Our People

Engagement

The Group takes pride in its exceptionally high levels of employee engagement, which for 2022 was measured at 78% (compared to a Gallop Europe average of 14%). Our focus for the year was on connection – bringing people back together post-pandemic in a new, hybrid working world with more face-to-face engagement with our teams and colleagues across each business unit.

In our Consumer Legal Services division, we launched our first ‘OneTeam’ day which allowed colleagues from across the country to come together in person at our Kettering head office and in Critical Care, the launch of ‘Together Tuesday’ saw all employees come together once a week in the office to create connections and enhance the culture at Bush & Co. with a focus on openness, team working and kindness.

2022 also saw the return of our Summer Social and End of Year Party events which celebrated the successes of the year and allowed us to recognise the achievements of our colleagues through a range of awards including our Values Champions, Graduate of the Year, Team of the Year and the Employee Choice Award.

We continued to seek feedback from our people through our annual staff survey, called ‘OwnIt!’, which gives our colleagues the chance to have their say and own the actions coming out of it. 

Training and development

The provision of training not only helps us to achieve the best service possible for our customers but also provides opportunities for personal growth and development for our employees. The Group has a dedicated Learning & Development team who are responsible for ensuring the continual development and improvement of our operational teams and the People Team offer a range of training and development opportunities for the wider workforce. During 2022 over £240,000 was invested into employee development and the key achievements during the year included:

• The launch of a new Employee Welcome session as we welcomed an additional 125 employees in various roles across the Group.
• Over 246 hours of coaching and training provided.
• The continuation of our training programs saw 40 people participate in ‘Strengths Training’, 32 in ‘Imposter Syndrome’, 12 in ‘Self-Confidence’, 33 in first aid and 13 in our ‘Pathway to Leadership’ programme.
• 38 internal promotions (equating to c. 15% of our people promoted in the year).

The Consumer Legal Services division also rounded off the year with an ‘Investors In People’ Gold award demonstrating the Group’s commitment to our People.

Wellbeing

At NAHL we believe in allowing our employees to be the best they can be and a healthy mindset and work-life balance are important aspects of this. During 2022, the Group provided the following tools to aid with our employees’ wellbeing:

• We highlighted Mental Health Awareness Week through various activities within the office and online through our Totem engagement app. This included senior leaders throughout the business talking about their own personal mental health journeys and mindfulness sessions for all to get involved in. Mental Health first aid training was also offered to anyone who wanted to take part.
• Hosting a reading challenge in April where employees were encouraged to share recommendations, and for every book read the Group funded the planting of a tree in our forest.
• Celebrating World Kindness Week where employees were encouraged to share words of kindness with each other through Totem and in person in our offices.
• Launching breakfast in the office as a way to provide nourishment for our people and set them up for the day ahead.

Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Our people are recruited from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience to join our teams, as we believe that makes us better able to serve our customers. Following a diversity and inclusivity training programme in 2021, in 2022 the Group sought to celebrate the individuality of its workforce through:

• Marking Black History Month by encouraging employees to share their stories and inspirations on Totem and donating to the Mary Seacole Trust for every story  shared.
• Celebrating International Women’s Day by asking our employees to tell us who inspires them and highlighted successful women on LinkedIn.
• Celebrating Pride month for the first time which included decorating the office, dressing up and a hosting a range of activities to celebrate.

The Group is committed to providing equal opportunities for all and has an equal opportunities policy which employees are able to access.

When we asked our people in the 2022 OwnIt! survey, 93% of respondents said that they believed that everyone in our business is treated fairly regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or other differences.