6 Recommendations

This report by the Purpose Coalition has explored Tarmac’s extensive work on levelling upfor the customers, colleagues and the communities it serves.

Upon reviewing the material presented in section 4 of this report, the Purpose Coalition has put together some recommendations on how Tarmac can go even further in delivering social impact.

Share best practice wherever possible

1 | Tarmac can further its impact across the Purpose Goals by sharing best practice wherever possible

Tarmac has shown that it is committed to being a purpose-led organisation and has many examples of best practice that it can share.

Wherever possible Tarmac should share this best practice with its supply chain and others within the sector.

In order to truly take advantage of this good work Tarmac could work with the Purpose Coalition to create a ‘model of best practice’a joined up, holistic and individual approach to levelling up that other organisations can follow.

There is an existing macro levelling up plan provided by the government through its ‘levelling up missions’ but there now needs to be a levelling up plan that individual organisations can follow. This model of best practice could be broken down into the following elements:

Children and young people having the right aspiration (outreach into schools / communities).

Organisations providing knowledge and skills (apprenticeships and skills).

People having the resources to access opportunity (being able to actually get to an interview - money/time).

Opportunities being open (businesses actually having the opportunities and them being accessible to all through open recruitment practices).

Development of a strategic employment pipeline delivering social value

2 | More strategic use of donations

Through its Landfill Communities Fund Tarmac donates significant sums of money to local community projects and teams.

Could these donations be more strategic in terms of targeting specific areas of low socio-economic backgrounds and even develop these donations into part of a wider talent development pipeline.

3 | Targeted work in early years settings

Tarmac also has lots of contact points with children in early years settings, through its work in communities and with schools.

Could this be more strategic and targeted at areas of low socio-economic background around Tarmac sites? There might also be an opportunity to link this outreach with its apprenticeship scheme.

Even further, could the organisation put together a more complete talent development pipeline? Starting from outreach in early years, through to apprentices and then onto careers.

Continue to make progress on gender equality

4 | Lead by example on gender equality

Tarmac as an organisation is already an industry leader in gender equality. As a pioneer, Tarmac must lead by example and continue to dismantle sector stereotypes and focus even further on gender equality.

Within Tarmac, currently 77.8% of applicants identify as male while only 21% of ‘early careers’ applicants identify as female (the industry average is 14%). As a leader within this field, Tarmac has the opportunity to widen its impact through its supply chain and ensure greater education around these issues.

Any current progress and future plans should be shared as a model of best practice to other organisations.

A clear next step for Tarmac in terms of gender equality is committing to a percentage of women in its top pay bands - the percentage of women in Tarmac’s top pay bands was 11.5% in 2021.

Expansion of measurement

5 | Socio-economic background tracking

Tarmac could build upon its commitment to measuring diversity within the workforce. To further understand the backgrounds of its workforce and identify where people are failing to make progress in their careers, Tarmac could begin to measure socio-economic diversity.

The Purpose Coalition runs the Equality of Opportunity Coalition which brings together like-minded organisations who are committed to doing this tracking.

Four questions have been identified to help organisations do this. The questions are:

What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were aged 14?

Which type of school did you attend for the most time between the ages of 11 and 16?

If you finished school after 1980, were you eligible for free school meals at any point during your school years?

Did either of your parents attend university and gain a degree (e.g. BA/BSc or equivalent) by the time you were 18?

Evolving Employee Support

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Cost of living support

As the cost of living crisis worsens, organisation’s will need to increase support packages for employees. This is an ongoing issue and organisation’s will have to implement long-term plans to support staff.

Tarmac can engage with the Purpose Coalition’s Cost of Living Taskforce to explore ways to better support staff, with best practice shared amongst Coalition members.

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Support staff with digital training

Only around 30% of Tarmac employees require digital skills as part of their jobs. However, this is an area where Tarmac could give its employees support to ensure they are ready to progress if the opportunity arises.

Tarmac could ensure its staff have the correct digital skills as the industry begins to change in line with technological advancements. This could include an extension in its e-learning package for employees, as well as provision of equipment if necessary.