What brought you to coaching?

I was first bitten by the coaching bug when I was working in a financial institution and had taken a short coaching course to be a better team lead and supervisor. It was only several years later in 2019 that I decided to train as a coach. What made me take this leap of faith? As I am a Christian, I believe that this is what God is calling me into as my purpose in this season of my life. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make as training and then starting my coaching business in 2020, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic was a big step outside my comfort zone. It was definitely one which took a lot of courage and yes, a big leap of faith into the unknown. However, since I made this transition, I am pleased to say that it has been fulfilling on all fronts and I know that through my 800+ hours of coaching with over 200+ clients, I know I am making an impact to people in my own way.

Why is coaching important?

I like this quote by Tom Landry, an American football coach where he said, “A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.” A coach is not your friend or a mentor and a coach will not provide you with all the answers. However, a coach will partner with you to find out who you truly are – your potential to be the person you can be – and support you in setting goals, developing the right mindset and belief in yourself that you already have all the answers within you to live a fulfilling, purposeful life. There may be difficult moments in a coaching conversation where you discover a particular way of thinking that you have been adopting has been holding you back. Facing these difficult moments with your coach will help you grow and achieve what you truly want from your life. I believe we all have the potential to create and leave a positive impact in the community and society we live in and working with your coach will help you discover what that means for you.

What benefits can clients expect?

A fully engaged and committed client to their professional and personal growth will see positive changes in the way they think and behave. They will gain awareness of their own limiting beliefs and inner critics in their minds that have been holding them back from achieving their goals in life. They will better understand their emotions and develop strategies to manage them better. A coach will first work with the client to clearly articulate their primary goal for the coaching engagement. It could be to secure the promotion, be a better people manager, manage a career transition or manage stress and difficult relationships. Depending on the chosen goal, the coach will work with the client to progress towards the primary goal by taking small action steps in that direction. I often invite my clients to envision what it would look like to them when they have achieved their goals and how they feel about it. It’s to see the reality of their goals as clearly as their current situation. Once they have seen it, they will then be more motivated to work towards it. You don’t need to have all the answers now, just the motivation and desire to take that first step.

How do you help them to see their introversion as a strength, and not a weakness?

People often mistake introverted traits as shyness or a sense of aloofness. Introverts are not always shy and yes, it is common to know a shy introvert. Introverts tend to find their energy from within, thinking about things, contemplating all aspects of a particular situation, sitting with an idea and considering all angles before going forward with it. Introverts may also be more sensitive to the people around them and have a tendency to be more empathetic. They are naturally geared towards building strong one-to-one relationships and enjoy deep meaningful conversations. If you think of all these traits, these are definitely not signs of weakness. These traits are definitely needed in positions of leadership and authority. In reality, we are all human beings and cannot be fitted in a neat, nice wrapped package. Some introverts may appear more extroverted and even the most introverted of people can have moments of extroversion, especially when they are speaking about things that they are passionate about.

Diversity is inviting all types of individuals to the party and equity is ensuring that there are no barriers or obstacles for these individuals to attend the party. Inclusion is making it possible for the attendees to take part in the activities of the party.

How do you help introverts with their visibility in the workplace?

A lot of the work that I do with introverted professionals is to help them develop strategies to be more visible in the workplace. It could be that the individual has been advised by his/her manager that in order to step up into a leadership role, the senior management needs to know him/her. It could be that the nature of the role requires this person to engage with a lot more stakeholders. The starting point is to understand the reason for the person to want to be more visible and to get really clear on this reason. This will be the anchor that the subsequent coaching conversations will be based on. A common example is that an employee has been asked to network more as her job requires her to interact with other people from various departments in the organisation. When she hears the word “networking”, it puts her off and she ends up feeling that it is a chore. At times, when she is pressured to go to a networking event, she either feels resentful or anxious and ends up having a miserable time. If we worked together in a coaching engagement, I will explore with her why she feels so negatively about networking. It may come up that she feels that networking is very transactional and demeans the relationships formed i.e. “What can I get out from the other person?”. We will then explore how she cannot view networking as that and move towards something that she can find purpose and meaning in. She may come up with a different word for it e.g., creating meaningful conversations. Once she is clear on her intention of creating meaningful conversations in these events, I’ll ask her to set a small achievable goal, e.g. speak to 3 people in the event and walk away knowing one to two meaningful things about them. More often than not, once the goal is met, the person is motivated to widen the scope of the goal and may even start to enjoy this process.

I believe it always starts with an intention. For example, if an introvert is struggling to speak up in meetings where there are usually more outspoken individuals, the tendency is to sit back and say nothing. However, if the introvert goes into that meeting with an intention to speak for at least 2 minutes on a topic that he is passionate about, he will work out a way to share his point. It may entail speaking to the meeting organiser before the meeting and asking for airtime. It may entail getting his manager or a peer who will also be at the meeting to create an opportunity for him to speak. It also comes out to the person’s mindset. Ask yourself, “If I don’t share this, how will this impact the outcome of the meeting?”. “Who am I depriving this information from if I don’t speak up?” or “What benefit am I holding back if I keep silent?”

So, start with an intention on how you want to approach the particular situation, plan beforehand what you need to do and approach it with the mindset that will help you carry out your intention. It will definitely get easier with practice!

What are the most common diversity and inclusion areas that you help clients with?

I’m also passionate about creating awareness of diversity and inclusion topics both in the individual professional and in their workplace. Some of the common diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) topics that I have coached my clients on managing diverse teams from different cultures and backgrounds located in various countries, understanding their own unconscious biases which show up in their interactions with others and dealing with challenges that arise from being different and not really fitting in. I came across an interesting analogy of what DEIB (B stands for belonging) from the many DEI literature that I’ve read is that of holding a party. Diversity is inviting all types of individuals to the party and equity is ensuring that there are no barriers or obstacles for these individuals to attend the party. Inclusion is making it possible for the attendees to take part in the activities of the party. Finally, belonging means everyone is able to feel relaxed and really enjoy the party as who they are without feeling uncomfortable or out of place. I believe that tackling this – how to make sure your employees feel like they belong to your organisation – is much more difficult than coming up with a DEI policy in your company. It will take a lot of open and honest communication with the people in your organisation to understand what belonging means to them and meet them there where possible.

What are your thoughts on the future of coaching?

I don’t think we can run away from the fact that technological advances will make significant changes to the way we coach. Just like how we have smart contracts for legal work, there are increasingly more apps that leverage artificial intelligence to provide general tips and advice on improving your mental wellness and creating emotional resilience. I also believe that AI will not take the place of the human element in coaching. That is also one of the reasons why I trained and am certified as a mentor coach because I believe in supporting my fellow coaches to continue to grow and enhance their coaching skills and competencies to remain relevant and impactful to the people they coach and support. I can see myself coaching for as long as I can create a positive impact on my coachees. That is my legacy – to leave positive ripple effects in the people I coach so that they can in turn make an impact in the lives of people around them and the communities they live in.

Hybridisation hits the workplace

It’s also happening in the workplace. Tasks that were previously done by hand are now being handled in part, or their entirety, by computers. Expenses, for example, no longer involve stacks of receipts, a pen and a spreadsheet. Finance teams can collate, track, manage, and authorise reimbursements using computer software, courtesy of companies like Moss. Someone still has ultimate responsibility for clicking a button to authorise a claim, but the software handles a large portion of the process. Out-of-pocket purchases from employees are handled so simply in this streamlined process and there's hardly room for human error. It's clear, therefore, that the symbiosis between humans and machines can be highly effective in the modern workplace.

Continuing the digitisation of modern working practices is the rise of online meetings. With people around the world forced to host events online over the last few years, it’s become par for the course. Yes, there is a desire to get out into the real world and interact, but we’re now conditioned to having work meetings online and even watching concerts via our computers.

In line with this movement towards digitisation of events are technological improvements. Products such as Zoom and Skype have streamlined their video calling services. Simultaneously, companies that host and manage online events, such as Virtual Venue and Eventcube, have grown in popularity. All of this has given rise to a new wave of hybrid events. Combining the physical with the digital and hosting hybrid events is more than a passing trend. Why? Aside from online events now being seen as a normal part of life, there is scope to reach more people.

Opening up events to the world via technology

Combining the physical with the digital means people can attend in person or watch via the internet. It’s also possible to introduce novel innovations. For example, breakout rooms have become popular at hybrid events. These are virtual meeting spaces where people at an event can have side discussions with people online. This innovation was used at B2B Summit North America 2022 where organisers combined breakout rooms with one-to-one virtual meeting spaces.

Another hybrid event that’s using the combination of the physical and the digital to facilitate networking is Gainsight Pulse Everywhere 2022. There are breakout rooms that attendees (live and online) can use to mimic the spur-of-the-moment encounters that often happen at conferences. Finally, there’s the ability to access on-demand content. Because hybrid events are streamed in real-time and recorded, people can replay the action whenever they want. That’s something the organisers of #FinCon22 embraced. Although the event was aimed at in-person attendees, anyone with a ticket could access recordings of talks via an on-demand service.

Hybrid events are gaining in popularity. That’s creating new opportunities for organisers, businesses and those that attend. However, the rise of these events is also an example of our move towards a hybrid way of living. Indeed, it aligns with the push towards metaverse technology, as well as many other aspects of our lives that combine the physical and the digital. Therefore, as we move into the future, it’s clear that hybrid events will slowly become the norm.

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According to reports, a company with an inclusive workplace is six times more likely to be innovative than a non-inclusive workplace. Here's how innovative leadership can lead to better inclusion in the workplace.

1. Leading In Brand Values

Inclusion is about everyone in the workplace. It refers to the type of environment which strives for equity and respect regardless of origin, race, gender, background, age, and experience. Diversity is about respecting and recognising the unique experiences, qualities, and perspectives that every individual brings to the organisation. One way leadership can lead to better inclusion is to lead in brand values. 

Values-based leadership is the type of leadership based on honesty, trust, respect, and dignity. It's the type of leadership that regards every individual in the company as a valued individual. Values-based leaders instil a standard set of values in all their employees, which improve their cohesiveness and willingness to work together as a team. Recognising that a manager or leader has similar beliefs often motivates employees to follow what the leader says, which increases the chances of success for every organisation. 

If done right, a values-based leadership enhances engagement and improves performance and retention - all these could foster growth and profitability for the company. Leaders who lead in values have specific traits and qualities that make them good at leading people.

2. Inclusion In Decision Making

In today's work environment, employees who experience a high level of inclusion at the management or organisational level enjoy favourable outcomes. These include better engagement, improved physical and psychological well-being, and increased performance and intentions to stay in the organisation. Innovative leaders who want to foster inclusivity at the workplace should promote inclusive decision making.

Studies show that inclusive teams can make better decisions. Teams that adhere to an inclusive decision-making process are two times more productive than teams that don't. In fact, inclusiveness and employee engagement are connected. Engaged employees are more likely to say that their company recognise diverse ideas and do what is right. 

To encourage inclusive decision-making, managers should communicate to their teams that every team member should look at the whole picture regardless of their role. They should put true inclusion into practice in all aspects of their jobs, and managers should express this to the team. They should encourage everyone to seek alternatives and different perspectives when making decisions and solving issues at work.

Employees should feel safe when voicing out different opinions. This is important when establishing trust among members of the organisation. Leaders who foster an environment where employees are encouraged to speak up create psychological safety for employees who may not have been heard in the past. If team members listen and recognise each other's perspectives, they help build an inclusive workplace.

3. More Inclusive Recruitment

Inclusive recruitment is the process of recruitment that involves recruiting diverse individuals by recognising and valuing different sets of opinions and backgrounds. The hiring process should be intersectional and consider more than just race or gender. An inclusive recruiting environment recognises how differing ideas, experiences, and values can achieve a common goal. By coming up with a diverse workforce team, your teams will be forced to think outside the box when making decisions and addressing issues in the workplace.

In most cases, coming up with a diverse team can be difficult. Sometimes, recruiters could choose candidates that they connect with personally or those that have the same qualities of employees that they already have in the company. 

The first step into having a more inclusive recruitment program is to educate your team on what these biases tend to look like. Most of the biases in recruitment include religion, race, or gender. While it's essential to be aware of these biases, other biases also exist, which prevents a recruiting team from finding the most suitable candidates. Employers should provide proper training and education to recruitment teams to minimise biases when recruiting. But this learning opportunity should go beyond just recruitment. It’s worth bringing in specialists within the industry. For example, you may need payroll recruitment support to bring in an expert that can get you the diverse coverage you need whilst still using values-driven recruiting. The other teams and departments should also be aware of the importance of having an inclusive environment.

Employers should widen their candidate search when it comes to inclusive recruitment. If your pool of candidates consists of individuals with similar backgrounds, education, and level of experience, your search might be too narrow. Besides, similar individuals use similar channels when applying for jobs. Therefore, think of more creative ways when advertising your job openings to widen your pool of candidates.

4. Leaders Training Managers

Not only is leadership training beneficial to managers, but it's also beneficial for the company as a whole. If you promote leadership roles, you recognise their abilities, professional drive, and work ethics to succeed.

Managers who lack the necessary skill sets and training can be risky to promote, potentially leading to their downfall and, perhaps, the company. Leadership and management training courses are crucial to the long-term success of every organisation, especially if you want to promote inclusivity in the workplace. When building a high-performing team, leaders should be able to optimise the expertise of their employees and prepare the next generation of influential leaders. By teaching managers practical leadership skills, leaders can increase workplace productivity. One of the essential roles of managers is to provide direction to staff and ensure they perform at their best. During training, they will learn how to manage their teams better, assess problems, and make informed decisions.

Leadership training creates an opportunity for employees to achieve new heights in their careers. As a result, employee performance will be enhanced since they will further develop their skills through invested training. In addition, if you give employees a role that can help shape your company's future, they will respond with loyalty. Developing existing employees is also more cost-effective than bringing in new talents, as it will not require you to spend money on advertising, recruitment, and onboarding costs.

John Forword, Reed Finance expert, says finance companies need to match the career aspirations and values of a generation which knows what it wants from prospective employers.

For some firms, this already means investing in organisational change in order to compete for and secure the employees they will need for a stronger commercial future.

Generation Z – those born from 1995 onwards - offer a unique and prized set of skills and aspirations. The combination of being tech-savvy, entrepreneurial in outlook and collaborative by nature in order to co-create, are some of the key characteristics that separate Gen Z from previous generations.

And finance companies want what they offer.

But in the face of increasing competition to attract the very best talent from a pool that is in demand, the need for finance industry employers to take a holistic look at their cultures and structure to ensure they chime with what Generation Z is looking for becomes increasingly pressing.

In the face of increasing competition to attract the very best talent from a pool that is in demand, the need for finance industry employers to take a holistic look at their cultures and structure to ensure they chime with what Generation Z is looking for becomes increasingly pressing.

For many companies, these changes are well underway with some businesses already looking to leave others behind in the race for Generation Z. Reed Finance recently conducted an in-depth survey of 500 senior finance professionals to see what companies were doing to attract this generation to help companies not only keep up but get ahead in the race to capture Generation Z talent.

1. Initial changes being made by firms include the redefinition of existing training, development and succession models, which 36% of companies questioned said they were undertaking. 
2. A third of firms are already looking at broadening workplace technology and systems deployment, and a quarter admitted that they were striving to develop more collaborative working environments. 
3. In recognition of the need to reshape reward and remuneration models to more accurately match the demands of a new, aspirational workforce, 22% said this process was currently underway within their organisations.
4. Companies have also been working hard to develop more collaborative working environments, with 25% saying they had already put plans to achieve this into action.
5. The majority of employers (60%) said they believed that their company is not doing enough to adapt in many areas and entice talent from Generation Z.

In short, employers know that this generation is completely different from what came before and they are making changes but there are key opportunities for attracting the next generation.

1. Potential recruits will be judging organisations on a number of criteria to determine if the firm is the right one for them in terms of opportunity, development, job satisfaction and enjoyment. So companies must demonstrate these in clear, progression lines.
2. Aside from the actions already undertaken by companies, it is clear, from a number of studies that Generation Z seeks out greater flexibility in the workplace when compared to predecessors. If flexibility is on the table then it will make a major difference.
3. Technology and the opportunity to work with developing and innovative advances in tech is also near the top of the priority list, alongside the demand for a transparent and achievable career progression vision. 

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In order to succeed in attracting the next generation, companies must be clear about creating the right type of workplace scenarios and addressing the critical areas outlined above. They must also recognise the personality characteristics that drive the ambition and vision of Generation Z talent.

This next-generation has a fearlessness and confidence to articulate what they want and are happy to demand it from prospective employers. They want to work for a firm that matches their desire to progress and develop, as well as operate by shared values. If they do not find it, they are likely to vote with their feet and look elsewhere.

But making these changes isn’t easy. Nearly a quarter admitted that redefining training, development and succession models would be the most difficult to achieve, followed closely by the task of altering reward and remuneration practices and creating more collaborative working environments.

However, the message is clear. If you want to attract the best Generation Z talent, finance organisations need to be mindful of the need to provide flexible working conditions, more imaginative rewards and remuneration structures, cutting edge technology, proven career progression opportunity and invest in developing and sustaining collaborative and sociable workplace environments.

Companies that ignore the working demands of Generation Z will end up losing them to rivals.

Amy Parkinson, Principal in the Financial Leadership Practice at executive search firm Berwick Partners, considers the current landscape for women in finance, and whether the gender gap is a challenge or an opportunity.

Workplace for women

The opportunity for women in finance to reach top roles does exist, and the good news is that the workplace for women is changing, with greater flexibility around maternity and paternity leave certainly helping. The internal focus of businesses to identify and support talented women is also a contributor, as organisations take seriously their commitment to diversity, and recognise that women on boards add valuable perspectives at a senior level.

Whilst there are many women in finance, there are simply not enough at board level.

We see many male leaders reflecting on their unconscious bias and behaviours which may in the past have inadvertently discouraged women from reaching their full potential. This shows they can be women’s biggest allies in reducing the gender gap in finance.

Increasingly, we see evidence of promising female finance leaders coming through from a wide cross-section of academic disciplines, inspired by initiatives such as STEM Learning, which has encouraged young women to pursue education in maths, tech, engineering and the sciences. Graduates in these areas are well-positioned to later secure roles in accountancy practices, the finance industry, or in financial leadership, because of their strong numerical and analytical bias. This is helping the next generation of women to enter the workplace equipped with the skills to make it to the top.

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Financial leadership is certainly in-step with the rise in the number of women at the top - in 2018, 44% of the senior finance appointments we made were of women. This would have been closer to 30% five years ago. However, it still remains that whilst there are many women in finance, there are simply not enough at board level.

Since 1998, The Female FTSE Board Report[1] produced annually by Cranfield University’s School of Management has monitored trends in women’s representation on FTSE 350 boards. According to the 2019 Report, there are 339 female held directorships across the FTSE 100 corporate boards. The percentage of women on those boards has increased from 29% one year ago to 32.1%, so it is a positive step in the right direction.

The report also identifies some finance specific insights:

• There is a high degree of financial literacy amongst women in FTSE boards, as 55% have held financial roles across finance, auditing, investment, treasury and banking.
• 13% of women directors hold a recognised financial qualification, and 22% hold an MBA degree, in which finance is a core subject.

Certainly, this is evidence of the value of financial qualifications to a strong career path to the top, but many boards are still not adjusting company culture to encourage women to pursue executive careers.

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Shifting skills base

Financial leadership roles have evolved from the more straightforward financial record keeper to a business leader with exceptional financial intelligence, and proven skills across commercial, strategic, operational and leadership competencies. As well as financial skills, it’s important to develop a broad base of ‘soft’ skills to offer credible advice.

Stepping stones

Various studies into the numbers, or lack of, women in senior finance positions, suggest various reasons for the slow progress for women in finance, including investor concerns that women lack City experience.

Efficient career planning can and does make a difference to turning the challenge of diversity into an opportunity. Taking time to invest in identifying the roles key to creating a solid career path is invaluable.

In particular, roles employers look for on a CV are Divisional Finance Director and Group Financial Controller. These give the opportunity to develop relationships with key career influencers and prove strategic expertise with a panoramic view of internal and external issues.

The Group Financial Controller (GFC) role provides exposure to the key influencers in their future career – the board, investors, auditors, brokers and banks. It also demands solid relationship-building with a highly valuable network, which will gain a reputation as a trusted financial steward in business. The role of GFC can be a real differentiator with its focus on the more strategic elements of a business and delivers the chance to impress and build credibility with stakeholders. Within a listed company, it is unlikely a CFO won’t have undertaken a GFC role at some point in their career.

Also valuable is a Divisional Financial Director role. This demonstrates capability to drive performance in a business. Being accountable to the Group demonstrates ability to build the all-important value for the shareholder, especially under close scrutiny and high pressure.

There are numerous examples of different career paths women have taken to the top of an organisation, and for female finance professionals, the role of CFO features often.

Frequently the confidant and ‘right hand’ to the CEO, a CFO not only needs the financial insight and analytical skills to challenge the business but is also expected to be curious, to ask the CEO questions about all areas of the business. Little surprise therefore that it follows that many CFOs go on to become CEOs.

Walk the talk

In a recent study ‘The Route to CFO’, we sought the opinions of sixty CFOs from a range of industries and backgrounds and asked them for their advice for aspiring CFOs. We found that the role of a CFO today is not just managing the finances, but also being a true business leader.

The CFOs we surveyed had built a broad base of skills to give them the knowledge to offer credible advice and challenge themselves with situations that give opportunity to demonstrate their value. Many gained international experience, and they all built relationships with the business and their teams to gain respect as a real leader.

CFOs also advocate seeking out opportunities to develop leadership skills. The days of a traditional ‘ivory towered’ FD are well and truly behind us. An effective leader has to be the trusted adviser who leads the executive and their own teams.

Growing knowledge and networks to support personal and professional development is paramount.

Seek support

Growing knowledge and networks to support personal and professional development is paramount. This is something we are actively striving to tackle by creating programmes designed to inspire, inform and encourage future leaders, specifically supporting aspiring CFOs and finance leaders to navigate the next step in their career.

The Emerging Leaders programme ‘matches’ high performing individuals aspiring to Executive Board level positions with mentors, and connects with a network of prominent business figures.

Opportunity

For women in finance taking a strategic approach to their career to the top, the gender gap is an opportunity worth tackling. Many organisations are serious about diverse leadership and are actively looking to correct the gender imbalance. Look to Oracle Corporation and its Chief Executive and CFO Safra Catz, and tobacco giant Imperial Brands’ Chief Executive Alison Cooper who began her career as an auditor at Deloitte and joined Imperial Tobacco as Group Finance Manager and was promoted two years later to Group Financial Controller. The number of women at the top of financial leadership may not yet be where it should be, but is on the up; I hope the 44% of senior finance appointments we made in 2018 being of women, hits 50% by 2020.

For more about Berwick Partners, visit: https://www.berwickpartners.co.uk/

[1] as of 5 June 2019; source: Female FTSE Index 2019.

Yet, our working days are getting more demanding and the time we must juggle both our personal, and professional lives seems to be even more restricted.

Maintaining a positive work-life balance is a key factor for employee happiness. Because of this, and in order to better work around personal lives and work demands, dynamic working, which was once a somewhat unfamiliar term, is now a highly sought-after workplace benefit. Below Derren Bevington, Business Director at Michael Page Finance, explains further.

Dawnconsultancy offers full range of dynamic consultancy including Dubai offshore company in UAE, providing best innovative financing solutions to help troubleshoot any business problem with ease.

In fact, in previous research, we found that 66% of professionals working in banking and financial services would like to see flexible working hours offered by their employer and 53% also listed work from home options in their top three desired benefits. However, only 26% of those surveyed had actually been given the option to work from home.

Why is it important?

A recent study conducted by Michael Page shows that millennials expect flexible working to be offered as standard in the workplace and not as an additional benefit. However, this doesn’t mean that those who fall outside of this age group don’t equally enjoy the benefits of dynamic working or want them to be included as part of their working life. The ability to plan work around personal life events allows individuals to better organise their time, take care of their physical and mental wellbeing, and ensures that they are in the best position to manage a productive work schedule. As we are in a candidate-short market, it is important good people are retained. Being able to adapt to the changing motivations of employees to drive forward retention in later years is key.

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How to introduce dynamic working

What’s important to remember is that flexibility in the workplace is defined differently by everyone; what works for one person may not work for another. The key to success is to ensure that it is tailored to the individuals in the workforce and that they have the option to choose what is important to them.

Flexible working does not mean fewer working hours. It is a way to show employees they are trusted to do their job no matter the time or location they choose to work in.

Flexible working does not mean fewer working hours. It is a way to show employees they are trusted to do their job no matter the time or location they choose to work in.

These are my top tips for implementing flexible working successfully:

• Facilitate home access - the ability to work from home or a remote location can significantly improve productivity. Workers in these industries are usually comfortable with reviewing their emails first thing in the morning or responding to queries well after 5:30. In fact, the ability to sign in during a commute can amount to a lot more getting done, well before the rest of the team have even signed in.
• Establish flexibility champions - these individuals should be from right across the business, to demonstrate how they make it work best for them. This employee may be someone who takes a longer lunch break but comes in an hour early to compensate. Alternatively, it could be a parent who comes in later so they can drop their kids off in the mornings. Some companies have also enabled some of their employees, particularly those who live further distances from the office, to leave early as a means of making an earlier train but encourage them to log back in once they get home.
• Highlight great performance - this should happen for both employees in the office and those who on occasion work dynamically. However, if there is a noticeable improvement in an individual’s performance after adopting a dynamic working schedule, be sure that it is known across the company.
• Agree weekly deliverables - regardless of flexibility requirements - work from home, longer lunches, or later start times - every employee needs to know their KPIs and daily responsibilities to ensure they are working effectively. When dynamic working is introduced, this becomes increasingly important to ensure employees know what is expected of them.
• Consider job sharing - where it is feasible, perhaps two employees would work better on a part-time basis sharing the responsibilities of a single role on a week to week basis? Job sharing is a workable solution if two colleagues or new starters are only able to work restricted hours during the week. The key consideration for this working arrangement is to ensure each employee is effectively communicating with the person they are handing the job over to, this is so they are aligned in the requirements for the following day.

Ultimately, it’s important to define what dynamic working means in your business before implementation and ensure this is communicated to everyone in the company. The secret to maintaining a flexible working approach is to always make certain it remains adaptable to everybody’s needs. This working arrangement should be adjustable to the ever-changing schedule of people’s lives and encourage employees to produce their best work.

According to Lucy Franklin, Managing Director of Accordance VAT, this is disappointing, and has prompted responses ranging from outrage about the results to despair about the process, with a healthy dose of weak excuses thrown in for good measure.

In the criticisms and reporting, we run the risk of getting mired in the process, not the impact. Gender Pay Gap reporting represents an immense opportunity to identify if and where there are issues within a business. Visibility is the first step towards progress – and the gender pay gap is an issue we need progress on.

That said, I know that adopting new reporting obligations can be onerous – finance is full of filing and submissions, and Accordance is no stranger to mandatory deadlines. But in this instance, the benefits outweigh the administrative burden. Gender pay gap reporting offers the potential to identify, at every level of a business, where inequalities lie. Whilst this may appear a redundant statement, the lack of progress in gender equality in the workplace over recent decades can attest to the necessity of an issue being recognised, being visible, and being acted on.

This is why Accordance has made the decision to publish our gender pay gap statistics, despite being well beneath the legal threshold for reporting. I want Accordance VAT to play a role in changing a historically male dominated sector. Finance and professional services companies boast a huge number of talented, bright, determined women. Many of these women have great careers in support functions, but those shouldn’t be the only avenues open to them. Financial and professional services organisations are unfortunately disproportionately dominated by men in the more senior positions, and this needs to change. Reporting on our Gender Pay Gap may not affect the systemic issues, but it is a step towards addressing inequality more widely as well as setting the bar for other businesses. We want to lead the way in our sector, and that means voluntarily putting ourselves forward, celebrating our successes where we find them but being the first to highlight where progress is needed.

Publishing our results is just the first step. Having identified that our mean pay gap sits at 12.8% and our median pay gap at -3.5%, we know that we’re doing better than some of our larger competitors in the sector, but we can do more. Publishing our figures shows our commitment to tackling this gap, as do the range of measures we have put in place around recruitment, training, job shadowing, and progression policies. These policies don’t just relate to gender diversity, but also diversity in terms of ethnicity, culture, physical ability, health and mental health.

Fundamentally, greater equality in our sector is about much more than just an improvement in statistics. Finance drives the world – and thus has a significant impact on how lives are led. We need to attract the best and the brightest minds shaping this future – and we need people from different walks of life with a seat at the table. Women need to be as key as men in determining the shape and course of finance, and how it affects economies and shared futures. Again, publishing our statistics cannot affect global trends and practices, but it does demonstrate our commitment to equality, and our determination to reshape the sector we work in.

I urge other businesses below the threshold to join us – to publish statistics for staff and for the wider world, and to identify where progress needs to be made. Reporting and publishing on the picture of an organisation offers an immense opportunity to recognise where problems are, and in doing so shape and improve them for the benefit of everyone. Equality requires commitment and a will to change, but the benefits of a more diverse workforce will be felt both in and outside of the financial and professional services sector.

Identifying this comprehension gap, urging Millennials understand the gravity of today’s decisions on tomorrow's financial future, pensions experts, Profile Pensions, have researched average millennials spend and compared it to the government provided State Pension, revealing a concerning £1000 per month difference between the two monthly incomes.

Spending an average of £1770 a month, including living expenses, social activities and simple pleasures, the reasonable spend amount is still 142% more than what would receive if they only have the £731 State Pension to rely on.

With rent alone coming to 118% of the State Pension, even if millennials are to cut out all luxuries from their spend, such as Netflix, take away and nights out, the total spend of £1318 further raises the alarm bells that the State Pension is unsustainable.

Though, with the help of the Workplace Pensions Scheme and early intervention, little sacrifices can mean a world of difference for your future self.

The pension provider offers tips to both help slightly cut costs and take advantage of the scheme to maximise your benefit.

Take advantage of your company’s workplace pension scheme

Due to auto enrolment, you’ll be saving a minimum of 8% of your salary per month towards retirement. Comprised of a 5% deduction from your pay and a 3% employer contribution, the 3% employer contribution is money you will not otherwise receive that is added to your pension pot for your future self. The 5% you contribute provides added tax relief.

Be proactive and make sure your scheme is best for you

As with many things, the default option may not be what’s best for you. Looking at your pension plan now could make a considerable impact . Most workplace pensions

Cook for yourself, rather than take away

It’s a 101 saving tip but choosing to cook for yourself can be one of the easiest ways to cut costs. The average amount spent on groceries and takeaways together equals over £300 a month, by trading Deliveroo for Tesco, you could be putting aside as much as £110 a month towards your pension.

Enjoy nights out but be savvy about them

The average monthly amount spent on nights out is equal to 32% of the full state pension. While enjoying yourself while your young is important and this is an expense you’re likely to pay less in retirement, spending less while you’re out, considering cheaper options or just staying in a little more can cut costs in half and save you £100 a month to go towards your private pension pot.

The full study, including a full breakdown of expense, is available at Profile Pensions.

When combined with the news from the ‘Time to Change’  campaign that people would rather talk to colleagues about relationship issues, money problems and even sex, than discuss mental health, it seems that there still could be a stigma attached to talking about mental health at work.

In this article, Pam Loch and Bruce Jenner look at why employers need to be more proactive in addressing mental health issues in the workplace and discuss some simple steps that financial institutions and financial services firms can take to show their commitment to employee wellbeing.

Why should employers care?

The UK Government’s ‘Thriving at Work’ review showed that currently, 300,000 individuals leave employment each year as a result of mental health issues. This, in turn, is costing employers between £33bn to £42bn a year – a figure which equates to between £1,205 - £1,560 per employee. These costs are made up of the cost of covering absenteeism, the impact on productivity from presenteeism and from staff turnover. These are costs which are avoidable if mental health is managed more effectively before it becomes an issue.

The employer’s obligations

Under the Equality Act 2010, a mental health condition is considered to be a disability if it has a long term and adverse effect on an individual’s normal day-to-day activity. The Act places certain obligations on an employer to consider and make reasonable adjustments to ensure the individual is not discriminated against in the workplace.

Not explicitly knowing about a disability is not a defence against Employment Tribunal (ET) claims. In Baldeh V Churches Housing Associate of Dudley and District Ltd 2019, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that even though the employer did not know about Baldeh’s disability (depression) at the time of dismissal, they found out about it during her internal appeal. This did not impact the appeal outcome but rather resulted in the appeal being regarded as part of the unfavourable treatment she based her discrimination claim on. The EAT subsequently referred the case back to a fresh ET hearing to consider whether the rejection of the appeal was an act of discrimination.

There is also a risk that the ‘always-on’ culture in some organisations contributes to the stress and anxiety felt by individuals.

Even though an employer may not have an explicit notification of a disability, there may be other clues or evidence which gives them ‘constructive knowledge’ of a disability. If on the basis of these clues the employer could be reasonably expected to know about a disability, this will trigger their obligation to consider and make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

This demonstrates the importance of embedding a culture in the workplace where mental health conditions can be talked about in the same way as physical illnesses. Remember, employers are liable for the acts of discrimination of their staff, so the language or ‘banter’ within a workplace around someone’s mental health also puts employers at risk of successful claims of bullying or harassment.

There is also a risk that the ‘always-on’ culture in some organisations contributes to the stress and anxiety felt by individuals. Emails sent after hours or work-related WhatsApp messages sent over the weekend or on holidays not only have the potential to impact an individual’s mental health, but they could also put employers at risk of disputes around breaches of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The benefits of looking after mental health in the workplace

 The ‘Thriving at Work’ review cites research conducted by Deloitte which demonstrates the returns to employers who invest in mental health in the workplace. The average return for every pound spent was £4.20, with figures between 40p to £9. This demonstrates an overwhelmingly positive outcome for employers who invest in supporting the mental health of their workforce.

This return can be seen in the costs associated with absenteeism, presenteeism, and staff turnover. Supporting mental health in the workplace means fewer employees end up taking days off work, and a reduced absenteeism rate. The flip side is presenteeism – where employees turn up to work despite being unwell for fear of being labelled or judged by colleagues. These employees are not functioning at full capacity and the lost productivity costs businesses £4,048 annually.

There is also a well-documented connection between physical and mental health, so looking after the mental health of your staff will make them less likely to suffer physical ill health.

Supporting mental health in the workplace means fewer employees end up taking days off work, and a reduced absenteeism rate.

What options do employers have to support mental health

The first step employers need to take is to ensure there is a culture which enables staff to talk about and report mental health issues. Mental Health First Aid training is an accredited training course which gives employees the skills to identify the signs of mental health issues and help colleagues find the right support. This training has been shown to increase the overall understanding of mental health in workplaces that have had the training.

The training can be backed up with a review of policies and procedures aimed at reducing the risk of discrimination occurring in the first place. An Equality and Diversity policy is key to setting out how disability is managed in the workplace, and the steps the organisation will take to help protect employees with a disability. This can be combined with an anti-bullying and harassment policy, and a specific wellbeing policy.

Employers’ policies may also include examples of the types of reasonable adjustments that could be made, and the process for employees to request these. This can include flexible working or working from home, providing quiet spaces away from noise and activity, or altered start/finish times. Employers also need to ensure social media policies cover the use of informal messaging apps, and the language and behaviour expected when communicating via these channels.

Organisations that embed a culture of openness towards mental health will benefit from fewer disputes and claims against them as well as reduced instances of absence and ill-health.

Given the close connection between physical and mental health, employers should also consider a programme that promotes overall wellbeing. This can include benefits like Wellness Checks to allow individuals a check of their health across multiple risk factors, Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) which offer 24hr phone line support, providing healthy food options in staff canteens, and offering access to sports clubs after work at discounted rates.

This can be combined with an internal communications programme which signposts employees to support services such as an EAP or external organisations such as the Samaritans, encouraging employees to take adequate breaks and to talk about mental health openly with their managers.

Employers can also use staff surveys to engage with their staff around wellbeing, gaining useful insight into the attitudes and levels of engagement from staff. These surveys can allow employers to spot trends which may be affecting the mental health of the workforce and take action before it leads to increased absences from work.

These simple and relatively inexpensive steps will not only prove to the staff that the organisation takes mental health seriously, but will also provide a financial benefit for those businesses that invest in.

Organisations that embed a culture of openness towards mental health will benefit from fewer disputes and claims against them as well as reduced instances of absence and ill-health. They will also see a more engaged workforce, and ultimately improved productivity from their staff. It will also make such companies more attractive to potential new recruits.

It is no longer a question of whether a business can afford to support mental health at work, they can’t afford not to.

In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, Heather Magee, HR Director at EValue, discusses tackling financial anxieties in the workplace.

According to mental health charity Mind, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. What’s more, 89% of individuals said that these issues affect their daily working life. And while it seems that more and more people are being affected, there are ongoing concerns that employers are not doing enough to support members of staff who are suffering from mental health issues, and help make work more manageable for them.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, 13% of all sick days in the UK are down to mental ill health. These issues also often manifest in staff turnover and poor productivity – which costed UK employers a combined £42bn in 2017. It is therefore essential that businesses do all they can to minimise workplace mental health issues – both for the wellbeing of their employees, and their bottom lines. This is where investments and pensions advice and guidance can play a crucial role.

Feeling the financial strain

It’s not just the day-to-day stresses of work that cause employee anxiety. One of the greatest causes of stress in the workplace seems to be worries about personal finance. Money worries are known to have an enormous effect on mental wellbeing, and can be both the cause and effect of mental health problems. It is vital that employers understand the impact that personal financial worries have on workplace mental health, to ensure staff have a better ‘financial wellbeing’ at work. Financial wellbeing is defined by a combination of key factors: being in control of finances; having the capacity to withstand financial shocks; having confidence in the future; and having choices on how to spend and save. Without this, staff may naturally feel more insecure about their finances.

According to CIPD’s latest Health and Wellbeing at Work report, financial wellbeing is still a relatively neglected area of organisational policy. The report found more than a third (36%) of managers did not believe their workers demonstrated the knowledge or skills to make the right rewards and benefits choices for their financial needs – something that urgently needs to change.

One key way to help businesses keep their employees happy and informed about their financial and pensions security is using external support, such as employee benefits consultants. In today’s competitive market, this additional support can not only provide financial guidance to keep workers assured, but also help attract and retain staff.

The benefits of benefits consultants

Employee benefits strategies should encompass everything from healthcare to flexible working, to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. In turn, this can help drive employee engagement and happiness.

Pensions should be a key focus area for benefits consultants. In previous years, plans were seen as a bonus and a job attraction–, but today the implementation of auto-enrolment has standardised the pensions landscape. Here, employee benefits consultants can play a vital role, helping companies better understand their workforce’s needs, and develop options that ultimately offer workers more job satisfaction by catering to them and their lives. Companies can also use new technologies to create in-house platforms that make it even easier for employees to access their benefits and stay informed. This technology also enables smaller businesses, or employee benefits consultants without formal financial training, to provide financial advice.

Providing peace of mind

When it comes to other steps that companies can and should take to address mental health issues in the workplace, businesses should train staff to spot signs that someone could be struggling, and for them to be able to direct employees towards appropriate support. This can be done by training people to be qualified mental health first aiders that can provide in-house support. Once trained, these first aiders can identify, understand and help anyone that may be experiencing a mental health issue.

Mental health first aid could become mandatory in workplaces, so any businesses that adopts it now will be ahead of the game, as well as helping to create a supportive, open culture around mental health.

Companies can also help alleviate unnecessary anxieties by ensuring that workers know all the facts about their pensions, giving them the freedom and knowledge to make informed financial decisions.

When it comes to personal finances, businesses should also do everything possible to educate employees, be it through training programmes, workshops or printed materials. Money worries can have an enormous effect on mental wellbeing and can be both the cause and effect of mental health problems. By eliminating this problem, mental health in the workplace can hopefully be significantly reduced – and ensure that people keep enjoying coming to work.

Below, Harpreet Singh, Executive Director at Brickendon, delves into some case studies and examples that point towards an evolving workplace, remarking on the financial services sectors and its need to conform or adapt.

In November 2018, tens of thousands of Google employees conducted a worldwide walkout targeting workplace culture less than a year after the internet giant topped Fortune magazine’s list of best companies to work for the sixth year running. The protestors’ main issue was how the company was treating women, but this wasn’t their only concern.

Following the protests, media reports cited Google saying it would increase transparency and improve its harassment policies, but it shouldn’t have taken a revolt of this scale for the issues to be acknowledged. Jose Mourinho, former manager of Manchester United, who was unceremoniously sacked in December, may have the answer to Google’s problems.

Speaking to the media in January, Mourinho, one of the most successful football managers of the last two decades, said: “Nowadays you have to be very smart in the way you read your players”. He then went on to compare current players with players from previous generations and spoke about the increased need to have the right structure in the club to support the players and the manager. Like football, employee demographics in the corporate world have changed significantly over the past decade. According to a recent study by Deloitte, 75% of the global workforce will be millennials by 2025. And therein lies the problem. In the same way as Mourinho believed Manchester United was not reading its players correctly, neither, if recent events are taken into account, are many businesses.

The expectation of flexibility is neither misplaced nor impossible

In addition to having been born and grown up in an online age, there are several characteristics that differentiate millennials from previous generations. Whilst they consider themselves equally as hardworking and as ambitious, if not more so, than generation x and baby boomers, they also require more flexibility, faster results and care more about their personal well-being. According to a report in US news magazine INC., more than half of all millennial workers would like the option to work remotely, while up to 87% want to work on their own schedules.

They also perceive themselves to be more socially aware and eco-friendly and expect these traits from their employers too. Luckily, with the significant improvements in technology over the past decade, this expectation is neither misplaced nor impossible to achieve, as long as employers are prepared to innovate.

Technological improvements make remote working an easy option

Take flexibility, eco-friendliness and well-being for example. With massive improvements in communication-related technology, it is now possible to work remotely without any loss of productivity. Providing flexible working options not only reduces real-estate costs and lowers the firm’s carbon footprint but can also help increase employee motivation.

So, if done correctly, one single action or statement, such as allowing employees to start work earlier or later, or to take longer lunch breaks to facilitate participation in sporting activities, can lead to a chain of events that significantly improves the attractiveness of an employer.

But, the reverse is also true. What if a telecommuting employee needs to come into the office for a face-to-face meeting and realises that he/she doesn’t have a desk to work from? The obvious impact is a decrease in efficiency. However, research shows that not knowing whether you have a desk space can also lead to lack of motivation and stress and can in turn, have a serious impact on an employee’s overall well-being. In addition, it can create an environment of unhealthy competition due to a lack of information, in this case, related to desk space and employee whereabouts. Unlike employees from previous generations, millennials don’t tend to feel the same connection to their company and as a result will not stay somewhere they are not happy.

It’s all about work-life balance

As a result, it may be worth managers considering the way in which a flexible work schedule provides a stronger sense of work-life balance – a quality that is reported to attract millennial employees to a workplace in droves and keep them happier for longer than the two-year stint that has become the norm.

It may be worth managers considering the way in which a flexible work schedule provides a stronger sense of work-life balance.

Typically, desk space is the responsibility of real-estate management teams and doesn’t list as a top priority for senior operational managers. Desk allocations are usually managed on spreadsheets or similar static data-storage tools, which don’t allow for the constant monitoring required for effective desk-space allocation. Technology can again rectify this situation, with tools (such as HotDeskPlus, a new workplace optimisation tool and app powered by Brickendon Digital) that use mobile apps, sensors and QR codes to allow employees to view, reserve and check-in-and-out of specific desk spaces at a specific time.

Millennials may require more recognition and faster routes to promotion

Equally important is to foresee the problems that may arise as time evolves and millennials move through the ranks and take up senior positions. They may require more recognition and therefore faster routes to promotion. At the same time, incoming employees may prefer a more informal and non-hierarchical structure. This will require a shift in the organisational model and a willingness to embrace change in a way not seen before.

A quick look at the last couple of years reveals that many CEOs were either asked to leave their positions or forced to deal with discontented employees. These non-unionised breeds of relatively new organisations, such as Google, Microsoft and Uber, were expected to be torch bearers for the next generation of working practices, but their actions have largely been reactive. There is no doubt that what is thought to be an isolated incident can very quickly gain momentum and become a global phenomenon.

So, when it comes to millennials, you may want to count (and listen to) your chickens before they tweet, otherwise they may leave your roost sooner than you expect.

These injuries resulted in a whopping 3.9 million working days being lost, costing the UK both money and productivity. It is naturally beneficially for both employees and employers to ensure that workplace safety is a top priority within their company in order to avoid any expensive accident at work scenarios.

Looking at safety equipment

For 2017/18, the construction industry suffered the highest amount of fatalities in its workforce, with 38 deaths recorded. Agriculture had 29 deaths, and manufacturing suffered 15 fatalities. These industries in particular often require certain safety equipment to abide by health and safety regulations – and wearing the equipment could separate your employees from a near death experience and a non-fatal injury.

One example is using a hard helmet on a construction site to avoid head injuries. If your staff fail to wear the required hard hat, any of those injuries could be a direct cause of not wearing the correct safety equipment. Protective glasses should also be worn by employees that are exposed to debris, dust and bright lights that could damage the employee’s sight.

There are so many protective pieces of clothing available now. These include steel toe cap boots, hi-vis clothing, safety gloves and noise cancelling headphones. Implementing a work policy that says your staff are required to wear safety clothing and equipment is the first step to preventing workplace injuries that could lead to fatal deaths or long-term work absences, which cost your company money.

Correct training for employees

For reducing risk in any industry, training your staff should be high on the list. Every employee should be briefed on the safest fire exits around the premises, as well as what the procedure is in case of an emergency. In fact, many premises are permitted to carry out practice fire drills to ensure all members of staff are aware of the routine.

There are a number of other safety areas to consider too. In the manufacturing industry, which is the third most dangerous environment for fatal injuries in the workplace, some job roles require particular training and qualifications to use machinery. Where hazardous or dangerous machinery is involved, staff must be trained on how to use it – and must use the correct safety equipment and clothing at all times. 135,000 of the 555,000 non-fatal injuries in 2017/18 led to over 7 days of work absence — providing your staff with the appropriate training could save you a big cost seen through a loss of working hours due to workplace injuries.

Individual employees may require further training too. For instances, some processes will need employees to gain the correct certification to be able to carry them out with reduced risk of injury. For example, in the construction industry, any employee who will be navigating a crane will require a Construction Plant Competency Scheme (CPCS) licence.

The benefits of audits

Internal audits are a beneficial way for companies to monitor the processes within their workplace in order to continuously improve them and look out for developing risks. For example, slips, trips and falls caused 31% of non-fatal injuries in the workplace in 2017/18. The main causes of slips, trips and falls in the workplace are uneven floor surfaces, unsuitable floor coverings, wet floors, changes in levels, trailing cables and poor lighting – all of which can be prevented or marked out safely if the proper regulations are followed. Legally, businesses must follow The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which stipulates that employers must ensure that floor spaces are in good condition and free from obstructions. Furthermore, the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 legally require businesses to provide and display the appropriate safety signs when there is a potential risk too – whether that is a wet floor sign, or signs indicating loose cables or exposed electric cables.

Safety measures are important for employee welfare, but they are also important in terms of protecting a company as a whole.

Sources

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1718.pdf

http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1516.pdf?pdf=hssh1516