1. GC SURVEY
In March we asked all colleagues to complete a survey, ran by WorkBuzz. This gave you the chance to share honest feedback on how you felt about GC with a focus on input to help shape our future ways of working.
I would like to express my huge appreciation for your participation which delivered our highest ever response rate of 82% (63% in our last survey) providing confidence that the survey is truly reflective of your views. Our engagement score now stands at 86% (up from 67%), which is 12% higher than organisations of a similar size and nature. It was great to see the positive views below, whilst also recognising areas for development:
- 91% of you are proud to work for the Growth Company (20% more than previously and 13% more than our benchmark organisations)
- 86% of you would recommend the Growth Company as a good employer (24% more than previously and 17% more than our benchmark organisations)
- 94% of you would be happy to recommend our products and services (12% more than previously and 15% more than our benchmark organisations)
And, congratulations to the five winners of our survey lucky dip – April Tomlinson, Ian Lancaster, Loide Costa, Matthew Barton and Stephen Kershaw – who have each received £50, credited to their GC Hive account.
Future ways of working
To help address key development areas as well as digesting all the feedback from the survey, we will be working within each Business Unit as well as with our Organisational Development Steering Group (ODSG), Employee Consultative Committee (ECC) and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Groups to share the survey’s results and progress discussions to shape our future ways of working. If you would like to become more involved, please get in touch.
2. ANNUAL LEAVE
You will recall that last year we took the decision that colleagues would not be permitted to carry forward any annual leave in to 2021/22. This was due to the negative impact that annual leave carry-forward has on the Group’s annual accounts, year-on-year (as this ‘liability’ acts as a cost item in the accounts, thereby reducing profit). Because of this, and the positive effect taking regular breaks has on health and wellbeing, we are making this approach permanent.
It is therefore important that you plan your leave throughout the year to avoid losing any of your annual leave allowance. There will be very limited exceptions to this, related to statutory provisions e.g. Maternity leave or long-term sick leave. These exceptions will be detailed in the Group Annual Leave Policy.
This early notice should provide sufficient time for you to plan your holidays throughout 2021/22. For those who wish to purchase additional annual leave, the window will be open again in September.
3. RETURN TO WORKPLACES
Whilst many colleagues have been enjoying the longer daylight hours and the easing of certain Covid restrictions in line with the Government Roadmap, I know many of you are also keen to understand what our own GC roadmap looks like.
We are adopting a phased approach regarding the ability for you to meet with colleagues, hold team meetings, visit client sites, and return to the workplace. The implementation of this will of course be subject to reviewing progress at each stage, along with the progress of the Government Roadmap. Our planned approach is as follows:
The Current Situation
There are already colleagues who are using our workspaces – largely concentrated in our Education & Skills and Employment teams – to support our young and vulnerable learners and clients. Measures are in place to minimise risks related to Covid, including the use of lateral flow tests, temperature checks and social distancing. This is working well for clients and colleagues.
Face coverings must be worn on public transport, moving around inside our offices and training centres and any space in which 2 metre social distancing cannot be adhered to, unless you have a medical exemption. They can be removed during meetings, as long as the 2-metre rule is observed. Where possible, please also take the opportunity to increase natural ventilation (e.g. by opening doors and windows where practical).
Step One: 17th May
We will allow all teams to have team meetings in some of our offices from the 17th May onwards (bookable from the 7th May). As we said last year, it will not be mandatory for team members to physically attend these meetings if they have reservations about doing so – we are creating the opportunity that many colleagues have asked for. Please note that at this stage, colleagues should not occupy the wider accommodation space in the building pre- or post-meeting (including going to your locker, if you have one). All sites that have reopened are covered by our GC Risk Assessment. We will send a separate email later this week with a reminder of how to book rooms using the Talos booking service and other key considerations.
Step Two: 21st June
We will open our new desk booking system for Lee and Broadgate (formally Churchgate) House, Warren Bruce Court, and Longsight to colleagues who are members of the Education & Skills and Employment Teams to book individual office desks, thereby extending the opportunity to use workspaces beyond immediate client interaction. Jon-Paul and Michelle will let colleagues in Education & Skills and Employment know how to use the new system nearer the time. This will be a great opportunity for us to test and learn from the booking system. At this point it is anticipated that the Government’s Roadmap will remove the ‘work at home if you can’ message and we can look forward to more choice and flexibility in our approach, better able to balance business and client needs.
At this stage, in line with the Government’s Roadmap we would also allow for visits to client premises and attendance at events, and as under our previous guidance including a review of their relevant risk assessments. We will provide more information on this shortly.
Step Three: 19th July
It is currently intended that ALL colleagues will be able to book desks from 19th July. A Group comms will be sent with full instructions and guidance nearer the time.
All of the steps outlined above will be implemented in a way that adheres to the latest Government guidelines – there may be changes if, for example, there are any changes to the Government Roadmap.
Lateral flow testing
As part of our current approach to managing Covid risks, colleagues who are entering the workplace are making use of free lateral flow tests. These are easily accessible and easy to use (although I personally know these are not nice).
I would like to encourage all colleagues who come into GC workspaces to take a lateral flow test, to help protect each other, our clients and to prevent future Covid outbreaks. I recognise that this type of testing does have its limitations, but it is an important step in managing the risk of Covid infections in the workplace. Where Education & Skills and Employment colleagues are already doing this, it appears to be working well. Tests can be ordered free of charge from the NHS, where they will typically arrive at your home address within 24 hours of ordering. Tests should be taken the day before any meeting with colleagues, clients, or attendance at one of our sites. For those who are attending our worksites more frequently, tests should be taken twice a week.
I’d like to thank all colleagues who have already adopted this approach, coming into our offices and training centres and operating in a face-to-face environment throughout recent months. Again, as explained, we will review this approach as the Roadmap evolves and the Government’s review of social distancing measures is issued next month.
I know that this email has covered a lot of ground, from our survey, to future ways of working, annual leave, our timeline for returning to the office and lateral flow testing. Thanks for your patience in reading this far! If you have any queries on the issues covered in this email, please follow up with your line manager in the first instance or contact your HR Business Partner.