SMD Ltd

SMD are a specialist floor and roofing sub-contractor within the construction sector where since 1987 they’ve been shaping the skyline of Britain, helping to form iconic buildings we all know. Jade Bessent, HR Manager at the company tells us a little about the company and how Croner have helped bring their pay systems up to date:

“We are on a mission to be the UK’s leading provider of Structural Flooring and Roofing Solutions to the construction industry, along with expanding our brand and products internationally, ensuring a focus on Safety, Innovation, and the Environment.”

“Since joining SMD last year, it became clear that there was a need for transparent salary gradings for each role. Employees were benchmarking their pay by searching their job titles into Indeed etc, against roles advertised in companies with completely different industries, turnovers, or role responsibilities to SMD. Without a clear pay structure, we weren’t able to show them what they could achieve, or more importantly, how. This meant we were not getting the most of our employees’ abilities and they were frustrated and confused about how to progress within the business.

I started looking into pay bandings and it was only after doing some research that I realised how complex it could be. That’s when I started to look for external assistance. We went to 3 companies and had initial conversations with each, it became clear that Croner had the most amount of benchmarking data and a simple but effective system in place with the right support and guidance.

“In that initial call with Adam Turner we went through all the role profiles in the business. He took time to understand how our business functioned and each of the roles within it. The time he spent doing this made the process so much easier because he really understood each position before we began to assess them. It was if I had somebody in-house working on this with me.

“He took me through a scoring matrix and we worked together to understand what each role would score within the different elements. Adam was so helpful, and nothing was too much trouble. He also helped me assess our appraisal system and make sure it was in line with our new scoring. His knowledge and expertise really helped in that regard.

“Any type of change in a business can be met with resistance. Adam spent time explaining how to introduce the system to our employees and even gave us letter templates and guides to ensure everyone was onboard and understood how the process worked it was announced. It worked—we had no appeals, and everyone is happy with a system that is completely non subjective and transparent.

I’m excited that this system will allow us to not only retain and talent within the business but is also a great way to show candidates during recruitment that we are invested in the growth of our employees, understand the value each role can bring to the business and that this is somewhere they can stay and grow! I’d recommend Croner, and Adam, to anybody looking for pay-grading services. It’s objective, it’s efficient, and it alleviates tension.”