7 Reasons to Work at Barbour ABI

Posted by Barbour ABI on 20th August 2020 -

At Barbour ABI, we are always looking for talented people who can share in our goals and help contribute to our successes. With more than 10 colleagues having hit the 25 years’ service milestone and with the average service length being almost 9 years amongst 140+ colleagues, we must be doing something right!

But why should you come and work with us? Here are 7 reasons you may want to consider when applying for a role at Barbour ABI.

Make a Difference

As the market leader in construction intelligence, our information makes a huge difference to a diverse range of businesses, who rely on the data to help them grow. And, every single team member plays a valuable role in ensuring the intelligence we provide our customers is the best in the business. Whilst we are always investing in our technology, we believe that it is our people and their relationships that make the biggest difference to the information we provide. That’s why we have invested in the largest UK based research team in our market. Our experienced in-house team tracks every planning application and thousands of non-planning projects across the UK and knows the decision makers and key people behind every project.

Charity Work

You won’t only be making a difference in a business sense. Barbour ABI take part in numerous fundraising events for different charities in the North West. Every year we have taken part in Informa’s ‘Walk the World’ fundraiser, an event which encourages colleagues to take part in a company-wide walk for a chosen charity. This year, we raised over £1500 for Cheshire Young Carers, even with restrictions in place. Plus, if you manage to raise £150 yourself, you will be rewarded with an extra day’s holiday. As part of Informa, we also allow up to 4 paid days a year to take part in volunteer work.

“The charity work that we do here is amazing. Taking part in group fundraisers is such a great way to bring everybody together and help our local causes.”
Harry – Marketing Executive – 1 year working with Barbour ABI

Personal Development

There is always room for improvement, even if you think you know everything there is you need to know. As a team we thrive on pushing people further and believe there is never too much you can learn. We like to keep you on your toes and are always willing to provide you with any training and development. Our management teams want to see you succeed and will offer any help and support that you need in order to do achieve at the role you are doing, as well as provide you with career growth opportunities.
If that isn’t enough, Informa offer their own internal training courses as well as full access to LinkedIn Learning for all employees. Barbour ABI is a constantly evolving business and there are always different opportunities opening up within each department. We can provide you with a varied, exciting with lots of progression opportunities along the way.

“I really enjoy the variety of my role working with customers, plus it is motivating to work towards achieving/exceeding targets to earn good bonuses”
Wayne – Client Management – 8 years working with Barbour ABI

Location

Did you know that Barbour ABI is one of Informa’s only businesses in the North of England? With predominantly most of Informa’s companies based in London and the South, we are proud to fly the flag for the North West and provide construction data on a national level. Our office is only a 15-minute drive from Chester and is conveniently located near Cheshire Oaks Shopping Centre, so you can get a bite to eat or fit in a bit of shopping on your lunch break. With free onsite parking as well as being only a short walk away from the nearest bus stop, getting to our offices shouldn’t be an issue for you.

Personal Approach

We’re a very friendly bunch at Barbour ABI and we like to show it. We prefer a much more personal approach towards communicating with our customers and clients, whether that be phone calls, face-to-face appointments or the new norm, Zoom calls. We prefer to add a voice and a face to the services that our customers are using. You will get the opportunity to talk to all sorts of interesting people from different walks of life and help them benefit from our system through direct communication. Despite the introduction of remote working, we have made sure that our teams can still provide that excellent customer service that we are known for and chat directly to those that are the most important, our customers.

“I enjoy adapting my approach to suit the different customers and situations I deal with allows people to engage with me in a friendly and professional manner, building fantastic rapport and a level of respect and credibility.”
Ali – New Sales – 27 years working with Barbour ABI

Team Environment

As said above, we are a very personable business and that isn’t just externally. Our office is always buzzing with conversation and collaboration. We want to see everybody succeed and by helping each other, we achieve that. With two large open plan office floors, it couldn’t be easier to nip over to a colleague’s desk and ask them for advice on a project your working on or what they thought of the football last night. Even with most of our staff currently working from home, we’ve worked hard to make sure nobody is feeling isolated. With daily calls between teams, regular company-wide quizzes and also some amazing guest speakers, we try our best to make everybody feel included.

“Hearing Helen Richardson-Walsh, MBE speak about the journey of her Olympic gold-medallist winning hockey team was truly inspiring. She also had some great advice about how we could pull together and maximise results in the challenging landscape of lockdown”
Neil – Research Manager – 8 years working with Barbour ABI

Informa

We have already mentioned Informa a few times, but you are probably wondering who they are? Formed back in 1998, through growth and acquisition Informa has become a leading international events and intelligence group and a member of FTSE 100, with over 11,000 colleagues working in more than 30 countries. Back in 2018, Informa acquired global events company UBM and so Barbour ABI became part of the Informa family. Informa is a people business. The strength and value they create for customers, specialist markets and shareholders comes from the ideas and contributions of the colleagues they attract, hire and develop. Informa are continually investing in their colleagues and culture so that they remain a dynamic, modern and welcoming place to work. By promoting a supportive, diverse and inclusive environment, our colleagues can use their energy and ambition to make a difference at work and within the community.

“My colleagues, the environment (we are spoilt here), the high-quality products and services and perks are brilliant. Also, knowing we are part of a large and successful organization is reassuring, especially in times like this.”
Nathalie – Client Management – 16 years working with Barbour ABI

If you’re still not convinced, why not take a look at all of our employee testimonials here and see what our colleagues think about working here. For more information about working for Barbour ABI along with any vacancies we may have, click here.