How We’re Creating a Healthy Working Environment through Best Practice

We pride ourselves on our mission to make Welsh weather work for Wales, and in doing so, power a positive energy future for Wales. In line with this mission are our consistent core values of courage, passion, community, and integrity. These values are embedded in our work and our people. It’s because of these values that we’re happy to share that Bute Energy have this week been announced as a certified Great Place to Work (GPTW)! This is an incredible moment for us, and we’re thrilled that the efforts and support of our employees through these core values are being upheld and recognised.

At Bute Energy, we’re working to benefit local communities in Wales, and that starts at the heart of the company. Our core values and mission run alongside our goal of ensuring a trusting environment for staff with clear lines of communication. To ensure our workplace culture is continuously growing and evolving, questioning the culture is key; what’s working, what’s enjoyable, what areas need improving. This aligns with the model and values of GPTW and naturally led to Bute Energy seeking to participate  and involve its employees in the business-wide survey. With this in mind, let’s look at what it means to be a Great Place to Work.

What does it mean to be a GPTW?

GPTW is a global authority with over three decades worth of research that has allowed them to develop a rigorous model with worldwide recognition. With quantifying the experience of the employee at the heart of their model, the GPTW certification recognises the importance of ensuring that every single individual has a consistently positive experience at work, no matter who they are or what role they have. GPTW have outlined these three key factors within their methodology as crucial to achieving a great company culture:

• Maximising human potential
• Leadership effectiveness
• A deep foundation of trust

When organisations successfully embed these values into their workplace culture, it boosts the valuable return of investment, with a positive employee experience at its core. These three values go hand in hand with the organisation benefiting from improved business innovation and growth. As a leading authority on workplace culture, the goals of GPTW are to recognise and improve the environment where employees spend the majority of their time in.

GWP Certification Process

So, how does an organisation become GWP certified? The certification process is split into three parts:

1. A Trust Index Survey that’s sent out to all employees. The survey must reach a 65% rate to achieve certification.
2. A Culture Brief detailing the history and demographics of the organisation.
3. The final part of the process is to celebrate your certification, which we’ll certainly help Bute Energy with!

We’re very pleased to announce that Bute Energy achieved a ‘84%’ response rate, going above and beyond the requirements of the certification process. Thanks to the dedicated staff at Bute Energy who shared their valuable insights and fed back through the survey, the GPW has reinforced that as an organisation, we as a team have worked together to build a rewarding and compassionate culture.

What Makes Bute Energy a Great Place to Work?

Over the past 18 months, our People Plan has focussed on building that feeling of belonging. It’s a word that we hear time and time again in feedback from our colleagues, and it’s the leading factor in our stand-out culture.

For the People & Engagement Team, although a lot of our activity has focussed on setting the foundations and groundwork for our rapidly growing business, we’ve really placed emphasis on our employee voice, and have included them in each important milestone along the way.

We’ve shaped a suite of inclusive policies which have been informed by our colleagues, people who have been kind enough to share their life experiences and their views on how workplaces can better support their people. This has enabled us to put meaningful support in place for all the moments that matter, through every stage of working life. Whether that be enhanced support for families going through fertility treatment, non-prescriptive bereavement leave that covers any person or pet, or dignified and informed support for things like domestic violence, menopause and gender identity, our policies and provisions make a very clear statement; you can belong at Bute, no matter who you are or what you’re going through and that, for me, has been the guiding light that has informed every initiative we’ve undertaken as a team and as a business.

As we continue to mature as a business, we’re implementing similar development mechanisms, pathways and initiatives that take into account individual preferences and career aspirations, truly powering our people’s potential.

Overall, it’s the unwavering passion and deep investment that our people make to the business and the important work that we do that has created a stand-out culture and internal community. We stand up and show up for each other and for what’s right, and 95% of our colleagues told us that, when taking everything into account, Bute Energy is a great place to work.

Welsh Government’s Fair Work Agenda

Our achievements are also reflective of the Welsh Government’s Fair Work Agenda. As stated by Welsh Government, the world of work is a major part of our lives and lifecycles. This belief aligns with GPTW in that fair work is positioned alongside economic and business imperative, and of course, is wholly recognised at Bute Energy. We’ve established a workplace culture that’s one of high performance, recognised with fair reward. The dedication that the staff of Bute Energy have towards one another and to each other’s wellbeing is a poignant indicator from the results of the GPTW survey, reflecting another Fair Work practise embedded in the culture.

Now that we’ve achieved this outstanding certification, we’ll be entered in the running for the UK’s Top 100 Workplaces. This gives us further opportunities to share how we’re building a healthy workplace culture, as well as driving our mission for renewable energies in Wales. Empowering communities is an essential element of our journey, and the community within the world of work is no exception. This is certainly something worth celebrating in line with the final part of the certification process.

Trust and respect are a two-way street, and we’re delighted that this has been achieved through the dedication of staff and the values embedded in our team – recognised through Bute Energy’s GPTW certification. The bar has been set by Bute Energy and from here, the only way is up; for Welsh organisations, for Welsh communities and for Welsh weather.

Tom Callow: Head of People and Engagement, Bute Energy