Company values become meaningful through the decisions people experience at work. For Trant Engineering, employee feedback showed that its existing values no longer fully reflected the organisation or the culture it wanted to develop.

The construction and engineering business used that feedback to begin a wider culture programme. In its submission to The SHE Show Inspiring Change Awards 2026, Trant describes how the refreshed values of Care, Trust, Respect and Sustainability are being connected to training, leadership practice and employee voice.

Surveys and engagement activity provided the starting point. Employees helped identify what mattered to them and the behaviours they believed should characterise the business. This gave the refresh a basis in people’s experience and highlighted the gap between a statement of intent and its day-to-day application.

Trant then developed training to explore what the values mean in practical situations. Discussions considered how they should influence conversations, relationships, accountability and decisions. The aim was to give employees a shared language for recognising and discussing behaviour across different teams and roles.

Leaders and managers received dedicated development because their actions strongly influence what others see as acceptable or valued. The programme encouraged them to consider how decisions are made, how they communicate expectations and how their behaviour is experienced by the people they manage.

This placed responsibility on leaders to demonstrate the values themselves. Training was supported by continued communication and the expectation that values would feature in management practice and everyday conversations. The approach seeks consistency between the messages employees receive and the actions they see.

By the time of its September 2026 submission, Trant reported that more than 350 employees had completed Core Values training. It also recorded 90% completion of the leadership programme and 100% participation from the senior management team. These figures demonstrate substantial reach and visible involvement at senior level.

Employee voice was reinforced through a dedicated Speak Up campaign. The intention was to help colleagues raise concerns, suggest improvements and challenge behaviours that do not reflect the values. This creates a further way to test whether the intended culture is being experienced across the business.

Trant reports increases in both incident reporting and positive safety observations. It interprets these as signs of greater openness and willingness to contribute. Reporting volumes alone cannot establish a change in safety performance, but they provide information that teams can use to identify concerns, recognise effective practice and direct follow-up.

The programme also connects cultural expectations with future leadership capability. Future Star and Talent Leadership development programmes provide pathways for emerging talent, with the aim of ensuring that people taking on greater responsibility can model the same values. This extends the work beyond the current management team.

Trant describes the values as increasingly present in performance conversations, mentoring and decision-making. Its submission also recognises that consistent application across a growing organisation needs continuing attention. Participation in training creates a foundation; the longer-term test is what colleagues experience when priorities compete or a difficult conversation is required.

For the wider SHE community, Trant’s experience offers a practical link between employee feedback and leadership responsibility. People helped shape the values, training explored their meaning and leaders were expected to apply them. Continuing to seek feedback gives the organisation a way to test that connection and address differences between its ambitions and everyday working life.

Based on Trant Engineering’s submission and supporting materials for The SHE Show Inspiring Change Awards 2026. Participation figures and programme progress are as reported in September 2026.