Agile HR Newsletter Autumn 2023

National Inclusion Week

We’ve just had National Inclusion Week – what is this?

National Inclusion Week is a dedicated time where individuals and organisations come together to celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion. The theme for 2023 is Take Action, Make Impact!

“Take Action Make Impact is a powerful message which aims to get organisations and individuals thinking about what actions they can take and what positive impact these actions could and should have for marginalised colleagues.” – Inclusive Employers

National Inclusion Week was founded by Inclusive Employers, a UK-based organisation who have a mission to promote inclusive workplaces. They recognise that diversity isn’t just about ticking boxes; it’s about creating environments where everyone, regardless of their background, feels valued, respected, and able to contribute their best. Inclusive Employers leads by example, advocating for and practicing the principles of diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their work.

You can still get involved and continue the themes from National Inclusion Week

1. Promote Inclusion: Encourage open dialogues, celebrate diversity, and support initiatives that champion equality.
2. Educate Yourself, your Managers and your Colleagues: Knowledge is the first step toward empathy and change. Attend webinars to understand how you can best promote inclusion, diversity and equality within the workplace.
3. Establish a Diversity, Inclusion and Equality Policy
4. Celebrate Diversity: Acknowledge and celebrate cultural and religious holidays and observances, and make sure all employees feel comfortable expressing their identities at work.
5. Employee Feedback: Create channels for employees to provide feedback on diversity and inclusion issues anonymously, if necessary. Use this feedback to make continuous improvements.

If you would like more information please contact [email protected]

Quiet Quitting

Quiet Quitting is the term to describe an employee disengaging from their job and performing the minimal amount of work to complete their tasks.

Quiet Quitting can take place for a myriad of reasons: personal issues, burnout, job dissatisfaction, lack of growth opportunities, feeling undervalued, toxic work environment, reluctance to make a change due to economic climate/job market. All these things can lead to frustration and apathy within the workplace and can have serious consequences on a business, resulting in loss of productivity, team morale and, ultimately, revenue.

The key questions are how can a business spot this often subtle concept and rectify the issue, or how can we prevent this occurring in the first place?

Signs to look out for:

• Reduced productivity, quality or timeliness of work
• Reduced proactivity, initiative and engagement whilst at work
• Negative attitude – highlighting problems without providing a solution
• Greater absenteeism
• Turning up late to work/ meetings
• Not volunteering for additional tasks they may have previously been happy to action
• Other team members having an increased workload due to less effort from one of the team
• Reduced communication, contribution and collaboration with managers and colleagues
• Disengaged from team events
• Not upholding company values

How to address the causes of Quiet Quitting:

• Firstly ensure you have excellent people management practices to provide a robust employee support structure (1:1s/ set clear objectives/appraisals/ job descriptions). Upskill managers where necessary
• Inspire from the top – your leaders should be inspiring/energetic/engaging and connect with the employees regularly e.g. with all staff business updates to ensure employees understand how their work directly connects to the organisation’s goals.
• Benchmark your salaries and benefits to ensure a competitive employment package
• Recognition – celebrate your employees’ achievements!
• Focus on health and wellbeing – recruit/train Mental Health First Aiders to ensure you are supporting your workforce in a holistic way. Conduct stress & workstation risk assessments and respect working hour boundaries
• Ensure your company values still reflect the company mission/ ethos and provide employees with a sense that their work has purpose and direction. If you are looking to amend the values – have employees input their ideas for change.  Ensure your employees understand your values and how the values will complement and enhance their working style and how they connect to the business.

If you would like further information or support with this please contact [email protected]

Company Culture

Company culture encompasses the values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours shared by employees.  Together these shape the working environment of a Company.

Company culture is important as it impacts on many aspects of the business including productivity, attracting and retaining top talent, morale, competitor advantage and company success.

How to Shape Company Culture

Clear vision and objectives – share the company vision and objectives with all employees to ensure they can align their role with the wider strategic vision and understand how their role contributes to achieving these goals.

Core Company Values – your company values provide the bedrock for all elements of your company culture and support employees with their understanding of what the company stands for and how they should conduct themselves in the workplace. Ensure everyone from the Leadership team down uses the company values as a behavioural compass.

Diversity, Equality & Inclusion – strong DE&I values imbued in the business support the employees by making everyone feel welcome, included and respected, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, background or any other characteristic.

Employees First – ensure your employees are aware they are valued and appreciated. This can be demonstrated by the company with initiatives such as:

• Recognition and reward schemes (formal and informal)
• Celebrate milestones
• Team Days
• Recognise personal achievements (weddings/ births/ graduations)
• Work life balance/ flexible working arrangements
• Provide constructive feedback
• Respect
• Offer opportunities for growth
• Actively listen
• Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)/ Mental Health First Aiders
• Check in with employees to gain their input into what their ideal culture would look like/ what could improve their working environment & experience/ suggestions on how to achieve this.

Leadership – Company culture often cascades from the top down. Ensure your company leaders are demonstrating the values, beliefs and desired behavioural norms of the company and setting the tone for the wider business.

Communication – all employees should feel comfortable raising concerns, sharing ideas and feedback. Your company should be open and transparent with communication and share regular updates with the workforce to make them feel more aligned with the business mission and values.

Compliance – ensure your company adheres to all legal requirements and upholds ethical standards. This will enhance business reputation and ensure employees have a framework on which to base their behaviour.

Customer Importance – putting customers at the fore of decision making and prioritising their experience with your company enhances business reputation and relationships as customer satisfaction and loyalty increase.

Teamwork – provide an environment that supports collaboration and teamwork.

Trust – create a sense of trust amongst employees with transparency and accountability.

Flexibility & Adaptability – a positive and strong company culture must be able to adapt to change and circumstances.

We are great at this at Agile – please do get in contact if you would like us to support your business with any of the above!