New head of finance an example of staff diversity

October 5, 2018 / Keith Osborne
New head of finance an example of staff diversity

With her recent promotion at BDW Cambridgeshire, the most recent division of Barratt Developments, Nirali Patel sees herself as a great example of the leading housebuilder’s support of staff diversity.

She was originally attracted to working for Barratt through its reputation for nurturing talent from within. After three years in the position of regional accountant at the East Region, Nirali is now head of finance at the new Peterborough-based office. This next step is not just a demonstration of growing its leadership talent from within – she believes she’s a role model showing very well how the company actively gives equal opportunity to the best staff from all cultures.

“I believe Barratt Developments encourages diversity at every stage of an employee’s journey from advertising and promoting job opportunities at university job fairs to empowering and educating employees once they are a part of the company for them to develop and reach their potential,” she says.

“Diversity is an important constituent of any good workplace. It helps with employee engagement, creativity and brings a variety of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. It also demonstrates commitment to all employees and it is important for any company to continue to evolve and to recognise and respond to the changing environment around them.”

Like many housebuilders, Barratt needs the right people, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion and background, to perform a varied range of roles onsite and offsite in sales, finance and technical jobs.

Nirali continues: “Rarely would any company be able to offer the variety of roles offered by Barratt Homes. It has something to offer for everyone and the work is not limited to your specific role, there is integrated working among the teams which allows you to gain knowledge in so many business areas.”

The new head of finance is a great example of the company’s staff policy, believes Adam Knight, managing director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Cambridgeshire. He says: “Working within the construction industry can be a very rewarding career, with opportunities across a wide range of disciplines for a variety of different people.

“We are delighted that Nirali has settled into her new role with our new division and that she has recognised the career progression opportunities available.”

Did you like this? Share it: