Hi all,

March safety reset

As mentioned in my last update, in March we rolled out a safety reset across our sites with a focus on re-inducting our people into revised standard operating procedures (SOPs) as well as reviewing and updating site specific Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS). A big thank you to all staff who patiently and actively participated in this reset and provided feedback. Moving forward, we’re continuing to focus on how we can increase management visibility and engagement on our sites, including the review and refresh of our inspection and audit processes and tools. As part of the broader technology and systems review underway, we’re also looking at the digitalisation of our HSEQ processes and tools and will have more to say on this in the coming months.

International Women's Day (IWD) recap

Last month we celebrated IWD, and at head office had the opportunity to hear from Lauren Couter, a Director of Construction Control, about her journey to becoming an industry leader. What I found interesting was hearing about the changes Lauren has witnessed, from ensuring appropriate amenities on site and the removal of offensive material, to the strategies Lauren finds effective in promoting female participation, including mentoring, creating opportunities or “dropping down the ladder”, and calling out poor behaviours. If you would like to view a recording of Lauren’s speech and Q&A, it will be made available shortly.

At Star Group, like the broader industry, if I look at the numbers on female participation above, we still have plenty of room for growth, and our first focus is on engaging and retaining the great women we have in the business today. Reflecting on the past 12 months, some achievements I think are worth highlighting include:

• Establishment of the D&I Committee, a dedicated forum with senior management, site, and office representation to discuss initiatives to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Incorporating inclusion & diversity training into our enterprise agreements.
• Establishing a new performance appraisal process including learning & development planning for our salaried staff.
• Participation in the Multiplex Jumpstart Program which encourages women into construction.
• Becoming a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

Looking forward, we have identified a number of focus areas, some which are already underway:

• Reviewing our policies, in particular Star Group’s paid parental leave scheme.
• Reviewing the performance appraisal and development process for our wages staff.
• Establishing a mentoring program.
• Student outreach and engagement to promote the perception of the construction industry as a place where women can pursue a successful career.
  

New Business

For March, a congratulations again to our Service business who have capped off a strong first quarter with the win of upgrade works at Alexandria Fire Brigade. This win, in addition to those mentioned in my February update, takes their total works won so far in 2024 to approx. $8m, a tremendous result. Elsewhere in the business we continue to tender on a diversified pipeline of work across sectors.

Performance review process for salaried staff

March also largely concluded the roll out of our new performance appraisal process for salaried employees. Thank you to all appraisers and staff for getting involved in this which I hope facilitated quality conversations about performance and development in a more structured way. Ryan Davey will soon be sharing a short anonymous survey to our salaried staff for feedback about the process to help inform future improvements. As mentioned previously, we will be reviewing this process for wages staff in the near future.

Humpty Dumpty Foundation Balmoral Burn 

Finally, it’s that time of year again to start the call up for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation’s Balmoral Burn event on 26 May. As you may know, Humpty is our principal charity partner, recognising the alignment in the work we do in delivering and maintaining public health infrastructure and Humpty’s mission to ensure every Australian child has access to the healthcare they need. Over the years we’ve donated 20 items of essential children’s medical equipment across 19 hospitals and health services along Australia’s eastern seaboard. Last year’s Burn was our biggest yet, with 49 participants taking on the 420m racecourse on Sydney’s steepest street and $35,000 donated by the Group.

This year, in recognition of it being Star Group’s 10th anniversary of supporting Humpty, and the tremendous staff participation at the Burn over the past two years, I’m excited to announce we’re increasing our commitment to the event as a Tier 1 Sponsor, which for those attending means our own dedicated marquee to congregate and celebrate on the day.

If you’d like to learn more, please watch the short videos below and look out for further communications from Anneliza on how you can get involved. Importantly, the event isn’t just for runners, you can come watch, bring the kids, and enjoy a great day out in support of sick kids in hospital around the country.

Cheers,
John 

John Andrews
Group CEO