When it comes to championing women, we’ve got a lot to celebrate here at MindWorks, today, and all the year round.
Stats wise, we have never had so many women working at MindWorks (75% of us are female, 50% of the Management Board are also female including the Managing Director) and we also buck the trend when it comes to women in middle management, with two thirds being female.
We fly the flag high for women in business by continually investing in an inclusive workplace where talents, skills and attitudes are the determining factors when choosing the best people for the job. Equality is a key business priority and results in a nurturing, supportive and empowering environment where everyone can achieve their best, whatever their gender or demographic. And we’re proud to have this officially validated by achieving accreditations such as Investors In People.
Employee Owned – giving everyone a voice
Being Employee Owned also provides a business structure that gives every colleague at MindWorks a voice in how we shape our company including a springboard on which to champion equality.
A great example of this is our recently Enhanced Maternity Pay policy which increases our support for parents-to-be, an idea initiated by our Design Manager, Emma. One of our Senior Creatives, Daisy, is already feeling the benefit, as the policy has allowed her to take full maternity leave without the stress of managing childcare costs that come with an early return to work.
Wellbeing Wednesday
As well as maternity and menopause policies for women, we also emphasise the importance of mind and body wellbeing for all. One recent initiative, Wellbeing Wednesday, has seen us buy office paddleboards and a kayak for everyone here to have fun out of the water at our seaside location. We’ve also collectively stretched in a course of desk yoga, taken a little time out for tea and cake to check in with colleagues and reinvigorated the ‘MindWorks’ mile (we donate to our house charity every time a colleague completes a circuitous route from the office around Emsworth’s beautiful mill pond!).
Meaningful Support
We’re all proud to be different at MindWorks so one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to supporting everyone to reach their goals. From recruitment to CPD, we take a tailored approach to help women and all colleagues progress and overcome any barriers in their way to success:
- Hybrid working: being able to work from home when needed is great for working parents but also fantastic for other life commitments such as when our dog-loving Account Director, Cheryl, adopted puppy, Roy.
- Flexible hours: the ability to choose our work hours is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent who are juggling work and family life. We work on trust, so whether it’s the school run, attending key life events like schools sports days or nativity plays, or pursuing passions outside of work, we know we can work around these. For example, Account Executive, Melissa, starts earlier on Mondays so that she can teach gymnastics in the early evening.
- Sabbaticals: Both Melissa and Account Manager, Ellie, have just returned from extended leave at far flung destinations. This is a win-win, as they get to benefit from life-changing experiences and we don’t lose their valuable skillsets.
- Training: we always ask our colleagues ‘what training do you need to reach your goals?’. This allows for organic talent growth and eliminates square pegging at the same time. Kate, a Senior Account Manager at MindWorks, has just completed her Chartered Institute of Marketing Level 6 and we have supported her with study days and will now fund her professional membership to the CIM, as we do for all of our colleagues.
To name but a few….
Paying it Forward
We foster a system where our colleagues learn from each other and pass it on, whether it be capabilities, competencies or confidence – all of which in turn allow us to provide an outstanding service for our clients.
And we are proud of seeing how our actions have a knock on effect to the wider community. For example, the flexibility that working from home gives one of our Directors, Jamie, means that he can commit to his son’s daily school run making his wife’s job as a lecturer a viable one – another woman reaching her potential – tick!
Final Thought…
For anyone seeking inspiration this International Women’s Day, I believe that my life’s philosophy of ‘Go For It’ allows me to reach my own goals while helping colleagues, and those further afield, to do the same.
Surround yourself with a good team, adopt a single strategy, a good philosophy and keep looking to others for inspiration. I recently took inspiration from England Women’s Football Head Coach, Sarina Wiegman, who draws many parallels between the world of sport, particularly her strategies for managing the Lionesses, with the business world. Most pertinent being the analogy between team and the importance of everyone knowing what their role is on the team, working towards a common goal, shooting in the same direction.
Closer to home I draw inspiration from the team at MindWorks where I experience first-hand capable women seizing opportunities and making the best for themselves.
While we recognise that progress is still needed for women in the workplace, here at MindWorks we are doing all we can to break down the barriers to women achieving success in the workplace.
Michelle
#inspireinclusion
