WhatHouse? Awards 2020 Winner: Hill

In the WhatHouse? Awards 2020, Hill won a selection of awards including a Gold for Best Medium Housebuilder and a Gold for Best Development, as well as being named Housebuilder of the Year.

Group sales and marketing director, Rebecca Littler, explains what these achievements have meant for her and the company.

Congratulations on winning a WhatHouse? Award in 2020. What does the Award mean for your customers?

The reaction we have received from our homebuyers has been fantastic!. We are incredibly committed to supporting our customers and the award wins that Hill have achieved are testament to this. We are thrilled that we have been recognised with such a high accolade.

What inspired you to enter the Awards?

We have been entering the WhatHouse? Awards for many years – not only do they positively showcase our developments, but the awards are also a great industry benchmark amongst other housebuilders. Entering our Oxford development, Mosaics, for example allowed us to demonstrate all the design considerations we’d made, our commitment to creating sustainable schemes, as well as the high-quality finish that each and every home details.

How are the categories you won significant for your company and the wider industry?

Winning Housebuilder of the Year has been a phenomenal achievement for us and winning the award after such an unprecedented year was also a huge accomplishment. Not only is it a great way for us to be able to demonstrate our abilities to customers, it’s also a fantastic boost for Team Hill. All the hard work of the team has paid off and it makes us strive to continue doing what we do. It is also great assurance for our partners and relationships across the business.

Equally, winning the Gold award for Best Development was a brilliant way to highlight everything that we stand for as a housebuilder. Our winning development, Mosaics, is a true reflection of our standards and values, so we are extremely proud that the WhatHouse? judges saw something very special in it.

What are the key qualities and USPs that led to you entering?

Our company vision is all about being trusted by the industry and our buyers, focusing on sustainability within our work, and of course, creating beautiful homes to the highest of standards. Entering our business and homes into the WhatHouse? Awards is an excellent way for us to get independent feedback on how well we are carrying out that vision. The Awards that we achieved in 2020 verified that all our hard work, had paid off.

Did you find it easy to submit an entry?

The whole process of submitting entries is incredibly straightforward, with support from WhatHouse?, available every step of the process. Collating all the information for the entries, really helped to highlight everything that we have achieved over the year, which I think is sometimes easy to overlook if you aren’t making a conscious effort to reflect on how far the business has come.

How does entering the Awards online compare to the pre-pandemic process?

Entering the Awards online has certainly made it easier and is definitely a more eco-friendly submission process. A lot of work goes into preparing the awards and the online process alleviates the pressure of getting the entries printed and delivered in time for the deadline. Albeit it is still lovely to see the printed versions once complete!

What effect did lockdown have on preparing an entry for the 2020 Awards?

2020 was obviously an incredibly difficult year for everyone. Lockdown made us even more determined to make sure our entries were as strong as possible, as we wanted to have something positive to focus on.

Have you had much feedback from other housebuilders about your win?

Everyone in the industry has been really supportive of our awards, and have offered a lot of positive praise about Mosaics and some of our other developments One of the great things about these awards is that you get to showcase your work to other industry leaders, so you know that the feedback is coming from people with years of experience who really know what they are talking about.

What value has winning added to your business?

Winning awards for Housebuilder of the Year and achieving Gold for Best Development is really useful for demonstrating to anyone looking to buy a home that we are able to produce exceptionally high-quality homes. It is also a great source of pride for us as a business, and really motivates us to keep striving for excellence in the future.

It must have been satisfying for everyone at the company – does your achievement help to retain and attract the best people to the team?

We have been in the industry for over 20 years and throughout that time Hill has always had amazing staff that are dedicated to helping the company in its goals. We have Team Hill to thank for this achievement. I think it does help though when vacancies arise, because ambitious people want to work at the best companies and these awards really help us to demonstrate to prospective employees that we are making a big impact in our industry.