People-centric initiatives
From a people perspective, Cameron said that the benefits very much centre around being a force for good for their team, and being able to give back to their workforce – a sentiment which clearly aligns with the firm’s overarching goal of wanting to be a force for good. Lily’s Kitchen’s HR lead explained: “Mental health and wellbeing is a big part of that. [One, it] is part of our purpose and [two, it is] very much a part of being a B Corporation, so we put in place initiatives like buying extra holiday. So, we can do holiday purchase, meditation classes, discounted gym memberships through our private health insurance, cycle-to-work schemes, so that’s all about their physical [health].” From a mental health perspective, the firm’s HR lead said that they have participated in Mind’s Wellbeing Index to ensure that they are improving “the mental health and wellbeing credentials that we have already got in place”.
Aside from this, the firm also offers staff the chance to work flexibly – something that is increasingly topping the employee wish list post-pandemic. In fact, research from EY’s '2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey' found that over half (54%) of employees from around the world would consider leaving their job post-pandemic if not given some flexibility over where and when they work. “We have always been really flexible. We’ve always had things like part-time working as an option. We do come-back coaching for people that have been out of the business for a long period of time or maternity returners, job sharing. Working from home was always in place even prior to the pandemic and I think we are now ready to be fully flexible. We’ve got a hybrid/ blended working policy sorted and [are] ready to activate as soon as we think that’s the right thing and we are comfortable, where we can work around what works for the individual.” Putting the individual staff needs at the front and centre of the business – and enabling them to work flexibility and in a way that suits them – ties in with the firm’s want to have a positive impact on people. According to a 2010 study from Durham University – reported on by Astute Technical – flexible work arrangements that “increase worker control and choice” had a positive impact on sleep quality and mental health, as well as ‘secondary’ outcomes such as increasing a sense of community at work. Therefore, benefits like these could help have a positive impact on people.