Finalist
Schneider Electric, a company providing energy and automation digital solutions for efficiency and sustainability, has developed a raft of initiatives to effect change, championing diversity and inclusion.
Human Resources and Business Operations Leader Jared Dinneen says the ambition of the company leadership is to shape the future in line with the organisation’s values.
“Our CEO is a very strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, championing communications to the business on ethical behaviour and the zero tolerance of harassment and bullying.”
A playbook called ‘New Ways of Working’ aims to help leaders learn hybrid work strategies by deliberately thinking about what they do each day, why they behave the way they do and how they can be at their best.
“This covers the topics of psychological safety and wellbeing, providing ideas and strategies for leaders to consider that will drive openness and dialogue, making a safe environment for team members to express their opinions,” says Jared.
In turn employees are encouraged to define the best way to get their work done.
“We trust and empower our people to work in flexible ways, enabling a high-performance culture based on behaviours and results. We empower managers to find flexible working conditions with teams, allowing them to thrive and perform at their best,” says Jared.
That made the transition to parenthood easier for one employee. “What can be a hugely stressful time financially and emotionally, was made easier by the support I was given. What was incredible to me was the way that Schneider Electric allowed me to be in control over how I could come back to work, so that I could find the best fit and balance of how to juggle being a parent and an employee. I got to choose the number of days I worked and how many hours, and how long I wanted to work part-time for."
Over the past year the organisation has developed a people-centric campaign called #OurPeople that aims to highlight diversity within the business by explaining individual roles and giving an insight to what employees enjoy both at work and in their own time. Short videos are shared via Yammer each fortnight.
“We have uncovered some amazing talents in our team including one who designed and made his wife's wedding dress, musical prowess across drums, guitars and even singing as well as learning about the home countries of our team including Kashmir, China and Argentina.”
Other initiatives include Coffee Roulette, a monthly online meet-up where pairs of people across the business are chosen at random to connect over a ‘digital coffee’ and get to know each other.
Employees are able to take their career to the next level with Open Talent Market, an AI-based tool that matches employees with new positions, project opportunities or even mentorships.
Three Ethics Delegates across the business drive an ethics and compliance annual plan, which addresses workplace bullying and harassment as a focus area.
Schneider Electric has also set ambitious goals around increasing female representation in the organisation with global targets of women being half of all new hires, 40 per cent of frontline managers and 30 per cent of senior leaders by 2025.
“Taking a leadership role in a traditionally male-dominated industry with respect to bringing more women into the sector and providing an inclusive and safe environment for them to work in is the right thing to do, and we are very proud to be playing a pivotal role,” says Jared.
