Sustainability blog series: Unleashing the Potential of a Motivating Workplace
As we wrap up our sustainability blog series, let’s not forget about the people driving these efforts. With better care for our people, a diverse team, and a motivating workplace, we can have more impact as a business. To ensure our business has a positive impact on climate change, we certainly also need to unleash the potential of a motivating workplace and care about our employees. What motivates an employee? How can we contribute as an organization and optimize this work environment for our employees and thrive across our communities? Let’s find out!
We started aligning our existing policies with globally recognized institutes and organizations. We first dived into the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, focusing on the first six related to the themes ‘Human rights’ and ‘Labor’. We also consulted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on specific definitions, instead of creating them ourselves. With all this information, we improved and updated our policies to ensure they are fair and inclusive for all employees. In the coming years, we will be extending our actions and impact throughout all Genexis offices with the revised policies in place.
One of the focus areas for Genexis is a diverse and inclusive workplace where every employee feels respected. We defined discrimination, following the United Nations, in our policy in which we emphasize a zero-tolerance on discrimination. To build a diverse and inclusive workforce, we strive to uphold an inclusive approach in the hiring process. This involves actively seeking out diverse candidates and reducing bias in the hiring process (e.g., inclusive language). A very concrete inclusive example would be our warehouse in The Netherlands where people with a distance to the job market assemble products for Genexis already more than 10 years!
Another theme we focus on within Genexis is ‘health and safety’. Again, we follow recognized definitions and take care of good policies and the right measures. All matters regarding health and safety are handled through a systematic process to ensure that key risk areas and actions are regularly evaluated. These key risk areas are determined through a third-party risk assessment after an on-site audit. To mitigate our risks, we introduce safety protocols and publicly report via a safety calendar in our warehouse to create more awareness.
Furthermore, we strive to carry out annual surveys to measure employee satisfaction and identify more improvement areas. By analyzing these periodic surveys and adapting where needed, we strive to accommodate a motivating workplace for everyone. Another theme we want to take to the next level is career management and training. Currently this is addressed through social dialogue and periodic appraisal forms. Additionally, Genexis works to stimulate work satisfaction by promoting remote work options, meaning that employees are connected through the digital atmosphere regardless of where they are. This way, the company believes that a positive work-life balance can be achieved.
By keeping our employees motivated, creating an inclusive and motivating workplace, and fostering health and safety for all, we can have greater impact as a business. At Genexis, we have aligned our sustainability policies with global guidelines, promoting environmental change, equity, and inclusivity. We are committed to extending actions across all our offices and throughout our value chain. Together, let’s create a work environment that supports our employees and contributes to thriving communities with fiber connectivity. Stay tuned to read more about our sustainability efforts and let us know how we can create a better world together!
Author: Mr. Olivier van Duuren