The year 2019 marked the beginning of GN Surveys, which was founded on the foundation of 19 years of experience in the industry along with a reputation for integrity and innovation. Gary Nel, as CEO and founder, has built this company from the ground up. He set new values and mission statement that they are unrivaled and focused on innovation, with a reputation of being professional and trusted by their clients. Echoed in repeatable businesses, they continue to add value after the project is finished, which is what sets them apart from their competitors. GN Surveys, with their executives who are at the forefront of their respective industries, are able to provide scalable solutions across a variety of survey offerings and have the flexibility to add service partners whenever the specific requirements of their customers arise.
Gary puts an emphasis on providing value to their customers and ensuring that each and every "paid for service" offers exceptional value for the money spent. A company that is the "go-to" for all survey requirements on a national level, with a name that is well-known by everyone and a reputation for being innovative, professional, trustworthy, providing a comprehensive survey solution, and leading best practices within the survey industry.Since 2010, Gary has been the first and pathfinder in many new survey equipment releases in the UK.
• 02/2012:Acquires the first Swinglet fixed-wing UAV by Sensefly in the UK.
• 01/2013: Acquires first EBEE by Sensefly in the UK
• 2015: First CAA permission to operate in congested areas.
• 2019: First Leica Pegasus Two in Europe
• 2019: First Leica Pegasus Two and Leica Backpack combined in the UK.
The previous business models that Gary had utilized included all of this equipment as a component of their in-house services that were offered. Acquiring the ability to provide the most cutting-edge survey solutions in a single location, his focus shifted to changing his all-in-house model as a result of the rapid acceleration in the development of new equipment and improvements in solutions within the survey industry.
In terms of Gary's style of leadership, it is founded on his values, which are now also the values of the GN Survey. These values include the following: the company that people want to work for and be associated with; working as a cohesive team; embracing innovation, creativity, and forward thinking; embracing a culture that enhances individual and teamwork values; creating a safe environment; and having mutual trust and respect between everyone. Within the company, Gary established what he called a "supportive inverted triangle organizational structure." This encourages innovation at all levels, allowing for the freedom to make mistakes and the freedom to innovate without restriction.
On an internal level, they will make provisions for redundancy in each and every one of their tasks, as outlined in his detailed business plan, which will be communicated to the entire team. He is going to implement a four-day work week beginning on April 1, 2024, and there will be no reduction in salary along with it. On the day that they are off, this will make it possible for a coworker to take over the responsibilities of each and every employee. The four-day workweek that they have will be spread over five days, with different employees taking time off on different days. By doing so, they will alleviate pressure on key employees while simultaneously fostering teamwork and collaborative work.
Gary adds suggestions so as to set an example for others to follow by cultivating a culture of no blame and being transparent both during difficult times and during times of success. Staff members should be allowed to give and receive credit when it is due, but they should not be held personally responsible for any mistakes that are made. Failures are something that we all experience as members of a team, he adds.
It is Gary's belief that one should lead from the front. Never stop innovating, and never go into a rut. As an extreme optimist, he is of the opinion that they should make use of downtime in order to improve their offerings and thereby come out better. The credit crunch that occurred in 2023 and COVID 2020 serve as examples of this. Both times, they maintained a positive attitude, kept all of their employees, and emerged from both situations in a stronger position. Reputation and integrity are keys and will never get damaged or neglected.
Over the course of the past four years, they have developed two different software solutions. According to Gary, both of these will be pieces of something else that will be the first in the world. In order to avoid divulging an excessive amount of their trade secrets, they will combine the following important business challenges that are prevalent in their sector: Compliance, Big Survey Data, Value-Added Survey Data, Digital Twin, and Net-Zero Target are all terms that are used. They will keep innovating and stick to their values, mission, and vision!
Gary Nel
Chief Executive Officer
GN Surveys Ltd
At GNS we listen, understand, innovate and deliver by utilising the most effective remote and physical surveying platforms, together with our carefully selected strategic partners.