Tag Archives: employee

Business, Business News, Employee Experience, South Wales

Swansea Building Society celebrates long-serving employee’s 35-year milestone

Swansea Building Society employee, Julie Keane, is celebrating a significant milestone as its longest currently serving member of staff, marking 35 years of dedicated service. Julie, who joined the Society in 1990, has been an integral part of its journey, witnessing its evolution from a small organisation with a single office to the thriving institution it is today.

Starting as a Chief Cashier before transitioning into her current role as a Cashier following the birth of her children, Julie has played a key role in serving the Society’s members with warmth and professionalism for three and a half decades. Reflecting on her tenure, she recalls the early days when the Society operated solely from its Cradock Street head office with a team of just 15 staff members. “Back then, we had no branches and only one computer in the Savings Department, which we had to queue to use if the counter was busy,” she reminisces.

Over the years, Julie has witnessed the Society’s tremendous growth, with the expansion of its branch network setting it apart in an era where many financial institutions are closing branches and reducing staff numbers. “It’s wonderful to be part of an organisation that is growing rather than shrinking – opening and not closing branches. Swansea Building Society’s commitment to personal service and community banking is something I’m proud to be associated with.”

Julie describes the Society as her ‘work family,’ a place where management and colleagues have been supportive through all stages of her life. “During my time here, I’ve gotten married, had two children, and sadly lost both my parents. Through it all, the Society has been there for me, providing not just a job, but a place where I feel valued and supported.”

She also fondly remembers two former colleagues, Neil Rosser and Adrian Hawes, who both dedicated many years to the Society before retiring. “They were like the main pillars of the Society, and I owe much of my work ethic to them. They set a fantastic example for me and other staff.”

Julie attributes much of the Society’s success to current Chief Executive, Alun Williams, and his leadership team. “The growth and success of Swansea Building Society are largely due to Alun and the fantastic team behind him. Their vision and dedication have transformed the Society into what it is today.”

Alun Williams, Chief Executive of Swansea Building Society, said:

“Julie’s dedication and commitment to the Society over the past 35 years have been truly outstanding. She has been a key part of our journey, providing exceptional service to our members and embracing the changes that have come with our growth. We are incredibly grateful for her loyalty and hard work, and we congratulate her on this remarkable milestone.”

Swansea Building Society, with branch offices in Mumbles, Swansea, Carmarthen and Cowbridge, was founded as a mutual Building Society in February 1923. The Society’s principal objective has always been the provision of loans secured on residential property for the use of customers. These loans are funded by personal savings deposited in a variety of savings accounts offered by the Society. The Society is one of only three remaining mutual Building Societies in Wales and the only Building Society or Bank with its headquarters in South West Wales.

Business, Business News, Employee Experience, South Wales

Swansea Building Society celebrates long-serving employee’s 35-year milestone

Swansea Building Society employee, Julie Keane, is celebrating a significant milestone as its longest currently serving member of staff, marking 35 years of dedicated service. Julie, who joined the Society in 1990, has been an integral part of its journey, witnessing its evolution from a small organisation with a single office to the thriving institution it is today.

Starting as a Chief Cashier before transitioning into her current role as a Cashier following the birth of her children, Julie has played a key role in serving the Society’s members with warmth and professionalism for three and a half decades. Reflecting on her tenure, she recalls the early days when the Society operated solely from its Cradock Street head office with a team of just 15 staff members. “Back then, we had no branches and only one computer in the Savings Department, which we had to queue to use if the counter was busy,” she reminisces.

Over the years, Julie has witnessed the Society’s tremendous growth, with the expansion of its branch network setting it apart in an era where many financial institutions are closing branches and reducing staff numbers. “It’s wonderful to be part of an organisation that is growing rather than shrinking – opening and not closing branches. Swansea Building Society’s commitment to personal service and community banking is something I’m proud to be associated with.”

Julie describes the Society as her ‘work family,’ a place where management and colleagues have been supportive through all stages of her life. “During my time here, I’ve gotten married, had two children, and sadly lost both my parents. Through it all, the Society has been there for me, providing not just a job, but a place where I feel valued and supported.”

She also fondly remembers two former colleagues, Neil Rosser and Adrian Hawes, who both dedicated many years to the Society before retiring. “They were like the main pillars of the Society, and I owe much of my work ethic to them. They set a fantastic example for me and other staff.”

Julie attributes much of the Society’s success to current Chief Executive, Alun Williams, and his leadership team. “The growth and success of Swansea Building Society are largely due to Alun and the fantastic team behind him. Their vision and dedication have transformed the Society into what it is today.”

Alun Williams, Chief Executive of Swansea Building Society, said:

“Julie’s dedication and commitment to the Society over the past 35 years have been truly outstanding. She has been a key part of our journey, providing exceptional service to our members and embracing the changes that have come with our growth. We are incredibly grateful for her loyalty and hard work, and we congratulate her on this remarkable milestone.”

Swansea Building Society, with branch offices in Mumbles, Swansea, Carmarthen and Cowbridge, was founded as a mutual Building Society in February 1923. The Society’s principal objective has always been the provision of loans secured on residential property for the use of customers. These loans are funded by personal savings deposited in a variety of savings accounts offered by the Society. The Society is one of only three remaining mutual Building Societies in Wales and the only Building Society or Bank with its headquarters in South West Wales.

Awards, News

Bright Horizons completes a hat-trick of 2022 UK’s Best Workplaces™ accolades

The 2022 UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Women list was launched this week by Great Place to Work® UK, recognising Bright Horizons among 263 ranked organisations.

It is another fabulous honour for Bright Horizons, which sees the company now appearing in three 2022 Great Place to Work® UK lists. Bright Horizons has featured as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Women since this list first started in 2018. Earlier this year, Bright Horizons was also named in the first-ever UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing and this was swiftly followed by its 17th year in a row appearance on the UK’s Best Workplaces (Super Large category) list.

What this latest recognition confirms about Bright Horizons:

  • Bright Horizons is a great workplace FOR ALL, including women.
  • Bright Horizons is an organisation where people trust each other and employees are able to reach their full human potential, no matter who they are or what they do.
  • Bright Horizons supports the different identities women hold and ensure their daily experiences are positively and consistently experienced.
  • Bright Horizons recognises that women are a valuable talent pool and strive for fair representation of women in the workforce and throughout management.

Bright Horizons is committed to putting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the heart of its organisation so that the entire Bright Horizons family is open to, and inclusive of, everyone. The expectation exists at Bright Horizons that all colleagues will treat each other with respect by listening to different viewpoints, opinions, thoughts and ideas and embracing a culture of inclusion.

Ros Marshall, Managing Director UK at Bright Horizons, said: “It is a wonderful honour to be recognised again in this prestigious list. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, perspectives and identities of every individual in our diverse family. Together, we strive to ensure our work and early years environments are welcoming, inclusive and equitable. Our company is shaped by our HEART values, Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork. We are proud that they remain our guiding principles and help to create our working environment and a culture that is fair for all.”

Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work® UK, explains: “Now in its fifth year, our 2022 list showcases the largest collection of Best WorkplacesTM for Women that the UK has ever recognised. These results are based on what women themselves have anonymously reported to us about their workplace experience and how well represented they are in the workforce and management. Ensuring people aren’t discriminated against, placing positive value on our differences, creating fair access and advancement for all, and fostering a sense of value and empowerment in employees is what being a Great Place to Work® is all about. Only by first identifying the gaps in workers’ experiences can organisations truly take action to close them, which is why analysing employee experience is important. We are proud that the data and insights we provide organisations helps on that continuous journey – and it’s wonderful to celebrate so many Best Workplaces™ for Women this year, across all sectors and organisational sizes.”

This latest achievement marks a remarkable few months for Bright Horizons in terms of plaudits. In addition to making the grade on the 2022 Great Place to Work® UK lists, Bright Horizons and its colleagues have received some fabulous accolades:

  • Danielle Hamer (Regional Director) and Jodi Roth (Nursery Manager) were both recently included in Business Women in Education’s inaugural Women to Watch list
  • HR Business Partnering Team shortlisted for a CIPD team of the year award
  • Finalists in three Nursery World Award categories:
    • Outstanding Contribution: Carole Henderson, Professional Development Partnership Manager
    • Health and Wellbeing: Introduction of Bright Beginnings curriculum
    • Business Development: Back-Up Care service at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
  • Marketing team has recently won two golds and a silver for its advertising campaigns:
    • Gold at The Drum Awards for Search 2022 in the Most Effective Use of Data or Insights category
    • Gold at the UK Digital Growth Awards 2022 in the Integrated Search Campaign of the Year category
    • Silver at the UK Paid Media Awards 2022 in the Best Integrated Paid Media Campaign category.

Ros Marshall, Managing Director UK at Bright Horizons, continued: “Our hard-working colleagues all deserve this recent recognition. In our view early years education and nursery provision, which addresses the trilemma of quality, availability and affordability must be at the centre of any government policy for social mobility and economic growth. We are privileged to have data and insights from surveys with our own nursery parents, as well as a wider working parent community through our Work and Family Services. Their feedback helps us to understand what is important for families regarding their children’s care and education. We share this information in government consultations and with our clients to help them develop their own understanding and strategy to support families at work.

“We are committed to ensuring that skilled and well-supported practitioners are key to the quality of our early years services. We continually review and adapt our rewards and benefits for our colleagues and remain immensely proud of our industry-leading training and development, which provides our colleagues with a rewarding career path.”

More information about inspiring careers in Early Years can be found via the Bright Horizons website.

Logistics, News

Evri commits to provide mandatory ESG training for all employees and contractors by 2024

Evri, the consumer delivery specialist, has committed to providing mandatory ESG Training for all employees and contractors by 2024, as it continues its journey to becoming an even more ethical and sustainable business.

Forming part of the company’s comprehensive and ambitious ESG strategy, the training is designed to highlight the importance of ESG, and to encourage employees to consider environmental and social implications during their day to day roles.  It is being rolled out across the whole company and will be mandatory for all 7,128 employees and 20k plus contractors.  In order to ensure full access everyone involved has been given a dedicated email address, including all couriers and warehouse operatives.”

The company’s dedicated Digital Learning Designer and Digital Learning Manager have worked closely with the ESG team to create the training and will be responsible for the roll out across the company.  The training will focus on Evri’s ESG performance and future ESG targets. The aim is that upon completion, employees should feel comfortable talking about the ethos of ESG within the company.

Martijn de Lange CEO, Evri commented: “Following a period of exceptional growth for the business, it’s never been more important to recognise our impact on the planet and its people. While we have always been a responsible carrier, the last 12 months have seen a significant gear change in our efforts to become an even more ethical and sustainable business.

“To underline our commitment, ESG forms two of the four core pillars that underpin our new brand: Community and ESG itself. With a dedicated team and a bold new vision in place, Evri is in a strong ESG leadership position as the next chapter for our business begins.”

Human Resources, News

HR Teams Failing to Give Employees the Experience They Want, Tivian Research Finds

Ineffective, inadequate, and generic approach to feedback accelerates Great Resignation in UK businesses

London, UK, 7 June 2022 – There’s a massive gap between the employee experience that UK staff are looking for and what’s currently provided by HR, sparking discontent and resignations, according to unsettling new research findings from Tivian, the leader in intelligent experience management.

The statistics the research discovered were stark. Failing to act is driving staff out of the door – 67% of employees said they’d be more likely to stay if employers listened and made changes based on their feedback. 85% of HR staff think they are using employee feedback to improve the experience they offer. Yet only half (50%) of staff agree. Just 14% think their employer uses feedback very effectively to drive change. With staff leaving at an increasing rate, it seems organisations have lost track of how to retain talent, implementing ineffective listening strategies that employees feel minimise their roles.

“Employee feedback programmes should be helping companies battle the Great Resignation – but the data shows that they are fundamentally broken,” said Peter Wilde, Head of Employee Experience, Tivian. “Even more worrying is that unlike staff, most HR professionals believe they are still effective. It is time to stop treating feedback as a tick box exercise and deliver a personalised, two-way approach that uses communication to motivate, keep, and get the best out of staff.

Employees feel powerless and that their bosses are out of touch with their needs. 70% of staff said they had little or no influence over how things were done at their company and 38% felt the company was rarely or never open to their ideas. While 97% wanted to work for open and transparent organisations only around half (55%) actually did. Worryingly, HR agreed – just 42% said their company “did transparency” well.

We all want to be treated as an individual. But apparently this isn’t happening at work. Only 12% of employees receive laser-targeted, personalised feedback – 88% get generic, one-size-fits-all communications that could be meant for anyone. Despite the technology they’ve got, 70% of HR staff admit that they just communicate with generic templates or on a departmental level.

HR has upped the cadence of listening programmes, with 80% asking for employee feedback on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. But according to the numbers, they’re not listening holistically across the employee lifecycle. Only 36% of HR teams collect feedback during recruitment, 50% during onboarding and 19% on work anniversaries. Listening at these critical moments is vital to staff feeling a “personal touch” to their work life, and to provide crucial feedback that drives improvements. Only two-thirds (62%) collect feedback when an employee resigns. Too little, too late. Doing this earlier might well prevent them leaving in the first place.

“There’s two frustrating conclusions from our study,” said Peter Wilde, Head of Employee Experience, Tivian. “Firstly, HR professionals think they’re doing a good job but clearly aren’t. And most importantly these gaps can be easily bridged if HR staff start thinking like marketers. The tools and processes are out there for the customer experience – HR need to embrace them to deliver the right employee experience. Then they’ll be giving people what they actually want and add real value to the business.”

The 2022 Tivian Experience Intelligence Report surveyed 1,000 office-based UK employees and 100 managers responsible for HR during March 2022. Download a full report on the survey results here: https://info.tivian.com/en-gb/ex-gap-research-report

News, Retail

Peak Technologies and Keephub Launch Partnership to Help Retailers Improve Operational Efficiency, Employee Engagement and Communication

The Combination of Peak Technologies’ M-Netics software suite and Keephub’s SaaS platform provides retailers with the tools they need to empower employees and improve customer service

CHIPPENHAM, WILTSHIRE – UK (25 April 2022) – Peak Technologies, the market-leading provider of digital supply chain, mobile workforce and retail solutions featuring the M-Netics software suite, has announced a new partnership with Keephub, the SaaS-based communication platform that offers leading retailers and other companies with mobile workers a one-stop-shop solution for increasing engagement and a more efficient and qualitative work process.

Peak Technologies’ M-Netics retail software is a complete suite of retail applications designed for use from the warehouse (M-Netics eTrack), to the store (M-Netics Retail) and to the point of final delivery (M-Netics ePOD). The M-Netics eTrack solution facilitates the tracking of items through a logistics operation, providing a track scan audit trail, validated containerisation and de-containerisation, marshalling, vehicle loading and dispatch. The M-Netics retail solution for instore operations is used by staff to provide improved customer service, real-time stock visibility and multi-channel fulfilment. The M-Netics ePOD solution streamlines, automates and manages every aspect of a customer’s delivery operation.

“The Peak Technologies M-Netics retail suite is a complete end-to-end mobility solution for enterprise retail organisations delivering increased visibility and productivity from the stock room to the retail floor and beyond,” says René Schrama, UK Managing Director for Peak Technologies. “Through our partnership with Keephub, we are now able to extend our value add to the mobile worker in a retail setting by also offering additional capabilities to improve employee engagement, internal communication and task management,” added Schrama.

Keephub is a SaaS-based communication platform for non-desk employees offering leading companies a modern one-stop-shop solution for increasing engagement and a more efficient and qualitative work process. The technology provides a frictionless user experience on the mobile device of the non-desk employee and managers.

“We are extremely excited about our new partnership with Peak Technologies because our solutions are both designed at their core to help achieve operational excellence for a mobile workforce. Peak’s competence is mobilising business processes across the enterprise retail spectrum while Keephub is focussed on empowering, engaging, and connecting the mobile worker to drive efficiency and improve customer service,” says Bernard Schreiner, Commercial Director, Keephub. “Our solutions are very complementary and allow a retailer to meet evolving customer needs with Peak’s M-Netics software suite while also keeping employees motivated and connected with Keephub’s software all resulting in giving employees everything they need to perform better,” added Schreiner.

Peak Technologies will be presenting its M-Netics Retail software solutions at the Retail Technology Show 2022 on Stand 6C60 on 26-27 April @ Olympia, London. Peak Technologies will also be showcasing its new partnership with Keephub and other retail technology partnerships at their stand:

https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com/exhibitors/peak-technologies

News, Wellbeing News

Inspiring Workplaces announces the EMEA Inspiring Workplaces Awards 2022 finalists

  • Brands both big and small feature and include the likes of: Al Jazeera; BBC; Blood Cancer; BUPA; NHS; Places for People; Rackspace; Takeda
  • This year for the first time, we will countdown the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces in reverse order
  • Top 5 Inspiring Workplaces across each business category will also be announced
  • Special recognition winners will also be announced for outstanding work across: Culture & Purpose; Leadership; Wellbeing; Inclusion; Communication; Experience
  • Exclusive gala dinner being held at the Kia Oval in London – nearly sold out

London – April 20, 2022: Today The Inspiring Workplaces Group announced its first ever Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces across EMEA. The order of the Top 50 will be announced at the Gala Dinner held at the Kia Oval in London on May 24, 2022.

In a newly revamped awards programme, the IW Awards asked each organisation that entered to complete the same form – a form that consisted of six key elements:

  • Culture & Purpose
  • Leadership
  • Wellbeing
  • Inclusion
  • Communication
  • Experience

The leaders in each of the elements will be recognised for their achievements on the night.

We will also be announcing the Top 5 organisations across each category based upon business size:

  • Small
  • Medium
  • Large
  • Enterprise
  • Non-Profit

Every organisation within the Top 50 will be awarded a certificate and online assets to promote their achievements and have the opportunity to take away an iconic trophy.

Founder of Inspiring Workplaces, Matt Manners said, “We have been recognising organisations and the inspirational people within them for over eight years now. This year, we wanted to evolve the awards to represent the way the world of work is evolving too. Congratulations to all the finalists. We can’t wait to share these stories and promote the inspirational work they are doing day-in-day-out.”

For more information please visit our online communities where every finalist has been individually announced:

  • Website – https://www.inspiring-workplaces.com/stories/
  • LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiringworkplaces
  • Twitter – https://twitter.com/inspireworknow

The Inspiring Workplaces Group will be announcing North America’s finalists on April 27, 2022.

Be inspired: InspireWork Summits in association with STM Group

After a two year break caused by the pandemic, the InspireWork Summits, (formerly the Employee Engagement Conference) return to London, New York and Sydney.

They will bring together all the learnings, innovations and expertise from some of the most Inspiring Workplaces around the world, topped with the latest insights from leading thought leaders and experts in the field of employee experience, HR, employee wellbeing, future of work and diversity and inclusion. Don’t miss out.

Register for London here: https://www.inspiring-workplaces.com/inspire-work-summit-london/.

Register for NYC here: https://www.inspiring-workplaces.com/inspire-work-summit-nyc/.

The Summits will also be available online.

Sponsorship

There are various opportunities for organizations to partner with Inspiring Workplaces. For more information please contact matt@inspiring-workplaces.com

News

Look Fabulous Forever founder offers advice to older women in the workplace

The founder of Look Fabulous Forever, Tricia Cusden, has spoken to her network about the discrimination older women face at work and offered her advice on how to navigate the workplace.

The key issues that came up from the 21 people interviewed were:

  • Finding work
  • Holding onto a job
  • Being compared to younger people
  • Subtle ageism disguised as “banter”

Finding Work

One of the interviewees, a senior Human Resources Manager, believes that she encounters ageism in recruiting managers who refuse to interview anyone who is (presumed to be) around 60 years of age. “They assume that older people are plodders, slow, winding down to retirement. They think that they’d find the work too much and wouldn’t fit in with the team. They also presume that every older worker is the same – computer illiterate and slow.”

If you’re finding it hard to get a role, there are some strategies to help you stand out in the workplace:

  • Highlight your skills and experience – experience is your friend, and as an older person, you have more experience than others. Really highlight it on your CV and in any interviews that you really have seen everything!
  • Use your network – use your network of supportive people around you to break into new jobs and get references
  • Close your skills gap – if you feel like you’re falling behind on certain skills, seek out some training that will help you close that gap

Holding onto a job

Many older women have also had issues where their seniors have asked if they are considering retirement, even if they are in their 50s with no plans to retire. A senior teacher recalled a situation she faced:

“The new headteacher (female) started to make the older staff feel ‘vulnerable’ in their employment. I was one of the ones she was trying to ‘replace’. In our one-to-one meetings, she once asked me about retirement… when I was 59! She began to undermine my role and even told me that my senior position was ‘not permanent’. I involved my union at that point because my position was permanent.”

If you feel like you’re being pushed out of your job, then there are key things you can do to protect yourself:

  • Know your rights – make sure you know your legal rights, and understand your contract to ensure you can’t be pushed out
  • Record all conversations – if you notice a pattern of comments along the same line as this, take notes on all your meetings and ask for email follow-ups on all information covered
  • Speak to your union – if things feel like they are getting out of hand, speak to your union for support

Comparisons

An NHS nurse with 41 years of experience who now works in community infection control has had to endure comments that she couldn’t be compared to a much younger team member ‘because her computer skills were not as good’ (an irrelevance for her job) and that she was ‘keeping a younger person out of a job.’

Many older people have dealt with comparisons to the younger people they work with, which are often not positive.

If you are facing comparisons at work, you can:

  • Challenge the comparison – challenge the person who is making the comparison, and tell them how it makes you feel
  • Focus on your own strengths – even if someone is a bit better than you at one thing, you’ll have your own strengths, so focus on the positives
  • Learn from people around you – learn from the people around you, and make their strengths your strengths

Subtle ageism disguised as “banter”

Subtle ageism has been noticeable to some older people in the positive comments given to younger staff who were ‘refreshing’ and ‘enthusiastic’, whilst there was no such encouragement to older staff. Other people interviewed had also been hurt by “jokes” that make fun of people’s age.

To deal with the so-called, “banter”, you can:

  • Set clear boundaries – make it clear what you are comfortable with, and ensure people around you understand what is appropriate
  • Speak up if something upsets you – if someone crosses a line, let them know.
  • Speak to your line manager about the culture – if this behaviour continues, speak to your manager about the issue – there may be training, or a culture change needed.

If you’re feeling the pressure of working as an older woman, you’re not alone. There are resources and groups you can reach out to for help and advice, such as Look Fabulous Forever’s Facebook group, Tricia’s Super Troopers, and other networks.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme was “Break the Bias”, which we all can do by working together and supporting each other.

You can find more information and future stories from older women in the workplace here – https://www.lookfabulousforever.com/blog/challenging-ageism/breaking-the-age-bias

Awards, News, Wellbeing

Bright Horizons officially named one of 250 UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing!

Employees have spoken! Bright Horizons is ranked among the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing (2022) by Great Place to Work®, a global leader on workplace culture.

To determine the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing list, Great Place to Work’s culture experts analysed thousands of employee surveys, assessing people’s holistic experiences of wellbeing at work by asking employees to comment on how their company supports their:

∙             Work-life balance

∙             Sense of fulfilment

∙             Job satisfaction

∙             Psychological safety

∙             Financial security

Evaluations also included an assessment of how well the organisation was able to deliver consistency of their employee experience across all departments and seniority levels.

Bright Horizons has over 30 years’ experience of working with leading employers to identify and support the dependant care needs of their employees throughout their careers and at every life stage. Its wellbeing strategy for its own employees is a three-fold focus: Emotional, Physical, and Financial, believing that a holistic approach is essential to provide support and benefits which are appropriate and meaningful to all members of its diverse employee community.

Bright Horizons supports Emotional wellbeing by enabling its people to navigate life’s ups and downs with confidence and resilience. It’s Employee Assistance Programme enables colleagues to access counselling and its Work+Family Space, which is a hub of resources relating to all aspects of work and family life, is a crucial support tool in this area.

On the Physical wellbeing side, Bright Horizons encourages and promotes a healthy quality of life, both at work and at home. In 2020, Bright Horizons introduced Smart Health [in the UK]. This benefit is a virtual health service provided by AIG Life which gives all employees the opportunity to easily manage their health and wellbeing. This benefit is available to all colleagues and their immediate family members. Smart Health provides unlimited, 24/7 access to everything needed to create long-term wellbeing habits. These services include, a Virtual GP, Mental health support, nutritional support and tailored fitness programmes.

With Financial wellbeing, Bright Horizons provides its colleagues with the relevant skills and knowledge to enable them to have control over their finances and thereby improve their financial wellbeing. Elements that help to contribute to this focus include childcare discounts, back-up care for loved ones of all ages and discounts/cashback that can be used to purchase a wide range of goods and services.

Underpinning all the wellbeing support that is in place at Bright Horizons are its HEART principles (Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect and Teamwork).

Janine Leightley, HR Director at Bright Horizons, said: “Our guiding HEART principles are at the core of how we operate. The wellbeing of all our colleagues is essential as it all comes back to our mission to provide exceptional care and education for children. We always take the time to reflect and look at ways about how we can improve our rewards and benefits for our colleagues.”

“Being better for people is better for business, especially in tough times,” explained Benedict Gautrey, Managing Director of Great Place to Work® UK. “When employees feel genuinely cared for, their loyalty, engagement, and productivity improve. Happier people also become brand advocates for the business and will often go the extra mile to provide a positive experience for their clients and customers. We’re delighted to launch our first-ever UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing list in 2022, shining a light on the 250 companies who have succeeded in ensuring staff experience high levels of wellbeing across the organisation. Hopefully this recognition and acknowledgment will inspire more workplaces to do the same in years to come.”

Ros Marshall, Managing Director at Bright Horizons UK, said: “Wellbeing is a key priority for us all in order that we can successfully make a difference in the lives of children, families, and the communities where we live and work. We champion great workplaces and supportive employers, so to make the UK’s first-ever list of Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing is a wonderful achievement. Through our own research, such as our Modern Family Index and other benchmark reports, we help to shine a light on the needs of working parents and carers, so they may thrive rather than survive. We reflect on the insights ourselves, to help inform our own approach as well as sharing information externally to enable policy change and courageous conversations between employees and employers.”

News

The Magic Formula for a Great Workplace

What makes somewhere a great workplace?
Often, when you ask people about what they look for in an employer, the initial focus is on the benefits and perks that make a workplace more flexible, convenient or fun – but this is only part of the picture.
A substantial salary, generous employee benefits scheme, subsidised gym membership, and free onsite canteen might be enough to convince someone to join a company – but is it enough to get someone to stay?
It’s important to make sure that employees are well looked after and rewarded for their service; this is something that all companies should be able to achieve. But to create a great workplace – the kind of place that attracts, retains, and inspires the very best talent – requires more than just the fulfilment of basic, intrinsic human needs.
In this article, Chris Webb, HR Director, Domino Printing Sciences, explains why the foundations of any great workplace lie within a company’s culture, and outlines what he believes to be the magic formula for making somewhere a great workplace.
The purpose of a purpose
A great workplace cannot exist without a strong company purpose.
What is your company’s core reason for being? What unique and positive impact can you have on the world, and how do you intend to achieve this? Find the answer to these questions, and you have your purpose.
You might be asking how this relates to making somewhere a great workplace – let me explain.
Developing a coherent purpose helps to motivate and inspire employees, and, as such, is an essential part of any successful organisation. As human beings, we are inherently social, and so having a unifying belief that aligns us with our colleagues, and with a business as a whole, is crucial to feeling valued.
One of the biggest pitfalls in drafting a company purpose retrospectively is creating something which isn’t true to the business. A purpose needs to be honest and believable to be effective.
At Domino, for example, each word of our purpose was chosen carefully and meticulously, with input from across the whole organisation, in order to adequately reflect who we are as a business.
“To apply industrial printing expertise and reliable solutions to help the world’s manufacturers be sustainable and cut waste while attracting, informing, and protecting consumers.”
Our company purpose is the driving force behind all that we do at Domino – it reflects the importance of our employees and our history of expertise, describes our commercial strengths, underlines our commitment to our customers on a global level, and provides a roadmap for our future development and aspirations as a business.
Living by company values
Company values are the principles that drive a business – those underlying philosophies that support the purpose by emphasising what a business and its employees stand for.
Values also provide insight into what each member of an organisation can expect from their colleagues and the business as a whole. When developed carefully, and truthfully, company values should act as a mirror for individuals, to assess how their actions echo those of the company that they work for. In this way, company values should resonate individually with each member of an organisation, providing an opportunity for self-reflection and learning.
In our case, our chosen values are ‘collaboration’, ‘listening’, ‘expertise’, ‘ambition’ and ‘responsibility’, which together create the acronym ‘CLEAR’.
A culture of collaboration ensures that everyone has an opportunity to express their ideas and to help improve the business. Collaboration helps to broaden perspectives and challenge conventional wisdom so that we can reach better outcomes, together.
One of the ways that we aim to collaborate more effectively is by listening.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is in the value of listening to the thoughts, ideas, and concerns of our colleagues and customers. As an employer and a business partner, we believe that a company can only succeed if it is willing to listen and learn from the combined experience of all those who work for, and with, it.
We are working to strengthen our expertise, by developing experience in all those areas that our customers turn to us to provide knowledge and understanding. This includes global regulations, Industry 4.0 and smart production, sustainability in manufacturing, and waste reduction.
This focus on building employees’ expertise represents an opportunity for everyone, as we embark on a journey of learning and development and invest in the experts of the future.
Our commitment to ambition is another part of this. We recognise that we have a strong legacy, and we want to make sure that we continue on this trajectory – and progression doesn’t come without challenging the status quo.
Employees need to be free to challenge the normal way of doing things, to share ideas, put forward suggestions, and not be afraid of making mistakes. We recognise the value to be found within a fresh perspective. An open mindset culture and setting challenging goals for continuous improvement allow us to keep evolving our business for growth.
Our fifth company value is reflected in a promise of responsibility. We have a responsibility to our customers to deliver on our promises and fulfil our role as a great business partner, we also have a responsibility to our stakeholders, to the communities in which we operate, and to the environment.
None of this can be achieved without a dedicated workforce.
In this way, I see our primary responsibility as being to our colleagues, to ensure their safety and wellbeing, and provide an environment where they can learn and develop, to be the best version of themselves, for their own benefit, and that of the business.
The magic formula
An honest purpose and a set of clear values together provide a shared framework and mindset for employees, a magic formula which, when done right, positively impact the employee experience and provide the building blocks of a truly great workplace.
Of course, competitive salaries and a generous employee benefits scheme are important – but they are just one small part of what makes a company a great workplace. A much bigger part of this is having something that everyone shares, everyone can believe in, and everyone can all work together to achieve.

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