Understand the culture
Every employee, from every site, function and level, joined one of 11 off-site workshops. Sentiment analysis captured what the values meant in employees’ own words, while bespoke illustrations brought each value to life.
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Workplace culture · Case study
Transforming culture through values, leadership and engagement
How AG reconnected more than 220 people across multiple sites around a shared culture, and made its values part of everyday decisions.
- 220+
- employees involved
- 11
- off-site workshops
- 4
- programme phases
The challenge
A business case for change.
AG is a family-run manufacturer and distributor of walling, paving and facing brick, operating across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. Growth through acquisition had created a fractured identity across the business.
Employees did not feel connected to AG’s values of Customer Care, Innovation, Integrity, Sustainability and Wellbeing. Those values were not yet guiding everyday decisions or consistently shaping the employee experience. To deliver its ambition to lead the market in sustainable building products, AG needed a unified, purpose-led culture.
The approach
Insight turned into everyday action.
Embed values across the employee lifecycle
&Evolve worked with HR and the Board to review onboarding, management, promotion and development through the lens of the values. The engagement survey was rebuilt around individual value indices.
Develop leaders
All managers and leaders completed a four-month development programme shaped by the cultural diagnosis, combining monthly face-to-face workshops with online action-learning and pre- and post-programme skills assessments.
Measure what matters
AG launched Rock Solid Voices, a redesigned engagement survey that measures each value and turns the findings into action plans and Personal Development Plans for every leader.
The results
- 2025
- Personnel Today Workplace Culture Award winner
- Every day
- values are now heard in decision-making
- All
- salaried and hourly colleagues received development plans
Lasting impact
Change that stayed in the business.
The programme strengthened leaders’ confidence in building trust, creating cohesive teams and improving collaboration. It also established practical rituals that keep the values visible: monthly Rock Solid Values meetings, Employee Appreciation Day, enhanced long-service awards, the Unsung Hero Award and the company-wide Rock Solid Round Up.
The work was recognised with the Personnel Today Workplace Culture Award 2025, but its most important legacy is inside the business: employees own the culture, leaders have clear measures and expectations, and the values now shape how AG recognises, develops and makes decisions about its people.
“Twelve months ago, it was rare to hear people talk about our values. Now every day I hear examples of people using them when making decisions. The value you get from such a project is truly immense!”
“Their programme has had a profound impact on our people, strengthening capability, confidence and culture across the organisation.”
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