Changing The Perception: The Way Forward
Is this a case of déjà vu? In October 1998, in Telford, I delivered the Institute of Quarrying’s annual conference keynote address under the title ‘A Personal Vision for the Future of the Quarrying Industry’, in which I raised a number of what I believed were, and possibly still are, key issues.
These were:
- The ability of our sector to satisfy shareholders’ requirements.
- The ability to understand who really are our competitors.
- The ability to appreciate the threat posed by substitute and alternative materials on future demand for aggregates.
- The ability to have an influence on environmental pressures, such as MPG6, the aggregates tax, EPA, road tolling, environmentalists, and controls on wastes.
- The ability to recognize that the intellectual capital in our industry is ageing, and the difficulties we are facing in replacing it.
- The ability to understand the image the industry has in the minds of both investors and the public.
I continued by saying that the industry could offer a bright future to both employees and investors, that we could make our industry better still with better products, better service, better cost controls, better environmental practices and, in particular, better PR.
And I concluded with the words ‘The future is bright, the future is in our hands’.
So, what progress has been made over the past seven years? In terms of satisfying shareholders’ requirements, there has been a change of ownership of a number of major companies (fig. 1).
It would appear that we did satisfy our shareholders although perhaps not in the way we expected. The competitors referred to above were those sectors competing for investment — oil, banking, pharmaceuticals etc. What we failed to recognize was that our competitors were also from the overseas sector!
Nevertheless, the threat from substitute materials, such as glass, steel, timber and other products, still remains the real competition. Moreover, congestion charging, the aggregates tax, uplifts in landfill tax, insufficient graduate applications and an increase in environmental legislation have all transpired over the last seven years, and the ageing workforce, the intellectual capital and retention continue to be issues.
The ability to understand the image the quarrying industry has in the minds of both investors and the public is the theme of this paper. To achieve this a totally independent video crew were asked to capture the response of the general public to a number of questions designed to gauge their perception of the industry.
The first question asked was: ‘Can you name a quarrying company?’ The answers they gave were: ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No, er yes, UK Coal!’ and ‘No’.
They were then asked: ‘What do you think it is like to work in the quarrying industry?’
‘Horrendous’, ‘dusty’, ‘dirty’, ‘dangerous’, ‘hard work’, ‘terrible’, ‘awful and boring’ were the answers that members of the public gave.
But is this really any wonder when the public sees poor quarry entrances, dust clouds, dirty lorries, heavy machinery working unsociable hours and mud on roads outside quarries — the visible side of quarry operations (figs 2a, b & c). It is not surprising that they react like this because ‘perception is reality’.
The public’s perception has to change if we are to maintain and develop a sustainable business, attract more of the right people, and influence the legislators. But how? What is the way forward?
OUR INDUSTRY
The quarrying industry supplies 200 million tonnes of essential materials a year, worth over £4 billion, from some 1,300 quarries and sand and gravel pits in the UK. It supports a construction industry worth around £100 billion, approximately 7% of GDP. Quarry products are so fundamental that there would be very little GDP without them.
One industry that would appear to be able to attract the right people and influence the legislators is the grocery trade. It has a turnover of £120 billion per year, approximately 9% of GDP. Taking Tesco as an example, they have 1,300 stores throughout the UK. Everyone knows of Tesco, what they sell, and their message: ‘Every little helps’.
Tesco’s success has been achieved through the supply of quality products and services, which has built the ‘Tesco’ brand. They have spent time, effort and a great deal of money building that brand, protecting it and developing it further. They tell everyone who they are, what they stand for and what they do. They are constantly promoting the brand, not just on TV or in the media, but also on their delivery vehicles (fig. 3). The slogans ‘You shop, we drop’ and ‘My shopping delivered by Tesco’ are emblazoned on their lorries and vans. These are clear messages that ensure the perception the public has of their business is the one they want the public to have. Every little bit of PR helps.
But what about our brand and our vehicles? It is the public who, albeit indirectly, buy our products and they need to understand our business. Should we, like Tesco, promote our industry through the use of strap lines across the sides of our delivery vehicles, strap lines such as:
- ‘Delivering aggregates … Delivering value’
- ‘Materials for building the future’
- ‘Essential supplies for your future’
- ‘Aggregates for the New Coventry Hospital’
- ‘Delivering materials for quieter roads’
The public’s perception will only change if together we promote our industry through a joint effort on PR. Remember the answer to the question: ‘Can you name a quarrying company?’ — ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No’, ‘No, er yes, UK Coal!’ and ‘No’.
We have all heard hundreds of times that we provide essential raw materials that are the foundation for homes, schools, places of commerce etc. We have also heard hundreds of times that every year nearly four tonnes of aggregates are needed per head of population in the UK, that each year a typical family indirectly demands a lorry-load of aggregates, and that a new house requires some 50 tonnes of aggregates.
Yet despite the fundamental importance of our industry no one we spoke to could bring to mind the name of a quarrying company!
The responses to the next question, ‘What products come from a quarry?’, were split into two: the older and younger generations. The older generation knew that sand and gravel, limestone and granite all came from quarries; they added that salt and minerals were also quarried. The response from the younger generation was somewhat different: ‘Bricks’, ‘oil’, ‘rubber’, ‘coal’, ‘gas’, ‘lead’, ‘gold’ and ‘water’ were some of the answers given. It is clear that the younger generation has no idea what quarries produce.
If these perceptions are to be changed the industry has to work together to promote itself. A joint effort on PR is the way forward.
How many readers have been asked to give presentations on the quarrying industry to outside organizations such as the CBI, Institute of Directors, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered Institute of Marketing, The Royal Society of the Arts, Round Table, Rotary, Freemason’s and Women’s Institutes?
It is through presentations to such bodies that a large section of the public can be reached, messages can be communicated, and the perception changed to show them that they cannot live by bread and water alone — they need stone!
These are opportunities to present the facts — namely, that it is through the use of our products that restaurants, cinemas, leisure centres and nightclubs are built where the public can go and enjoy themselves; that our products are needed for water purification, homes and hospitals for a healthier population; and that it is because our products are used in the construction of places of work and learning, sports facilities and research establishments that people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Employment
Another problem we face is attracting people to the industry in all its different forms. It is becoming harder to attract and retain the intellectual capital we need. While this may have improved over the last seven years, we still have a problem. The age profile of our workforce is still an issue, as is the male/female ratio (figs 4 & 5).
It is important that we address these issues, because currently we are not appealing to a substantial part of the available workforce. Why is this?
Here are some of the responses to the question: ‘What would you say if your son or daughter wanted to work in the quarrying industry?’
One respondent said she would ‘take a deep intake of breath and hope they would change their mind’. Another said: ‘I think there are better jobs, especially for the youngsters’. Others commented: ‘If he was desperate’; and ‘No chance mate, I’m an accountant and get paid far too much’.
These comments stem from the public’s perception of the industry. They are not informed decisions, but decisions borne from their perception. A perception that has to change.
So is pay the problem? Figure 6 shows how our salaries compare with the rest of the industrial and services sector.
As can be seen from fig. 6 there is not a salary gap. In fact, the industry offers competitive salaries across a wide range of occupations from IT, engineering, geology and purchasing to planning and environmental management. The industry requires technicians, salesmen, analysts, marketing professionals, credit managers as well as administrators. It even needs accountants!
The role of the quarry manager carries tremendous responsibility with the need to master modern quarry engineering, health and safety and legislation requirements, as well as the ability to implement environmental management systems. Communication skills also need to be first class to be able to deal with neighbours and the public, notwithstanding the people management skills required to keep the workforce motivated.
The public have to be made aware that mineral extraction is an attractive and worthwhile profession (perhaps the name ‘quarrying’ should be changed!). There are many and varied stimulating careers to pursue. People just need to be made aware that a career in minerals is right for them and that there are opportunities to develop and progress, the same as in any other industry.
Many companies have introduced publications such as Aggregate Industries’ ‘Future Path’, Tarmac’s ‘Skills for Life’ and the QPA’s ‘Your Role in Rock’. They are attending careers fairs, taking every opportunity to promote these schemes and the opportunities for the full range of abilities within the industry.
These days, however, anyone wanting to know about our industry will more than likely use the World Wide Web. They will log on to ‘Google’, ‘Yahoo’ or some other search engine and type in quarrying.
This is what I found on Yahoo. The first search result is ‘anti’ quarrying, protesting about a quarry application in North Yorkshire. The second is the British Geological Society’s web page listing quarrying companies. The Institute of Quarrying and the QPA web sites, the obvious choices to learn about quarrying, are fourth and sixth respectively (fig. 7).
But the information about quarrying on the Institute’s site leaves a lot to be desired.
The page that answers the question ‘what is quarrying?’ contained….nothing! The next page answers the question ‘what do quarries produce?’ but starts with a sentence on mined products (figs 8 & 9).
On the Institute web site there is a link to ‘careersinquarrying.co.uk’, but ‘clicking’ on this revealed that the page could not be found. Perhaps there was a problem with this particular link at the time, but it does not leave a good impression.
[Since this paper was written, the IQ web site – www.quarrying.org – has been redesigned, updated and enhanced for the benefit of both members and casual visitors.]
There are some good quarry company web sites, but as the Yahoo page above shows these do not appear on the first page, and therefore can only be selected if the person searching knows the names of these companies. As we saw earlier, however, members of the public do not know the names of quarrying companies!
The QPA web site talks about aggregates being essential for life as well as the industry’s responsibilities for the way it works minerals and towards its neighbours. This is an excellent site but it should not be a lone voice.
Environment
For many years the public’s main worries about the quarrying industry have been the volume of traffic, noise and dust levels, and dirt on and damage to roads.
In 2003, despite evidence to the contrary, the aggregates levy was introduced ‘to increase the amount of recycling and to reduce the environmental impact of noise and vibration, dust and other emissions to air, visual intrusion, loss of amenity and damage to wildlife habitats’.
The industry spends hundreds of thousands of pounds a year on dust and noise suppression and has improved, though not enough, it would appear, to change the public’s perception. And yet the role our businesses play in managing the environment through a range of methods is recognized by the Environment Agency, as indicated in the following quote: ‘Standards of environmental management (OPRA) are high in this sector, with 60 percent of sites rated A’.
This is a powerful endorsement and one that should be used to get the message across, that the industry has improved and is improving. The ‘environment’ should not be an issue.
But look at the responses the public gave when told how high the industry is rated by the Environment Agency: ‘That is shocking! I wouldn’t have thought it would be because people are protesting about having a quarry near their houses,’; and ‘I wouldn’t have thought it would have been, digging a massive hole in the middle of nowhere!’.
The industry has a lot of positive messages to tell on safety and the environment. It must communicate them, not just internally but, more importantly, to the public at large. Their perception has to change.
PR SPEND
Most experts say that, as a rule of thumb, the average amount B2B business spends on public relations and advertising is 5% of turnover. As an industry with a turnover of £4 billion, do we spend 5% of turnover — £200 million?
I suggest that that the quarrying industry does not spend 0.5% on PR, that would be £10 million or 5p a tonne! And what the industry does spend is, I suggest, reactive and in defence of adverse publicity.
What should be spent on PR? To give some indication of the level of spend by other businesses, Shell alone spend £12 million, some 1% of turnover — a conservative figure. BP’s current campaign promoting their sustainable credentials on TV and in the press must be costing several millions of pounds. The Concrete Centre will spend
£6 million in total in 2005/6 on the promotion of concrete, and their campaigns have delivered many results. For example, they have:
- persuaded the Highways Agency to specify that in future only concrete is to be used for motorway crash barriers (via Britpave)
- explained the thermal mass benefits of concrete to the building regulation inspectors
- successfully changed specifications from steel-frame to concrete-frame construction on a number of projects.
It is proactive actions such as these that are ‘the way forward’, and there are many things that can be promoted to help change the perception of the quarrying industry, such as:
- quieter roads through innovative surfacings
- thermally efficient buildings
- sustainable building products that last longer and are recyclable
- urban drainage systems
- QPA Sustainability Strategy
- Memorandum of Understanding with English Nature
- participation in the BRE Green Guide.
Rather than being reactive, it is important for the Institute, the industry and everyone associated with it to be proactive; successes must be promoted. If the industry as a whole had a budget of £10 million, or 5p a tonne, it would be a start towards a PR campaign that is desperately needed.
Community
As individual companies we do a lot for the communities of which we are a part through donations, action groups, liaison committees, open days, school visits etc, and we must continue to do so. These are golden opportunities to get our message across and to change the public’s perception of the industry. Open days are an excellent way to communicate with our neighbours, providing an opportunity to show them what we do and its importance. But do our senior managers attend? Are they invited? Or is it left to the quarry manager?
You may be surprised at the level of influence many of our neighbours have. How often have we heard a visitor leaving a quarry say: ‘I was surprised….I never realized that!’
We must be mindful too that today’s local communities are, in many cases, different from those of the past — they are made up of incomers, commuters and second-home owners. These are intelligent, well educated and ‘connected’ people who present a different communication challenge. We have to listen to them, and the messages we send out at open days etc have to be tailored to this ‘new’ audience.
Local councillors and MPs are part of these communities too. Their perception is equally important. There are 324 MPs with constituencies that have active quarries. What a political voice there would be if they were all aware of the importance of quarrying!
As an industry we try to minimize the intrusiveness of our activities, which we do quite successfully. To some, however, this can be seen as though we are hiding ourselves away. It is our responsibility to explain what we do and how we operate. We cannot expect the public to understand by some strange process of osmosis.
‘The way forward’ is to communicate and engage with the whole community to the full. The industry must continue with open days and MP and school visits. School children are the next generation, but it is the perception of adults that has to change –– and now!
Branding
Branding is another means of conveying messages. For example, the major companies in the oil industry ensure that their brands portray a clean image of quality, consistency and reliability. These images are important; they have impact and give the public the perception that the oil companies want them to have. That same public can have an influence on issues that affect the quarrying industry, such as planning, environment and transport. Their judgement is based on the image the industry displays. In short, the oil companies have, for a long time, done things better than us.
THE WAY FORWARD
Looking back I am sure that, while we may not like it, the current perception of our industry is principally of our own and our forefathers’ making, but it is within our power to correct it. We have already started and made some progress but we can and must do more.
We are a sector of industry that plans to be around for the next 100 years or more; we have sustainable reserves (as long as we can get permission to use them); and our contribution to UK plc has been consistent and will inevitably remain so. We do not intend to disappear.
In contrast, where is the British textile industry now? Look what has happened to the coal industry, or the motor industry — once the pride of Britain. How many graduates are working at Longbridge now? How many are at Courtaulds, Marconi or British Steel?
We, on the other hand, are in for the long haul. We just have to raise our profile and broadcast the great opportunities that we have to offer. We are, I hope, proud, and want to continue to be proud, of our industry and our careers. We just have to promote it.
Today we are a more attractive industry. There has been a marked improvement in the appearance of many operations through landscaping, the tidying up of entrances and tree-planting. We are also safer, with the HSE reporting a 52% reduction in accidents in the five years to 2004/5. We are recognized as being more environmentally aware, with endorsements from the Environment Agency including ‘the best environmentally managed [industry], under close regulation.’
We just have to communicate the facts. And ‘the way forward’ is just that — good communication, good press and good PR.
We are the ones who can change the ‘perception’ of the industry. We are the way forward. All of us must take responsibility for telling everyone what a satisfying, enjoyable and worthwhile industry quarrying is.
Beliefs and values
If we are to be successful in changing the perception, the industry, the Institute and the trade associations must be committed to a set of beliefs and values. We need to be an industry with codes of conduct and values that we are proud to adopt. These values need to be policed with performance measures that have teeth.
The QPA has worked on and developed ‘core values’ and all its members have signed up to them (fig. 10). This is a start.
It is people, members of the Institute, who will bring these values to life. Perhaps the Institute should adopt these values too, so its members can sign up to them.
Also, we must start to be self-policing, raising awareness of transgressions to the perpetrators. It is only by naming and shaming the perpetrators that we will achieve best practice and ensure that our ‘houses’ are in order both operationally and environmentally, and in terms of planning and engagement with all stakeholders.
It will take time to achieve best practice but we must recognize the good that we do and be prepared to broadcast it. These values and beliefs are the basis of what we communicate. They are what our industry is all about. We must take every opportunity to get the messages across, not just to our communities, schools and legislators, but to businesses, colleges, universities and all areas of the establishment.
The key messages are that we are:
- an essential industry
- socially and environmentally responsible operators
- a valuable and active part of our communities
- committed to the principles of sustainable development
- an industry with excellent and exciting career opportunities.
These messages must be part of everything we do — the same consistent messages in press releases, announcements, trading updates, brochures etc, as well as probably the most powerful medium of all — web sites. All should clearly demonstrate the key messages we need to get across, because unless we change the perception of the industry, government intervention and regulation through planning restrictions could start to strangle it.
The responses to the questions posed show that the perception people have of our industry is wrong. It is not the wages, it is not a lack of stimulating or worthwhile careers (even that smart-alec accountant could have a career with us!). It ought not to be down to our environmental credentials, nor is it the lack of involvement with our communities. It is our PR.
‘The way forward’ is simple — public relations. Communication, good press, good PR. The industry has a great story to tell to societies and institutions. It has to continue to broadcast the key messages at every opportunity, be they:
- better community open days – with senior managers in attendance
- MP’s visits – an opportunity rather than a chore
- recruitment initiatives – better targeted and with wider appeal
- School and college visits
- web sites – with clear and interesting messages and opportunities
- trading updates and press releases.
We have to change the public’s perception if we are to maintain and develop a sustainable business, attract more of the right people and influence the legislators. The industry has to begin to work as one, united behind one set of values that are meaningful and effective, with one objective that is clear, and with one strong message delivering the way forward.
This paper is based on the presentation made by Bill Bolsover, group chief executive officer of Aggregate Industries Ltd, to the Institute of Quarrying’s annual conference symposium in October 2005.
