Our people approach
Our people approach isn’t rocket science. It’s about recognising and rewarding the achievements of our people.
It’s about providing them with the support and training they need to grow and be their best. It’s about inclusion and diversity, ensuring all our people feel included, that they belong to XPS and that they’re happy. Above all, it’s about ensuring everyone has a voice and feels valued. Because they are.
Recognising and rewarding
We believe our people lie at the heart of our success and that exceptional achievements deserve recognition. That’s why we launched our Values in Practice Awards. Each year we ask employees to nominate colleagues or XPS teams who have demonstrated our XPS values and have gone the extra mile for colleagues, clients or the community. We also have a Volunteer of the Year category which recognises those colleagues who, through their service, have made significant differences in their communities.
Support and development
Support isn’t just a matter of encouraging our people to grow and develop; it’s about safeguarding their wellbeing too. This is where our 50+ cohort of fully trained XPS Mental Health Allies comes in. They act as trusted ambassadors to whom employees can go for support and guidance on how to manage their own mental wellbeing – all our ambassadors work at XPS and all volunteer to provide a welcoming ear for colleagues and help them access the resources they need.
One of these resources is our confidential Employee Assistance Programme. Through this, professional counsellors provide XPS colleagues and their families with practical and confidential information on a range of topics, including mental wellbeing, anxiety, parenting, bereavement, work matters, debt management and healthy eating. Colleagues also have access to personal legal support and a range of wellness resources on resilience, mindfulness and much more.
As for training and development, this is primarily role specific as many of the positions within the Group have defined training paths. We also support our people who wish to pursue academic and/or professional qualifications alongside their work.
Inclusion and diversity
We look to foster a culture of belonging. When employees feel that their ideas, presence and contributions are valued, they’re more likely to perform at their best and enjoy their working experience. Everyone within our organisation is encouraged to share their opinions and ideas with confidence in a way that respects the value of our differences.
As a disability confident employer, we have committed to support all applicants throughout the recruitment process, ensuring each stage of the recruitment process is inclusive and offers reasonable adjustments where required. We advertise all our roles on Evenbreak, the specialist job board for disabled candidates. Evenbreak can provide help and advice to disabled candidates who may be interested in our vacancies. Find out more here.
Having an inclusive workplace not only helps us to attract a diverse range of talent but also helps us to retain high-performing individuals.
Health and wellbeing
We’re committed to creating a working environment that protects, supports and promotes the health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. We believe that all colleagues should thrive both in their work and personal lives.
Wellbeing is at the heart of how we operate. Relationships with colleagues, enjoyable and fulfilling careers, work life balance are all important for success.
A family friendly employer
We recognise that becoming a parent, growing your family or caring for those who mean the most to you, can be life changing.
That's why we’re proud to provide policies that fit around your family, whenever you might need it. We want to ensure colleagues are supported to have a good balance between work and family. Our policies evolve and are reviewed regularly to ensure they meet the needs of our people.
Our current policies include but are not limited to:
- Enhanced maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave
- Fostering leave - not an HR policy
- Fertility treatment & IVF
- Agile working & flexible working
- Parental bereavement leave
- Menopause Policy
- Pregnancy and baby loss
- Time off for dependents
- Workplace Adjustment Policy
- Compassionate leave
- Holiday Trading opportunity
And we have an Employee Assistance Program which supports with all family friendly policies. Plus, employees can access flexible benefits though our benefits portal that can be tailored to their individual needs, for them and their families.
Our social community
Our social communities play a role in our culture of belonging too. Clubs such as the XPS Book Club, XPS Fitness Club and XPS Photography Club all help colleagues engage with topics of interest and enjoy the company of their colleagues away from the office.
Voice
Our people approach isn’t prescriptive. Our employees’ voices inform our approach.
Whether via our employee engagement groups, employee surveys or the feedback mechanism on our intranet, our employees’ voices are heard.
Employee engagement isn’t just an outlet for our people. It also allows us to see how well we’re doing and, if necessary, what we need to change. Our people approach is constantly evolving.
As our people grow and develop, so too must our approach.