John Hayes
Chief Executive, Axis
John Hayes, Chief Executive, and owner of Axis Europe has approaching 35 years experience in the construction industry, having started out as an apprentice bricklayer on leaving school. After 15 years learning his trade in roles that spanned from his initial apprenticeship to contracts manager, John joined Axis in 1991, building the company on the lessons and values he’d learned firsthand.
Never forgetting the start he was given, John has remained a supporter of apprenticeships and initiated Axis’ commitment to employ 10 per cent of its workforce through apprentice and training positions. As a result, today the company helps 45 male and female employees per year develop a career in the trades.
John’s efforts and Axis’ practices have been recognised for encouraging employability within areas of high unemployment by Business in the Community (BITC) and Investors in People. He is an active member of the BITC’s ‘Business Action on Economic Renewal’ team and ‘London Regional Leadership’ team, both seek ways to reduce long-term unemployment and encourage the uptake of apprentices in UK business, as part of their mandate.
We asked John about his leadership role at BITC and why responsible business is important to him and Axis:
Why is responsible business important to your company?
Responsible Business is part of our core values – one of which is community. Most of our work is with Social Housing and we therefore work in a lot of areas of deprivation. There is a clear ethical case for being a responsible business and because of what we do, a clear business case also.
Why did you decide to take a leadership role at BITC? What difference do you think the London team can make?
As a member of both the London Leadership Team and the Business Action on Economic Renewal Leadership Team I want to help to make a difference, inform thought and give some steer and direction from the small company perspective I work in. Clearly there are limits to how much a leadership team can achieve, but it is a great opportunity to garner some ideas and provide some direction on the journey BITC is taking and the issues being addressed. In London, we focus on the issues which are most troubling in the Capital.
What is your vision for London?
London should be the centre of financial activity and it should be safe, prosperous and vibrant. It should continue to be culturally diverse and become more inclusive – with as many people in work and education as possible. London should aspire to be a world leading city.
When we surveyed our Leaders in 2010, they said that an important part of their role was to support future business leaders to have a wider appreciation of business responsibility. How are you supporting the future leaders at your company to be responsible leaders?
I want everyone to be responsible – leadership is only a part of it. I want everyone to work to a premise of a clear set of values; respect, diversity, working well as a team etc. Leaders are no more informed than everyone else.
However, it clearly is important to ensure that the workforce is given opportunities through training and development, which responsible leaders can provide. At Axis, 10% of the workforce comes from apprenticeships – and indeed many current leaders started off in apprenticeships, including myself. Good responsible leadership comes through in action, not words.
What are the future challenges facing your industry and how can responsible business practices help to address them?
The challenges facing my industry are the same challenges facing society. We work predominantly with social housing and therefore face the problems of poverty, employment, lack of opportunities (particularly for 16-24 year olds) and fuel poverty. For us, there is both a business case and an ethical case for addressing these issues.
There is a clear skills shortage in the UK at the moment, so training and development is something which I believe in particular needs to be addressed to make businesses more sustainable.
Now BITC is in its 30th year, how can it scale up its activities?
BITC should broaden its remit and become more inclusive to smaller companies. Small companies make up an important part of UK business and should have a bigger voice within BITC.
I also feel that BITC should be more creative in the way it scales up its activities and raise its profile so that it has a stronger voice which will in turn compel more people to want to join creating a bigger impact.
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