Reflecting on Good Employment Week

Looking back on Good Employment Week (19 - 24 June), our Organisational Development Lead Virginie Ghaznavi explores the reasons why being a member of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter is so important to the Growth Company.

Good Employment Week has provided the perfect opportunity to reflect on why being a member of the Charter is so important to the Growth Company.

At the Growth Company, we are dedicated to making a positive difference, so the decision to become a member of the Good Employment Charter was a clear move in the right direction.

The Charter hosted a series of workshops that shed light on the seven key characteristics of what being a Good Employer means and the impact that it can have on our colleagues. This was also an opportunity to network and learn from other organisations and reflect on how we can continuously review and improve our ways of working.

Although the Charter is based in Greater Manchester, our commitment and the benefits to our colleagues extend across our whole organisation, meaning that our colleagues across the UK, in Liverpool, Yorkshire and beyond will all experience the same standard as our colleagues in Greater Manchester.

The Charter helps us to demonstrate our commitment to our values as an employer as well as support the work we do in the HR team – to ensure the Growth Company provides a workplace where people are paid fairly for their work, treated with dignity and respect and provided with inclusive opportunities.

Here are just a few examples of how the Growth Company ensures it is a Good Employer:

• We listen to our colleagues. We carry out regular colleague surveys to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to have their say about what makes GC a good place to work and what can be improved.
• We prioritise colleague Health and Wellbeing. We’re currently living and working through very challenging and uncertain times which may impact our health and wellbeing. We have a dedicated webpage where colleagues can find out more about the Health and Wellbeing support available to them, this can be found on Our Working Way.
• We foster an inclusive work environment. The fundamental principles of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are core to our values and ways of working and we have eight EDI Networks which colleagues can join to ensure that the Growth Company continues to make progress towards our EDI agenda and action plan.
• We’re a Real Living Wage Employer. The Growth Company has been committed to paying real living wage for a number of years - we know how important this is to our colleagues, especially during this ongoing period of increased cost of living. We’re accredited as a Real Living Wage Employer meaning every colleague working in our organisation earns a real living wage.

Being part of the Charter provides the opportunity to share knowledge and best practice with organisations that share the same commitments. It’s a great way for all members of the charter to help us all to prosper.

As an advocate advisor, I work alongside other organisations helping them strengthen their action plans to achieve Good Employment membership status. For me, having our senior management team support our change initiatives and act on colleague feedback has been the biggest driver for success and reform.