WHAT MAKES UPONOR A GREAT PLACE TO WORK?

Uponor has been named as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ 2023 by Great Place to Work^®, the global authority on workplace culture. Great Place to Work™ evaluates organisations based on a range of criteria, including the level of trust that employees experience in their leaders, the level of pride they have in their jobs, and the extent to which they experience camaraderie with their colleagues. Also taken into account are compensation and benefits packages, opportunities for professional development, and strong ethical and social responsibility standards.

Here, we talk to HR Manager for UK & Ireland, Kavita Lad, about the organisation’s award-winning culture, its learning and development programs, and what she believes makes Uponor such a great place to work.
 

How would you describe the culture at Uponor?

We’re a family. I think that’s probably the most important thing to say. When I am interviewing potential new staff and I’m sharing my views on the company, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. Even though we’re a multi-national company, the team here is small and very close-knit, and it doesn’t matter if we’re working from home, the office, or out on the road, we have ways of staying connected. Our culture of helping and supporting each other is key to who we are as a company and it’s something I’m incredibly proud of.
 

What does the leadership team do to promote these values within the company?

‘Build, connect, inspire’ – those are our three key values, and they’re embedded in our processes and actions across the organisation. From a HR perspective, we have a people first strategy which underpins our approach to appraisals and learning and development. When we train our managers on how to carry out appraisals, we tell them to look at the how. How are people performing against our values? Furthermore, some of our core e-learning courses are structured around the values of ‘build, connect, inspire’, which helps to keep these values at the centre of our organisation. We see them reflected every day in how we all work and the respect we have for each other.
 

Can you tell us about any specific programs, practices, or forums, etc. that help foster trust and collaboration?

One of the areas we scored highest in on the Great Place to Work^® framework was ‘building trust and collaboration.’ This is a key focus of several of our e-learning programs. Firstly, there is our Ways of Working course, which is all about how we communicate with each other at work. Everyone at Uponor is encouraged to complete this.

Then, last year, we ran the Performance and Care Program, led by an external trainer. The leadership teams from the UK, Denmark, and Norway got together in Copenhagen for training on how to look after ourselves at work and how to take care of our teams as well, including not sending or answering emails out of hours.
 

What stands out about Uponor’s culture, programs, and practices?

Our commitment to work-life balance is something that really stands out. It comes from the top down, with our MD, John, encouraging everyone to switch off at the end of the day and when they’re on holiday. Similarly, we’re a very flexible organisation. Since COVID, we’ve adopted a 50/50 hybrid working model. Everyone is either in the office or working from home at the same time, so that when we’re in the office, we’re all together, connecting and collaborating, which is so important to maintaining our close-knit culture.

In addition to the Great Place to Work^® employee engagement survey, we also do our own annual internal survey, and the results from both of these studies show that our flexible working policy and having a good work-life balance are two of the things that set Uponor apart from other employers.
 

How important is innovation to what you do?

Innovation is one of our core values, so it’s important for every aspect of the business. Production is the obvious one, but even in HR, we’re always looking at our internal processes to see how we could improve them. What’s more, managers encourage their teams to suggest changes that will benefit them. One of the best things about working at Uponor is that innovation genuinely happens at every single level of our organisation.
 

How do you support employees’ career development?

There are a lot of opportunities for learning, development, and progression at Uponor. The first thing we do is encourage all employees to complete their career profiles on our HR portal so we can see what their long-term goals are and how we can help them get there. Line managers will sit down with their direct reports twice a year to check in and keep the conversation open.

We also have annual talent reviews where management teams review the structure of the entire organisation and assess what talent we have in the business and how we can develop it further. As well on-the-job training and our e-learning programs, we also encourage and support employees to pursue professional qualifications to enable them to reach their full potential.
 

What do you think makes Uponor a Great Place to Work^®?

Definitely the family feeling within the team and how well we all get on – helping and supporting each other. You can really feel it when we get together. We have an annual summer barbecue and our Christmas party as well, and I love the social aspect of working here.

With over 100 years of experience, leading plastic pipe manufacturer Uponor has built a reputation for leading the way in the fields of infrastructure, local heat distribution, plumbing and underfloor heating. To find out more about our company culture and explore our current vacancies, visit: https://www.uponor.com/en-gb/company/careers.