Steve Roberts was appointed chief executive of Groundwork North East & Cumbria last year, having worked for the organisation for more than 22 years including as director of Youth, Employment and Skills. The registered charity tackles community poverty, inequality and environmental issues and has operated in the region for more than 35 years.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)?
My first paid job was when I was about 14, working on a milk delivery round. I had to get up at three in the morning, there was me and another lad who had to collect the empties. I didn’t mind the early start, but I hated the smell of sour milk. I can’t remember the hourly rate but it was better paid than a paper round.
In terms of my first career job it was after university when I was still working out what I wanted to do. I volunteered at Groundwork, to get experience in environmental work. It clearly worked given where I am today. I also worked for the British Trust for Volunteers for six months, again on a volunteering basis, to get much-needed experience. My first salaried job was with Banks Mining Group, in their geology department. My job was to develop a cataloguing system for deep mine plans. Before I got the job, they asked if I was familiar with Microsoft Access. I wasn’t, but I got a book on it, and spent the weekend teaching myself the program. The job didn’t pay much at around £6,000 per year but it evolved into all sorts of different areas, from environmental monitoring to community relations – skills that I have used throughout my career with Groundwork.
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What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? One of my old bosses advised me to focus on strategy and development rather than managing the minutiae of day to day activity. Getting the front end strategy in place provides the framework to allow others to concentrate on the doing, and ensures that things are done correctly.
Another great piece of advice was given to me by my former boss, and predecessor, Groundwork North East & Cumbria’s CEO, Kate Culverhouse. She advised me not to waste time trying to second-guess solutions, and provide answers for multiple permeations on the same issue. It is clearly a personality trait to try to plan for every eventuality and to cover all potential bases but she wisely advised that this is not always possible, and instead, if it feels right, it often is and to trust my gut instincts!
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? The main changes have been a cultural and societal shift that has brought Groundwork’s agenda front and centre in today’s society. I describe it as our agenda ‘coming home’. There is a greater understanding of the issues we were set up to tackle; poverty, inequality and the environment with our work very much in vogue. For a long time our work was seen as peripheral, a ‘nice to have’, and something that businesses would do, or consider, if they had spare budget,
Now tackling these issues is mission critical to most organisations regardless of sector. The challenge we now face is for Groundwork to be heard amidst the noise of newcomers and to ensure that our knowledge and expertise is recognised and used, and that we lead the movement.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? Every cloud has a silver-lining, and there was opportunity in the pandemic. Not to diminish, or forget the human toll wreaked by Covid, but the pandemic was perhaps the best single thing to happen to the environment in human history.
The roads were quiet, the skies were clear and nature began to return to the towns allowing people to breathe easier. In terms of approach to work, we developed a highly successful hybrid model at Groundwork with people splitting their time between working from home and being in the office. We recognise that one size definitely does not fit all and have tried to develop a flexible, bespoke system that works best for job roles and suits personal preference. Giving people freedom and autonomy to decide the best they work is much more effective and delivers better results. We try to accommodate whatever works for our staff and trust them to get the job done.
Who is your role model in business? I don’t have a famous hero or heroine who I look up to in business. Instead, I aspire to emulate certain characteristics and traits of many of the people I work with now, and those I have worked with during my career, including line managers, friends and colleagues. Recognising a positive trait in others often spurs me on to try to develop these attributes. I don’t want to be anyone in their entirety, but I would like to cherry pick the best bits from a lot of different people. My aim would be to create a better version of me.
What would your dream job be? My dream job hasn’t changed much since I was young when I wanted to be a forest ranger. I have always known that I wanted diversity in my job and to work in the environment and outdoors making a positive difference, so my role at Groundwork comes close to my ideal.
I used to want to run a tip, a Household Waste Recycling Centre. I love rummaging through tips and my first house was largely furnished from the tip at Pity Me in Durham. Tables, mirrors, parts of the bed and the vacuum cleaner, I picked up all sorts. I still believe wholeheartedly in the circular economy and rescuing and reusing things to stop them going to landfill, but I have abandoned my pipedream of running a Recycling Centre.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Volunteer! Say yes to opportunities, ask for opportunities, for jobs and experience and make your ambitions known. Don’t be shy about asking for work, for advice and for support. If you let people know what you want to do, where you want to work, and your aspirations, the likelihood is that people will want to help you achieve your goals. Shy Bairns get Nowt.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? I remember returning to the region after travelling to Australia, seeing the green fields of England, and landing in Newcastle to hear the voices again and feeling like I’d come home. I feel the people are my kin. The North East is the ideal place to strike a good work/life balance with award-winning coast and countryside on our doorstep. I live in Durham and love being in the centre of the North East with easy access to Northumberland, the Peak District, Lake District, North York Moors literally on our doorstep, an hour’s drive away.
As well as the ‘out of office’ opportunities, the region provides a relatively small pond in which to do business, which means it is a manageable size with a healthy mix of people you know, combined with a regular flow of new blood. It is neither too small, nor too big and offers the right balance and environment for doing business.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? Crucial. It is a given that business plays a role in society because economic productivity impacts on society. Businesses should strive to make a positive impact on society, tackling income disparity and helping spread equality and diversity. Businesses also need to recognise their impact on the health and well-being of society. If done well, businesses can affect society for the good making a positive contribution to their workers’ sense of purpose and identity, enhancing their reason for being and positively re-enforcing their contribution to society. Done badly, the negative consequences can be dire.
Businesses also need to recognise their environmental responsibilities and ensure that they are fulfilling their obligations. Businesses are slowly waking up to the fact that being environmentally conscious, and not wasting precious resources, is good for the bottom line, as well as being beneficial for the environment.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I can wiggle my ears (independently), a skill I shared with my granddad and, I believe, with Stan Laurel. I am also good at games…any game involving strategy and skill e.g. Go, the ancient Chinese board game, or Carrom, from India.
Another talent that I honed whilst at University in Manchester was the art of juggling, a skill my brother and I put to good use performing impromptu juggling demonstrations at raves in and around Manchester in the early 90’s. As a chief executive, I have gone from literal to metaphorical ball juggling, heading up the multi-faceted community and environmental charity, Groundwork North East & Cumbria.
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