Paul's Story

Paul’s member journey began with a conversation with Greystone Director, Phil Hodgson.

“I specifically remember being impressed with the amount of time that Phil took to understand my needs. He spent a good couple of hours on the phone with me initially, really going under-the-bonnet of my career to establish what I wanted moving forward.” Paul says.

“The whole recruitment process with Greystone was a really positive experience and I now utilise their expertise when it comes to hiring myself.”

Greystone made sure that Paul understood the extent of the work we were about to undertake for him and we communicated throughout the entire process, every step of the way. We executed Paul’s brief in a sensitive, timely and effective manner; outlining each business we approached to Paul to ensure he felt our previous conversations were fully understood.

Within 2 weeks, Paul had seen 3 companies where his aspirations were fully taken in to account and had 3 offers. When it was time to make a decision, he chose Ramboll.

Three years on, we caught up with Paul and asked why he chose Ramboll over the other two offers, and this is what he said:

“Ramboll just felt like the better fit. They are a multi-national, multi-disciplinary business that offered everything I was looking for and more.

At the time I joined, whilst the business was very large, my team was still fairly small at around 35 people, so there was lots of room to grow. Ramboll has historically been known more so for structural engineering rather than building services itself, so it’s always been about building what we want to achieve in the future in this discipline. There’s just so much headroom to grow with the support of a large organisation; and it’s exciting to be able to make an impact and build the Ramboll name in Buildings.

In March 2020 when the pandemic really took hold, Ramboll handled it really well. Information was shared across the business openly and honestly. Most people were already well equipped to work from home as we hotdesk around the office with our laptops, but for those who needed equipment, Ramboll made sure it was provided. Now that things are relatively back to normal, they’ve implemented a hybrid working scheme in to our contracts so that staff have flexibility around their place of work. Ramboll is also a very flexible employer, we are not bound to a strict 9-5 working pattern.

They really believe in their people having work-life balance. I came from what I’d call quite a macho background, where Directors were expected to work 60+ hours a week. But at Ramboll, there’s no expectation like that. The company genuinely believes that the right balance should be struck.

The business remained really strong during the pandemic. Where it’s a foundation owned business, there aren’t any shareholders, so they don’t have to protect profits in the same way a PLC would. Some temporary measures were put in place which are now back to normal, but because of the way it was handled, not one person was made redundant across the entire business which speaks volumes in my opinion. The business’s people first approach is truly genuine and the care for their staff’s well-being is incomparable.

Ramboll have definitely come out of the pandemic stronger. We’re in a really good place company-wide which I think shows by the 30+ vacancies we are looking to fill.

It’s a very attractive company to work for. There is a huge focus on inclusivity, equality and diversity; and Ramboll don’t just talk-the-talk, they walk it. Our Managing Director, Philippa Spence, displays huge passion and commitment to driving positive change and to ensuring Ramboll is a diverse and inclusive business where everyone is valued and can be their true self.

We’re not just a diverse business in terms of gender, we’re also diverse in terms of background. Ramboll thrives on different cultures, backgrounds, nationalities. Everyone has different ways of thinking and problem solving and it just makes for a better business.

There’s no template for what a Ramboll employee looks like, so you can almost create a role for yourself in a sense. If you want to be tech focused, back of house, coding and driving digital designs then you can do that. If you’re more of a people person or a leader, then you can do that. Or you can mix roles. The fluidity to move around, learn, develop, even work internationally - opportunities are endless.

Another reason I chose Ramboll is because they are really positioning themselves as a sustainable consultant. Sustainability is always at the heart of everything we do; not only exemplary design but also the commitment to help employees live more sustainable lifestyles where we are a member of the Count Us In platform, and we also have an active Making a Difference employee network who connect our people with charities driving sustainability.

It’s just all round fantastic. A great match made by Greystone that I am truly grateful for and I look forward to welcoming more bright minds to my team in London.