“Work together, work hard and we’ll go far.”
To mark National Boss Day 2026, we caught up with our Managing Director Liam Coyne to find out what it’s really like to lead the team, where he gets his inspiration and why he’s so determined to build jobs for life here at Trust.
What does leading the Trust team mean to you?
It’s definitely a big responsibility. A lot of people rely on me and that means being considerate of what they need, and treating everyone like they’re part of the family. When they’re down, I try to support them, when they’re worked up, I try to calm them down – and when they’re upbeat, I try to keep that going. It’s like being Chief of Morale, but with this team, that’s a great job to have.
There’s a real feeling that we’re all there for each other, and however big we grow, I want to hold on to that feeling. We’ve got a big site now at Ilkeston and we’re always going to have that, but if we set up other depots in new places, I want to make sure they’ve got that same culture.
It’s got to be about the people first, because you’re only as good as your team. That’s why we work hard to keep people, train them and look after them. It might cost us money to do that, but in the long run that support and loyalty pays you back in dividends.
What makes the people at Trust so special?
We all help each other out, and when I’m recruiting I’m looking out for that kind of attitude – people willing to pitch in, upskill or take on other roles – because we need that kind of flexibility.
I’ve got people who started out in the commercial side of the business, and they’re now in finance, or people who started out in plant and are now in health and safety. I’m always happy to move people around if they want to try new things, and that willingness to learn and become multi-skilled is a big part of why our team’s so special.
I try to show people the whole business, so they can understand other people’s pressures and adapt the way they work to make sure it works for everyone. I think the team we’ve got does that really, really well – that’s why we’re such a close-knit team, and why it feels more like a family.
What kind of boss do you try to be for the team?
Ultimately, I always try to be fair with everyone, from the ground up. Because I think if you’re honest and fair, you can’t go far wrong. I’d like to think the team would say that about me.
That’s not to say it’s always easy – I’ve got to put my stamp on what I believe, and that does bring challenges. But I’ve got an open-door policy and I think that helps. Anyone can walk into my office and speak to me about any problems they’re having. I’ll always strive to listen, give them a fair response and hopefully create a positive outcome for them.
Is your approach inspired by any great bosses you’ve had in the past?
No, I think it comes from my dad. He was in this industry and he always said to me, you’re only as good as your team. However high up you get in this game, to make the business work, you need those people on the ground, out there digging the holes.
That’s something I’ve carried with me throughout my working life, and definitely into being a boss – you’re only as good as the people around you.
You’ve got to trust people to get the job done right and to get it done safely. So I try to give everyone the right tools and support, to pay them on time, and to treat them properly. I think if you treat people that way, they tend to pay you back by working hard and being loyal.
What new support have you set up since you took over Trust?
The first thing I did was put in place a better employment package, with health care, life cover, sickness cover, paternity leave, maternity leave, a day off on your birthday. Standard stuff, but stuff the business wasn’t doing before – things people just never had. I wanted to make sure we were up to industry standards, if not better, and we were being fair to our people.
We put in play things people maybe didn’t even realise they needed, like sickness cover, so if they’re ill they’re not going to struggle, or life cover, so if anything awful happens, their families are looked after. We didn’t want people to have to worry about those things, and the last year or so has really underlined why that matters. When we lost Emma, Gary and Phil, their life cover paid out, no questions asked, and that makes a big difference to families at an incredibly tough time.
“I can’t do it without all of you helping me. I’m only as good as my people and I’m very lucky to have such good people at Trust.”
What are your hopes for the future?
The last couple of years have been challenging to be honest, with those losses in the team and working hard to get the business in shape so everyone has a secure, sustainable future here. But I think we’re in a really good place now.
Over the next 12 months, everything we’ve put in place will start to come to fruition and help us grow to a new level. We’ve brought in senior people in EV and Sustainability who are industry-leading in their sectors. They’ve got the same kind of work ethic as me, and they’re willing to help across the board. That’s what I need – people who can help us grow the right way – I can only do it with the right people behind me.
I want to make sure as that growth happens, we’re creating real career progression for people too. Not just for the people starting out, but for the people who are already here working hard. I want to be able to push them forward so they can develop, succeed and move into higher positions, because we’re going to need those roles as we grow, and my ambition for the team is that the people who’ve been here the longest can step up and step into those senior management roles.
It’s about multi-skilling – not just for the office team, but for the operatives out on site too. Because if they’re multi-skilled, they can do more for Trust – they can drop onto a gas job, an electric job, a drainage job, and be able to take on anything that comes up on site.
That kind of flexibility is what builds a job for life, and what enables me to pay them more too. What it comes down to is that I want people to stay and grow with us. I’d much rather spend money on training the people we’ve got than starting over and over and over with people I don’t know, who might not have our kind of work ethic.
Do you have a message for the team?
Yes, and it’s the same one I tell them every day – work together, work hard and we’ll go far. It might be me at the top, but it’s not me doing everything. I can’t do it without all of you helping me. I’m only as good as my people and I’m very lucky to have such good people at Trust.
I want to secure the future work for us all to prosper. I think that’s all anyone wants when they’re running a business. I want Trust to be a place where we’re all kind to each other, we all support each other and we all benefit from what we’re building together.
If you’ve been inspired by Leah’s story, find out how you can join us here.
