AgilityFest 2025 - You asked, we answered

The One Stop Shop brings together our collective abilities here at AgilityEco with joint objectives of adding value to our existing clients across all business areas and securing new work. The broad range of activities we carry out, including Retrofit Services and our Community Schemes, gives us an edge over the vast majority, if not all, of our competitors. One Stop Shop is how we take advantage of this, it's likely to start as a couple of pilots initially to ensure that any impact the project has on your day job is a positive one.

Answered by: Jenny Boyce, Community Schemes Director

Our underlying principles remain the same; we are an ethical business focused on doing the right thing for low-income households, while acting in an entrepreneurial manner. What has changed is the evolution of our capabilities; we are now better equipped to serve our clients, suppliers and end customers.

Answered by: Shueb Ali, Chief Commercial Officer

Salesforce will go live in tranches, with retrofit projects and surveying scheduled for September/October this year, ECO in October this year, and Community Schemes in April 2026.

Answered by: Sarah Crombie, Chief Transformation Officer

Warmify is our new, lead-generation website for our programmes, that will go live for new programmes with new clients from July 2026. Existing clients (Portsmouth City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Affordable Warmth Solutions) will continue to use the Wix sites we have for them, for this year at least.

Warmify will allow customers/residents the ability to find out about the different programme funding we offer, check if they are likely to be eligible and then apply. If a resident is not eligible for the funding that they apply for, we try to find them funding that they are eligible for, including LEAP.

Answered by: Sarah Crombie, Chief Transformation Officer

I would love us to have formed really strong, deep partnerships with some of our existing clients and to have won some new ones! To have doubled, or even tripled, the amount of ECO we can deliver. To have built upon our reputation as a really credible fuel poverty and net zero company which does the right thing, delivers reliably, and supports those most in need. And to have expanded our geographic footprint where we do our own installation work.

Answered by: Sharon Johnson, Managing Director, AgilityEco

The DIB Working Group plays a vital role in championing inclusion and belonging across AgilityEco. Their efforts help ensure that everyone feels valued and supported in the workplace. Looking ahead, the group will continue its important work with the full backing of the Leadership Team, who remain committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the organisation.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

I am really excited about how things are coming together on our journey - this year is going to be tough, but we have some momentum, and I get the feeling we are pulling up to the top of a very steep climb and that, once we get there, the wheels will start to turn faster and faster.... My concerns are the reverse of that - we are putting our best people under a lot of strain to make everything happen so keeping the faith and taking care of each other is going to be important.

Answered by: Sharon Johnson, Managing Director, AgilityEco

Our development of the Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) is happening in sprints and works through the golden thread of activities we have set out for our business processes:

Lead generation and campaign management
Converting leads to applications
Work order management: assigning, scheduling and executing work, so for Retrofit Projects, Retrofit Services and Community schemes that cover booking appointments for a survey or Home Energy Advisor (HEA), carrying out the survey or home visit, recommending the next step/producing a quote, completing the work in the home (install of energy efficiency measures, white goods replacement, boiler repair). For ECO, that covers receiving, reviewing and assigning measures for compliance checks.
Quality Assurance (QA) assigning, scheduling and execution with post-install inspections and sign-off, customer CSAT or for ECO, the compliance analyst review.
Invoicing and payment for our supply chain and funders.

We are currently part way through work order management, and as we work through that, we are involving the relevant business teams that work on the processes to be involved in the design activity. There are some global activities as well, e.g. For supply chain management where cross-functional teams are involved (Finance, Supply Chain, Projects, Community Schemes).

We will circulate the high-level schedule for all to see the topics under development in different weeks.

There will be training on the new systems (will be scheduled before going live), and for our ways of working, we will be working.

We envisage the Local Authority element of the Warm Homes Plan being supplementary to energy supplier obligations. It is essential that we, as a business, are set up to deliver best-in-class energy efficiency programmes, irrespective of whether they are funded through energy suppliers, central or local government, or social housing providers. This is why we are heavily focused on our end-to-end service delivery model or one-stop shop.

Answered by: Shueb Ali, Chief Commercial Officer

We ARE M Group. And that is a good thing - for our teams, and for the business in terms of doing more for our clients.

Answered by: Sharon Johnson, Managing Director, AgilityEco

We would like to grow by at least 50% in the next two to three years, and there is certainly plenty of demand for our services which should give us confidence that if we do a good job, and evolve the business the way we plan to, we can easily achieve that aim.

Answered by: Sharon Johnson, Managing Director, AgilityEco

We will still need to utilise subcontractors, in particular, as we grow geographically. This support will be key to enable this, and this is going to still be a significant route for measure delivery on various schemes for the foreseeable future.

Aran is already expanding it capabilities to include a wider range of operational works which are currently outsourced (PV, ESH, IWI, RIR, Batteries, and Ventilation are the current areas in various stages of development). This will likely mean the current Aran operational a reduction in the use of subcontractors, but it will increase the number of operatives we employ and provide greater control over delivery (and a better customer experience) as well as manage the risks of increasing costs via supply chains which can make some delivery unfeasible and or us uncompetitive. This approach is highly unlikely to lead to significant and regular long journeys for our existing installers, though we will look to expand our geography somewhat for our existing teams, this will be limited to areas which are close to our current operational areas (and would have been prior to 2020 areas we would have routinely covered such as Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire etc.). But longer trips for installers tend to be very unproductive/expensive and, over time, unpopular, so it isn’t something we are looking to do so more local supply chains will be used and developed.

There are likely to be project-by-project opportunities to consider operational models (i.e. Direct labour, Mixed or subcontractor only) and for bigger, longer-running schemes (in time), the opportunity to look to recruit local teams to support delivery with local supervision and support, but central functions and processing still managed from our main offices as now.

Answered by: Mark Randall, Managing Director, Aran

Mentoring is already available within the business and is a valuable tool for personal and professional growth. If you're interested in being mentored, we recommend starting with some self-reflection: think about what you want to achieve and set clear, specific goals. Then, consider who within AgilityEco or the wider M Group network could help guide you in those areas. Mentoring is a mutual commitment, so it's important that your chosen mentor is willing and able to dedicate time to support you. We're actively exploring ways to make mentoring more structured and accessible and welcome ideas on how to strengthen this across the organisation.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

We understand how important it is to feel safe and confident when giving honest feedback. That’s why we use external, independent platforms like WorkBuzz to run our engagement surveys—these are designed to be genuinely anonymous.

It’s worth noting that sometimes individuals include very specific examples or language in their comments, which might unintentionally make their identity more apparent to someone familiar with the situation. However, even in those cases, responses cannot be linked across questions, and no one internally can trace feedback back to an individual.

We’re committed to creating a culture of trust and continuous improvement, and your feedback plays a vital role in that. If you ever have concerns, we’re happy to talk more about how the process works and how your anonymity is protected.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

While we don’t currently offer access to LinkedIn Learning, we do have hundreds of high-quality e-learning modules available through Competency Cloud. We encourage you to explore the catalogue—it covers a wide range of topics to support your development.
Additionally, the Learning Together page on M Connect is a great resource. It highlights recommended courses and pathways for both personal growth and leadership development.

If there’s a specific topic or course you’re looking for, feel free to reach out—we’re always happy to help guide you to the right learning opportunity.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

Yes absolutely! Building connections on LinkedIn is a great way to strengthen collaboration and stay updated on each other’s professional journeys. Feel free to send connection requests and grow your network across the team!

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

For the one-stop-shop, I think it will be dependent on the combined authorities; in some cases, it will mean more of a focus on accessing all the funding streams available on a wider scale and, therefore, more opportunities. In other cases, a combined authority may have more internal resources and need less help to knit together all the different aspects. It will definitely mean more tenders; if we set ourselves up now for a strong one-stop-shop blueprint, then I think the overall outcome will be positive.

Answered by: Jenny Boyce, Community Schemes Director

We think the market conditions are positive, so at least 50% growth is achievable over the next 2 or 3 years - so yes, that means new roles and the opportunity for existing colleagues to develop their skills and move on. Being part of the wider Group offers opportunities on two fronts: firstly, there is first-class support for learning and development - already available through Stay Connected. But secondly, there are also roles available in the wider Group.

Answered by: Sharon Johnson, Managing Director, AgilityEco

Great question—and rest assured, support for our people remains a top priority. We currently have an open vacancy for a People Business Partner who will be joining AgilityEco to take on the People role with further support from Helen Taylor, Head of People for the M Group Energy Division.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

TDA is what MGroup call us, it's short for Technical Design and Assurance. We still call the team retrofit - either way it doesn't change what we do.

Answered by: Graham Weller, Retrofit Director

To date, things have gone broadly well, and the Aran team have not been impacted to a significant level by the acquisition. However, it is still early days, and integrating is just really beginning.

Generally, Aran team members' involvement to date on integration has been minimal outside of the core management Team, and many feel it’s a bit too early to say how they feel, simply as they are not feeling an impact.

But generally, people are positive and feel the future is likely to be a bigger one with more opportunities for staff members within Aran/AE to grow personally and professionally. Some are still feeling a little apprehensive as things have not yet started, which may affect them, but over the coming months, as integration builds up, this is likely to change. But so far so good.

Answered by: Mark Randall, Managing Director, Aran

While Amy is yet to officially start in the role, we’re already looking ahead at ways to strengthen engagement across AgilityEco. A key focus will be on employee-led initiatives—we want to hear directly from you about what matters most, so we can shape activities and opportunities around your ideas.

We’ll also be placing a strong emphasis on cross-team collaboration, creating more chances for people to connect, share knowledge, and work together on meaningful projects beyond their day-to-day roles.
Your voice will be central to shaping what comes next, and we’re excited to build this together.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

Mati Walczak & Sean Pratt qualified in their L4 Managing Damp, Mould & Customer Care in Housing. I'm sure they will be happy to have a conversation on their experience and knowledge.

Answered by: Amy Ainger, Head of People

AgilityFest 2025: Q&A

What is the one stop shop?

Apart from the number of people, what's the biggest difference between agility now and 10 years ago?

When will Salesforce go live for real?

What is Warmify?

Where do you see AgilityEco in 10 years time?

What is the future and support for DIB (Diversity Inclusion and Belonging)?

There has been a lot of change recently and will be moving forward for our business. What are you most excited about on our roadmap, and what are you most concerned about in how we get there?

Can you give an update on how we are managing the development of cross functional elements of Nova?

Sounds like the future is LA driven. What will warm homes obligation look like and how will it differ to current eco delivery? Do we need to evidence to the LA what we have done before they release funding?

Are we becoming M Group?

What are the growth ambitions over the next four years?

Expand Geography what does this mean for our installers? Will we employ new ones as subcontractors in further parts of England or will it involve long journeys and several days away from home?

For learning and development/ career progression, have we (or are we) considering implementing a mentoring scheme? One that utilises both our AgilityEco experts and our wider M Group colleagues to help those who want to develop?

Regarding filing out the feedback form we have been told in the last that the form was anonymous then it was proved that it wasn't. In order to have real, honest feedback to improve Agility can the form be made anonymous please

Can we get access to E learning courses on LinkedIn?

For team collaboration, can we all follow each other on LinkedIn

The longer-term direction of travel for local government seems to suggest more combined authorities will exist - is this seen as a positive or negative for the achievement of the business objectives and the development of the one-stop-shop?

How much growth do you anticipate for AgilityEco over the coming period? Will there be new roles or numbers? Can M Group provide more improvements to support our growth?

If Amy is leaving her job as head of people who will be looking after our people?

Is it TDA or Retrofit (Graham’s department) and with the name change and golden thread, does that change anything for his department?

How are the Aran team feeling about joining AgilityEco now that we’re planning further integration?

In terms of the engagements, what do you see introducing more to get this impact?

I would like to introduce myself to the two people who are recently qualified on damp and mould issues (sorry I missed your names!). are you here today?