National House-Building Council

NHBC has been setting the standard for new-home quality and consumer protection since 1936 — founded to raise professionalism in house building at a time when rapid growth was outpacing quality. Nearly nine decades of expertise had built an unrivalled reputation, placing NHBC as the undisputed market leader in new-home warranties. But the housing industry was changing fast, and the leadership team knew that heritage alone wouldn't carry them forward. They needed a culture framework strong enough to align 1,300 people behind a clear ambition, and an employee value proposition compelling enough to win the talent race against bigger, louder competitors for talent in the construction industry, which was snapping up its technical talent.

We began with an extensive discovery phase: 24 senior stakeholder interviews and 745 survey responses, representing 59% of the workforce — to build a rigorous evidence base. That foundation informed a decision to strengthen NHBC's existing values with a clear set of behaviours; and to develop a culture blueprint and People Promise that colleagues could recognise as their own. Working closely with the Executive Committee, we co-created a time-stamped vision that filled a genuine gap in NHBC's strategic narrative, and brought senior leaders into alignment on the company's long-term direction. Concurrently, we developed and validated a new People Promise, designed to support both retention and recruitment across key talent audiences – with an operationalisation plan to activate the EVP across the full employee lifecycle. We developed a ‘live’ digital roadmap — learning modules, workshops, a country-wide roadshow and an embedded culture champion network — designed to ensure the framework shaped day-to-day behaviours, not just internal communications.