Background 

Harworth Group transforms former industrial land into sustainable places where people want to live and work. Managing more than 15,000 acres across 100 sites in the North and Midlands, the company’s 142 employees are central to its purpose and performance.

Following a period of rapid expansion, almost doubling its workforce in five years, Harworth faced the potential for cultural fragmentation between long-serving colleagues (“Old Harworth”) and new hires. Without deliberate intervention this could have risked creating silos, disengagement and a loss of shared identity at a critical time for the business. The company’s ambition to become a £1bn FTSE250 business by 2027 demanded a unified, high-performing culture capable of sustaining growth, innovation and accountability.

Harworth set out to define and embed a new cultural framework that would unite everyone behind a shared vision and values that balanced its entrepreneurial roots with stronger governance and collaboration, building a culture fit for the future.

Approach 

The transformation began with a Culture Insight programme combining data analysis, interviews, surveys and focus groups to map cultural strengths, risks and opportunities. Insights were shared in executive workshops to build alignment and commitment to change.

The employee forum and group leadership committee co-created a new vision, values and behaviours framework, refined through multiple review stages and employee feedback sessions. These values now underpin every aspect of work, from recruitment to recognition.

“By blending legacy and new energy Harworth built one culture of pride, performance and shared purpose”

A refreshed performance management and reward system, Enabling Excellence, introduced Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), regular feedback and transparent progression pathways. Supported by a digital Reward Hub, this system aligns individual performance with company goals and reinforces fairness.

Harworth also invested in leadership capability, training all people managers in high performance, wellbeing and inclusion. A company-wide immersive launch event brought the new culture to life, engaging every employee through interactive storytelling and practical examples. Continuous communication through weekly bulletins, forums and business updates ensures the culture remains visible and evolving.

Outcome

The transformation has delivered measurable cultural and business gains. Harworth achieved a +49 employee Net Promoter Score with 98% proud to work for the company and 97% recommending it as a great place to work. Voluntary turnover fell to 5.4%, 23 points below the sector average. Gender balance improved from 70:30 to 58:42 (male:female), outperforming industry benchmarks.
In 2025, Harworth achieved Investors in People Gold at first assessment, an accolade achieved by fewer than one in three organisations globally. Business performance has followed: the company joined the FTSE250 in 2024 and other financial measures have improved.

Harworth has proven that when culture evolves with purpose and people ownership it becomes the foundation for growth, innovation and pride.

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