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Staff use the company as a springboard for community participation
Keywords:
Work-life balance, Job design, Career development, Employee development, Training, FaberMaunsell
I mproving work-life balance is often used as a euphemism for keeping all contact with the office to a minimum, but a company that is regularly ranked among the best to work in the UK is finding quite the opposite.
Sports and social activities are thriving at building, transportation and environmental consultancy FaberMaunsell and people are using the company as a springboard for increased participation in their local communities.
The company - listed by the Sunday Times as one of the 10O best businesses to work for and by the Financial Times as among the 50 best workplaces in the UK - sums up one of its key targets in a simple phrase: "To create a better environment in which to work and live".
Initiatives for staff and the community
Taken at face value, this might simply refer to the obvious physical impact of its infrastructure projects such as new schools, bridges or public-transport routes. The same vision is spurring a host of other initiatives for its staff and the community at large, from career development and company social events to a major commitment to charities and local organizations.
People increasingly expect to do more than simply come to work and go home again, believes the company's recently appointed director of human resources, Jeannie Edwards. The demise of both village life and the family means that "people are looking now for the work environment to be their family, and demanding a lot more from it", she says.
FaberMaunsell sets aside a minimum of 1 percent of its pre-tax profit for charity and community initiatives, a policy that led to it receiving the Association of Consulting Engineers' Outstanding Contribution award last year. The Impact on Society program permeates the whole company. Financial support is backed by staff giving time to fundraising activities and community projects. Each year, around £70,000 is given to the community and charities including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children - chosen by a staff vote - and the construction industry's charity for the homeless,...