Better Together

Embracing Change

Nicola Reeves

Group HR Director

Where there’s change, there’s also an opportunity to make things better and COVID-19 gave us the cause to completely rethink the way we work.

When we moved into lockdown, we were lucky enough to have the network infrastructure to be able to go seamlessly from the office to home and everything ‘worked’. However, while the technology was there to make that happen, like most industries we were faced with a new challenge – how to look after an entire company; remotely.

The challenges were new and varied, which meant we needed to react quickly to change, creating and adapting as we went along. This was all made possible because of the huge trust we place in our people and their constant commitment to us, which has been so evident throughout the past year. They have continued to deliver the right outcomes for the business, for our teams and for our customers regardless of where they have been working.

Smart ways of working

As restrictions eased, we began a phased return to our offices for those that wanted to or needed to, we introduced what we called our ‘Smart Ways of Working’ principles. This new policy gave our people a choice on how much time they spent working in the office, at home, or at any other suitable location.

This was the result of a company-wide collaborative approach.

It meant any change to our way of working was only going to be made with the involvement and contribution of our people, as well as the full support of our executive team.

We introduced regular email updates and feedback surveys to help assess the well-being of our people, receiving an average engagement rate of 70%. It was based on feedback from our people across all locations that our new framework based on a flexible approach to working was created, and began as a 12-month trial in September 2020.

We know that by being flexible with hours, location and the surroundings our teams are working in, there are benefits to their mental and physical well-being, the environment and business productivity.

The well-being of our people A sustainable future for all

Well-being is always important, but never more so than during a pandemic. By reviewing and adjusting employee benefits during this time, ensuring they were fit for purpose, made a huge impact on our people remaining positive and engaged. For example, enhancing well-being programmes and providing access to mental health and stress management services became a vital part of our workforce support. As did access to COVID-19 testing where needed, as it really showed we understood the challenges they faced and that as an employer we were there to support them. With environment and climate change playing a much bigger part in our lives, another benefit of these new smart ways of working was that by being flexible we can also reduce the need for unnecessary travel. For those who have chosen to come back to the office, we’re actively encouraging a more sustainable commute, such as walking, cycling or public transport. Also last year we launched a cycle subsidy scheme for our people and we’ll continue to shape and incentivise these decisions. As a business we have committed that we will only be making trips off-island when absolutely necessary, and instead of travelling we will be linking up by using the collaborative technology that has become second nature to most of us in the last 12 months.

Diversity, inclusion and belonging

Our ambition for JT is to create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected, and every employee can be themselves and reach their full potential.

We want JT to be innovative and productive so we can deliver the best products and services to our customers. Diversity will help us achieve this. Our vision is to be an organisation where everybody is free to be the best they can be, to grow and innovate in a respectful and supportive workplace that enables us to attract and retain a diverse talented workforce.

Workforce diversity

Recruit from a diverse, qualified group of candidates to increase diversity of thinking and perspective

We are also committed to the regular monitoring and auditing of diversity within our supply chain, allowing us to identify any Modern Slavery or unethical pay practices.

Workplace inclusion

Foster a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility and fairness to enable all employees to contribute to their full potential and increase retention

Carry out benchmarking to inform our initiatives.

Social inclusion

We will encourage talent across all sectors of society, regardless of background, to view all career opportunities within JT to be achievable

We will engage with local education authorities to promote technology as a career choice for all.

Through the launch of our remote working programme we will make it easier to grow our diverse workforce, regardless of location.

Sustainability and accountability

We will identify and breakdown internal systemic barriers to full inclusion by embedding diversity and inclusion in our policies and practices and equipping leaders with the ability to manage diversity and be accountable for the results

We continue to build out and accelerate management and leadership training in these areas.