#NationalInclusionWeek2021
Today marks the beginning of National Inclusion Week. As an organisation we are continually striving to build a culturally sustainable business and it's days like today we can take a moment to reflect on what we have achieved so far, and the journey ahead.
However cynical you may or may not be about the recent Government plans for the right to request flexible working from day one, it is still a timely one for Multiplex as we continue to roll out our new flexible working practices across our sites in the UK.
In the midst of Covid, flexible working was trialed by a number of our sites with much more than just "working from home" and, through the help and support of organisations such as Timewise, we have now arrived at a suite of options for flexible working that the UK industry has not seen before.
The purpose is clear - we want to create a flexible working environment that is equitable and results in happy, healthy & more productive people.
The approach is straight forward – Multiplex Flex is designed around teams where all options work for the team, the project and the individual. It is based on trust, our values as a business and fundamentally, it is fair and available for everyone in the business.
As my Talent Acquisition team face a more challenging than ever time within a fiercely competitive market - Flex will help us attract and retain a much more diverse workforce, key to us keeping our edge. It will re-open doors back in to work for mothers, fathers and carers. It will allow our sporty, creative, colleagues more time to follow their passions and interests outside of work, and will give us all a bit of balance back to our lives right when we need it most. This is the tip of the iceberg, it's not just about getting the logistics right, but it will give our colleagues more time to reflect on the role that work plays in their lives.
From a gender perspective, Multiplex Flex will help us shift the balance within our organisation, not just to attract and retain female talent but to shift the caring responsibilities so that our men are also able to support their partners more. By tackling the "long hours" work culture the impact will be lessened on more senior women and those that are single parent households. Our own gender pay gap, and that of our industry, still has significant barriers to being reduced. It is only by implementing these types of cultural change initiatives that we will make any significant impact.
I am so proud of the work and collaboration that has gone in to Multiplex Flex from all areas of the business making it the success that it is. Feedback so far is hugely positive, especially from our site based staff who thought that this was impossible.
As a HR team, we don't just discuss flexible working on day one - it's embedded in to our on-boarding, induction and workforce planning processes and we start the conversations early.
Next year to support our equality, diversity and inclusion goals, we hope to build on the work we have done so far to implement a variety of initiatives and Multiplex Flex will be integral to the success of those. Most notably, I have plans to create our first returners programme to bring lost female talent back in to the industry and Multiplex Flex will make this transition back in to work so much easier. We have to move one step at a time but I am really excited about the changes we can make in 2022!
People perform better when they feel they can be themselves. Having a working environment where staff are encouraged to bring their whole selves to the workplace is even more important than ever.