Co-director Andy Burrows outlines the company’s focused and flexible approach to client projects. When a client, particularly a small-to-medium business, needs construction-related cost and project management support, finances can be a concern. Unlike their larger counterparts, SMEs can’t always hire a full-time employee to handle their construction projects, so aside from being a stressed-out owner-driver, […]
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Co-director Andy Burrows outlines the company’s focused and flexible approach to client projects.
When a client, particularly a small-to-medium business, needs construction-related cost and project management support, finances can be a concern.
Unlike their larger counterparts, SMEs can’t always hire a full-time employee to handle their construction projects, so aside from being a stressed-out owner-driver, what’s the answer? Namely, hiring the services of a truly flexible consultancy like Vision Construction and Consultancy, a Yorkshire-based business that values the needs of smaller clients, offering a plethora of services from the pre-construction stage through to completion and beyond.
“Our offering is unique because we integrate our staff into our client’s business as if we were employed from them directly,” explains co-director and chartered quantity surveyor, Andy Burrows. “We also offer them flexibility on time spent plus a wide array of expertise that might not be available to them due to the cost of taking on a staff member full time.”
Aside from being able to service contractors, clients and designers in “all markets on a flexible basis,” the RICS-accredited firm is focused on helping its clients prosper. “We look to support our partners in their business growth by using our network of contacts to generate leads and convert additional work for them,” he adds.
Launched in 2015, Burrows, who had previously worked for a large national contractor, initially envisioned operating the new company on a freelance basis. However, so evident was the demand from smaller clients for flexible and effective cost management services, that he set up Vision Construction and Consultancy as a limited business with a team of staff.
The next high point came in 2018 when fellow quantity surveyor and project consultant, Greg Houseman joined as a director and partner and merged the business with his Houseman Cost Consultants company. This led to a healthy growth in sales – 150% in just a year, enabling them to employ six new members of staff in the process. “It was the sharpest growth increase we had and laid the foundation for the business that we are today,” beams Burrows.
Like any scaling enterprise, challenges have come, such as the task of “managing the ability to meet the demand that has been placed upon us to ensure the client’s requirements are met on time and to their expectations.” While demand, in Burrows’ words, has “generally been greater than our ability to supply,” which evidences the firm’s stellar reputation, when Vision commits to a project, the best delivery of service possible is always top of the list, with staff “willing to go the extra mile.”
Within the workforce, there’s a synergy of purpose that runs from the management team to the staff at the coalface, “we are fortunate to have a team who share the same values and work ethic meaning that the company goals are addressed as quickly and efficiently.”
Such a connected, hardworking team is something to be treasured, however, this very advantage makes recruiting new talent challenging, including “finding new staff who fit our very specific profile.” The talent and ability of the existing team also means that while Burrows and Houseman largely find and secure work, they can effectively delegate and assign the team the bulk of the workload with full confidence that delivery will be top-shelf.
According to Burrows, there’s much to be excited about on the horizon, “we recently had some exciting appointments with new clients in the green energies markets and housing developments which will provide us with an excellent base of repeat business from which we can look to grow our team again.” Looking to the longer term, the five-year plan is to “steadily grow the business” via “fruitful long-term partnerships with clients as we historically have done.” Well, the horizon certainly looks bright for Vision Construction & Consultancy…
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