To mark National Inclusion Week, VodafoneThree HR Director, Katrin Jacke, explains why inclusivity, purpose and belonging are such important qualities to harness when building a company culture.
A colleague sent me a message on Teams recently. She had just returned to work following maternity leave and wanted to share how positive the period had been for her and her family.
In part, thanks to the support available at VodafoneThree, which sees parents able to return to work for 80% of their hours, but 100% of their pay, benefits and holiday, for the first six months following family-related leave.
It’s been an extremely busy few months for the team and I, but messages like this make it all worthwhile. Not only did it take me back to how I myself was able to benefit from the policies when having my own children, but it also reassured me that, as an organisation, we are focusing on what is important.
We’re extremely proud of our parental leave, as well as other policies that have flexibility baked in, such as our core hours and fertility, carers and festive leave. Why? Because they are inclusive by nature – and I’ve seen first-hand how much this can benefit a business and the people within it.
But, at VodafoneThree, inclusion isn’t a standalone topic. It’s supported by our company’s purpose, as set out in our inaugural Sustainability and Social Impact report.
And, together, these two qualities help us create a sense of belonging at work – an extremely important factor when trying to shape company culture.
The relationship between inclusion, purpose and belonging
Inclusion helps organisations harness the power of difference and, for years now, studies have shown how diverse teams make better business decisions.
More recently, given the growing influence of AI, diversity of thought, adaptability in thinking, and colleagues connecting on a personal level have all become even more important factors in the workplace.
Given our purpose at VodafoneThree is to connect every community, creating a workforce that reflects the diversity of these customers is extremely important.
This, in turn, helps us remain focused on creating a strong sense of belonging for all employees, which we see as a fundamental part of being a great place to work. After all, people do their best work when they feel a part of something – and when they can truly be themselves.
And, as a telecoms company, it’s important to remember that we are also in the business of people.
We ultimately use connectivity to improve people’s lives, whether that’s through: easier access to the online world; greater safety and security once there; or an improved relationship with the things that matter most to them – from friends and family to the environment.
And the more our own people believe in their individual or collective role in this purpose, the more likely it is to change the lives of others up and down the nation.
Why it’s so important for employees to have a voice
Our employee-led networks are an excellent example of how the relationship between inclusion, purpose and belonging impacts our day-to-day work. In fact, they are possibly my favourite part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work.
From day one, the company intentionally prioritised these employee-led inclusion networks, because they help build community and provide colleagues with a platform to impact the company’s direction of travel.
Covering accessibility, black professionals, multiculture, gender equity, LGBTQ+ and armed forces, these are communities of colleagues who volunteer their own time to make our organisation a better place to work.
While they have support from business leaders and our HR team, they are fully and organically employee-led, helping to shape the future of VodafoneThree from the ground up.
Because, as well as providing safe spaces for employees to share experiences and ideas, they also feed into the company’s policy decisions around issues like parental, fertility or festive leave.
Recently, for example, these networks have helped contribute to the design decisions when redeveloping our new office spaces. In fact, we have shaped our Newbury headquarters refit around inclusivity and accessibility, which is something we are really proud of.
That means designing an environment that will be welcoming for every community, with multi-faith rooms included, accessibility woven into our decisions around furniture and flow, and various wellbeing areas created through employee consultation.
Launching our Inclusion Summit
To mark Inclusion Week this year, we brought together leadership teams from across our employee networks for VodafoneThree’s inaugural Inclusion Summit.
The event was born out of a desire to recognise their commitment and to celebrate the progress we have made in just over 12 months of being VodafoneThree, while setting out a plan for future priorities in this space.
And our first event certainly didn’t disappoint, as volunteers from across the company shared their personal experiences, insights and hopes for the future.
In many ways, by nature, we were celebrating the differences which make our teams unique. Yet, the passion and determination we share was clear for all to see.
Together, the employee networks are challenging the status quo, amplifying the voices of others, and helping to drive meaningful change at every level of the business.
The whole day reinforced my belief that inclusion is more than a buzzword or initiative. Alongside our purpose of connecting every community, it helps us ensure our employees have a strong sense of belonging when they come to work.
And, at VodafoneThree, that is a central part of who we are, how we act, and where we want to go.
