Building more diverse and productive National Highways
In 2021, National Highways partnered with Leeds University Business School to explore whether stronger diversity and inclusion (D&I) practices could improve not only workplace culture but also the performance of major infrastructure projects.
This study – the first of its scale in the highways construction sector – offers real-world evidence of the value of D&I in industry.
It shows that D&I is not an optional extra; it’s a strategic investment that strengthens performance, decision-making and competitiveness.
Read the full research storyImpact
- Embeds diversity and inclusion in the highways construction sector, showing the value of D&I not only to people, but also to industry.
Key information
- Major funders: Innovate UK, National Highways
- Partners and collaborators: National Highways, University of Reading
- Disciplines: business, EDI, construction
- Investigators: Professor Jennifer Tomlinson, Dr Danat Valizade, Dr Kathryn Watson, Dr Jack Daly, Jaejin Lee, and Dr Cheryl Hurst (University of Reading).
A business case for D&I
The construction sector faces ongoing challenges in both its workplace culture and its productivity. Not only are there barriers to inclusion for underrepresented groups such as women, but there are also skills and labour shortages in the industry, due to outdated practices and an ageing workforce.
National Highways commissioned researchers at Leeds University Business School to work on an Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) project for its supply chains. Its aim was to explore whether improved EDI would lead to better productivity.
After holding focus groups with National Highways and its supply chain, the team implemented D&I initiatives into two of its Regional Investment Programmes.
The initiatives focused on changing the systems within the programmes, rather than influencing individual behaviours. They were based on research and tailored to the realities of construction work as well as the specific National Highways programmes.
Improving belonging, trust, and staff turnover
Researchers analysed data before and after the interventions to uncover their impact on core performance indicators such as recruitment, skill mix, retention, and productivity.
The organisation faced persistent challenges to diversity and inclusion for staff, such as lack of diversity within senior management, high staff turnover, and concerns about employers’ commitment to equality.
Outcomes showed that the D&I interventions could address the challenges. Focus groups and interviews that followed them showed that employees benefited from a more diverse workforce. There was a 42% improvement in job satisfaction and a 21% reduction in turnover intention.
The organisation also benefited. Results showed that the organisation saved over £200,000 per year on recruitment, and that project performance improved.
The team created a roadmap and toolbox for National Highways, which supports them to expand the D&I initiatives across programmes and projects and further improve workplace culture and performance.
Expanding D&I across the sector
Through this analysis, the study provides data on how EDI interventions might improve performance and productivity within National Highways’ supply chain and the construction sector more widely. As the industry has been identified as needing to improve EDI to achieve a sustainable future, this work is key.
This work also provides knowledge for other government departments to embed EDI best practice in their supply chains.
Professor Jennifer Tomlinson, Dr Danat Valizade and Dr Jack Daly have since been awarded a Management Knowledge Transfer Partnership by Innovate UK and National Highways to continue the research.
They will embed the toolbox of D&I initiatives in the highways construction sector, gain feedback from different types of companies, and adapt the initiatives to make them applicable to the entire supply chain.