staff drift away.
“In 2022, when the rest of the UK was desperate for HGV drivers, we decided to walk the ESG talk and created our own accredited driver training school,” says Graham-Wilson. “Not only does it show our team that we are committed to them, but we feel it also shows how committed we are to helping the driver sector as a whole. We now find some 90% of our fleet of 60 drivers stay with us year-on-year. The sector average retention level of drivers is considerably less.”
ESG hasn’t just been pushed out hoping our staff take notice of it. It’s become fundamental to everything we do
Retention overall hasn’t always been this high. In 2015, when the business had around 111 staff, its retention ratio was 71%, and in some years it fell even lower, to 68% in 2016. Because of where it is based – just outside Doncaster – it would also compete with companies like Amazon nearby, in terms of warehouse positions.
But as successive ESG-related initiatives have unfolded, including taking the decision transition to being a Living Wage employer, she argues the falls in attrition have followed suit.
