Sennen’s approach encourages loyalty, improves staff retention and supports wellbeing and productivity

Because we want our team to feel supported and for individuals to thrive in the workplace. We want our team to feel invested in the company and feel part of a shared endeavour. This approach encourages loyalty, improves staff retention and supports wellbeing and productivity.

We don’t use zero hours contracts or agency staff – we employee staff on full employment contracts. We have a flexible working policy in place that covers place of work, hours of work and working pattern. We always pay at least Real Living Wage to all employees and contractors.

We are a small business and our staff are involved as appropriate in decision-making and change. We meet as a full team on a weekly basis for quick updates, and quarterly for strategy and direction setting meetings. We do our best to undertake unbiased recruitment processes.

Our company values emphasise the trust we have in our people, and our commitment to support them to thrive. We have clear policies around bullying and harassment as well as equal opportunities. Our senior team are open and talk about health and wellbeing, and check in with staff informally on a regular basis. Our flexible work arrangements are a key element of supporting staff wellbeing.

Essentially, we believe that work should be enjoyable and a transparent commitment to fair working practices is an important part of that. A supportive and open culture results in a productive and loyal workforce.

Running recruitment free of bias is difficult when using recruitment agencies, or via direct recruit on LinkedIn. Tech and marketing agencies regularly send candidate profiles with names, even sometimes with photographs and dates of birth. We have even had CVs that include marital status. Working with recruitment agencies to improve these practices would make a big difference to our ability to improve on this element of the charter.

Effective tools for skills development and supporting health and wellbeing in small/start-up businesses with limited budgets would also be welcome. There are a plethora of employee benefits providers/packages now available and it can be hard to work out the best option.

Having a benchmark that is widely recognised and adopted in the region will help the West of England establish itself as a leading example of good employment practice.   It’s about making sure people have equal access to good quality work that is inclusive and flexible. This has far-reaching benefits for society and the economy and ultimately improves people’s lives. 

Adopting good employment practices is not only the right thing to do but also contributes to business and economic success. The charter is a great way of formalising business ambitions and offers a well thought out framework for companies to follow. The way it is structured is good for small companies as it allows them to build up the charter gradually rather than having to put it all in place straight away. The support on offer to help businesses develop their policies is also good and the opportunity to share ideas and practices with other companies in the region is valuable.