The Effect of the downturn on our people

Like every company, Crest Nicholson has been affected by the general economic downturn and we have been particularly affected by the way that the lack of availability of finance and drop in consumer confidence has affected the housebuilding industry. This forced us to make significant numbers of redundancies throughout the business during 2008.

We recognise that this is a traumatic event for those involved and we have tried to support all of them as best we can.

Crest strived to ensure that fair processes, based on best practice, were applied consistently across the Group. We consulted every individual affected and sought to re-deploy people where we could. Where this was not possible, we helped those who regrettably had to leave the business with free access to an outplacement service. This provided support in areas such as CV and interview preparation and job-seeking techniques. We received very positive feedback about this service.

Not only those who leave are affected

A redundancy process is a very unsettling and distracting process for everyone in the business. During the process, many people fear they will lose their job and yet have to perform. After the process is over, those who remain cannot immediately put the whole process behind them. They will have lost trusted colleagues, and may be adjusting to new responsibilities, increased workload, or be working with new colleagues. They may quite naturally continue to reflect on their own job security and career.

We have done our best to be sensitive to this and to offer ongoing support.

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