Artemis Clarke feel very strongly about workplace culture and environment and wanted to ensure these standards were enforced from the very start

These standards have been in place since the business was created, as we feel very strongly about workplace culture and environment and wanted to ensure these standards were enforced from the very start. As the team has grown, the standards have expanded to cover more people and wider streams of work, but the core of the business and the standards put in place have remained a priority.

Flexible working is probably the greatest benefit we offer our staff. There are no set hours to work within, and all meetings where everyone needs to attend are agreed and planned to fit around the team's needs in advance, and even once agreed can still be made flexible if needs be.

We find that some of the team work their best in the morning, others late at night, and most of the team have children so need to work around appointments, school, and other activities. Forcing the team to work within set hours for the sake of it seems counterproductive, and we have found that everything gets done in a timely manner. The team works extremely well having autonomy over their own working day. The quid pro quo is that we all account for our hours using timesheets, but actually this really makes you focus on where you spend your time and promote efficient ways of working.

We strive to do the best for the team, and in the future as the business grows, we are hoping to introduce a shorter work week. This will effectively result in a pay-rise for all staff as the pro-rata element will be calculated on a smaller number of hours. By supporting the team financially as well as structurally within the business they become a more rounded, dependable, and reliable unit, with less external stress and worries which ultimately comes back around to benefitting the business overall.

Every month we meet up for a team walk, as we all feel that being outside helps the team to open-up and be able to chat more easily and naturally than sitting around a desk. We can discuss anything in these meetings and take turns to go through things that we are proud of that month, elements that we can improve on, and this allows opportunity to grow and develop individually, and as a team.

The Charter offers great advice and guidelines for those who may not know how to go about implementing these standards, or who may not have worked using these standards in the past. It can be quite daunting when changing certain elements of a business and having the support of the Charter and the framework to use as a starting point makes the process a lot more streamlined and easier to use.

The impact on the business and employees goes hand-in-hand. The more autonomy and responsibility employees feel during their working day affects their attitude towards workload, other employees, and their job as a whole. This, in turn means that the business benefits from a happy, independent, and supported team, creating a great culture, and working environment which continues to grow, develop, and improve.

Good employment practice is key in all businesses and introducing these practices across the West of England is a very positive move. Businesses in the local area will be able to improve and develop their practices, and employees will see the benefits first-hand.

We would highly recommend the Charter to our peers and other business owners as it helps to guide employers in a positive and simple way to achieve the best for employees and therefore their businesses. The guidelines provide a great framework to build upon and allows employers to work through the guidelines and utilise the sections which apply to their business at the time and helps to guide further as their businesses grow.