This month saw the SoGlos Gloucestershire Business Awards 2021 taking place in Weston Aviation’s private hangar at Gloucestershire Airport.
The awards aim to celebrate and showcase a diverse range of businesses within the county; from food and drink producers to educational establishments, sporting foundations to entrepreneurs, and everything in between. Brunsdon Financial were proud sponsors of the Best Place to Work award and were thrilled for the winners in the category, SLG Brands; congratulations!
Following the awards, we’re reflecting on what makes a great place to work.
Exciting benefits
This day and age, benefits have moved beyond offering the bare minimum to staff. While the only legal benefit most businesses are required to offer is that of auto-enrolment, many companies are now looking beyond that and thinking outside the box when it comes to their staff perks. Lots of leaders now recognise that their benefits packages can be used as a tool not only in attracting talent, but also retaining it.
Private medical insurance, group life cover and even employee carbon offsetting can often be spotted on today’s job descriptions, sometimes along with an additional day off for birthdays, regular team away days and other social events. Our Employee Benefits team work closely with our clients to ensure they and their employees are getting the best out of their benefits.
Positive culture
A positive working culture means different things to different businesses. At a basic level, it requires creating an environment with open communication between teams and their leaders, staff bonding opportunities and recognising achievements. Diversity and inclusion should be at the heart of creating a positive work culture to ensure opportunities exist for every team member.
Psychological safety could also be considered and can be defined as “contexts in which we perceive that we will not be penalised nor negatively judged for mistakes or failures, for challenging the status quo, or for being different[1].” In such environments where psychological safety is taken into account, employees tend to be more willing to share innovative ideas, may be less likely to leave and are more likely to voice their concerns on key issues.
Workplace environment
It makes sense that our work environment could have an impact on our productivity, not to mention affecting how we feel about going into the office. Clean, well lit and a comfortable temperature are of course the basics, but there are other ways to get the best out of your working space.
Incorporating design elements that reflect your values, such as collaborative spaces or areas devoted to innovation, may contribute to a boost in performance but more importantly could provide a place that your employees are actually happy to work from all day. Environmental health factors might be worth considering, too. The UK Green Building Council reported that air quality could impact on performance by as much as 11%[2]. We can’t design your office but we can help you put together a great benefits package for your employees.
