Julian is a Social Value Manager at EQUANS
Hi Julian, how are you?
I’m good thanks Dan, been enjoying being out and about in the community in the great weather the past month.
Can you tell us a bit about your role and the Social Value work you do?
I’ve been a Social Value Manager at EQUANS for 18 years now and created the majority of the social value templates that the company uses as standard, I cover London and the South East although often spread my wings to engage with our teams nationally. The role is extremely varied and rewarding, and includes assisting the bid team with tenders in relation to our social value commitments and Employment and Skills Plans. I’m responsible for delivering our Social Value Promises to a client base totalling on average £88m per annum. One day I can be presenting to Govt Ministers about Care Leavers and the next building a community allotment with local volunteers or hosting a fun day for local residents. Just this week I’ve volunteered at a Digital Inclusion Workshop for over 50’s, built a community allotment, carried out mock interviews at a secondary school and arranged for a lorry load of furniture to be donated to a refugee housing project! I’m currently working on a flagship initiative to support Survivors Of Domestic Abuse, we’ll be launching the scheme with EDAC (Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant) in the next month – WATCH THIS SPACE!
In our experience, suppliers do a lot of work to help deliver Social Value. What’s the best Social Value project you’ve been involved in and what lessons can you share?
Wow! That’s a tough one as there have been so many great projects over the years. I guess my favourite to date is our “Helping Hands” scheme. The project was created to help people who are often missed by traditional Social Value activities – the disabled, care leavers, people in overcrowded housing, homeless and the elderly. The scheme allows them to request help with their gardens, decorations, fixtures & fittings – many of this demographic become overwhelmed when going into their first home, or as is the case with the elderly and disabled are sometimes unable to redecorate or carry out small DIY tasks due to mobility issues. My former colleague Claire Preston linked the scheme to our work with the Care Leavers Covenant and the results have been amazing – assisting over 120 care leavers in the past 2 years and a total of over 200 vulnerable residents. Huge benefits to peoples mental health have been the biggest positive from the scheme. Key lessons were to engage heavily with the internal volunteer bank, utilise the supply chain to provide support and keep the offer concise so people knew what they could get help with.
A close second would be our Employability Scheme “Kick Start” (Named before the new govt scheme), it helps some of the hardest to engage youth back into employment and has won 14 awards since it’s inception 15 years ago.
If you could send a general but helpful message to contracting authorities that want to improve the way they do Social Value, what would it be?
Be flexible with your approach, one size doesn’t fit all – the clients that we have the most productive Social Value outcomes with are those that are able to react to their residents changing needs. Try to request commitments that play to your contractors strengths, you’ll always get more value that way. This is a slightly controversial one, but be realistic with apprentice and employment targets – quality over quantity usually has a higher success rate for both employer and apprentice.
And for suppliers who are increasingly being challenged to deliver Social Value, what would you advise?
A good internal volunteer scheme is really key, as is ensuring that all your staff live and breath the social value ethos. Ensure you have a robust apprentice programme that includes a strong mentoring element. Great partnerships with your supply chain will also ensure you are able to deliver more value!
Many thanks Julian!
We think this might be helpful…
‘7 Things To Think About If You’re Doing Social Value And Want To Do It Right’
We’d love to hear from you.
Email: hello@socialvalueexchange.org
Telephone: 020 3488 6223