At Flint, we have made it our goal to empower women to break into the still male-dominated ICT industry and made diversity and inclusion part of our company strategy. The results are already showing – our largest local team in the UK is made up of 41% female workers, while in some other locations, even 66% of employees are women.
Having a balanced workforce that is representative of our customers ensures the decisions we make as a company, the levels of creativity that we can draw upon and the flexibility we can provide is at its highest. Whilst the telecommunications industry is renowned for being male-dominated we, at Flint, have developed strategies to attract more women into our business. As a result, we are fortunate to have a business with a significantly higher percentage of women than the industry average in the market segments in which we play. In some of our geographic locations, nearly 2/3rd of the team are women and, in the UK, where our largest full-time team is based, we are at 41%. Interestingly, also in the UK, our women represent 33% of our management team.
Striving for a Balanced Workforce
Whilst these numbers are something we are proud of, they’re not yet at a level where we have 1:1 representation. Similarly, across our overall business the number is closer to 25% and, whilst this does take into consideration a large number of geographies that come with their own set of specific challenges, the target we have set ourselves remains higher. We are continuing to focus on a number of key initiatives to both attract women into our business and ensure that the environment they come into is one where they feel welcome, comfortable, and able to excel.
What are we doing to attract more women to our business? Simply put, we work very hard to ensure that the culture of our business and the pillars that underpin this, “Trust, Respect and Support & Inclusion”, are brought to life through inclusion, collaboration, and empathy.
Flexibility and Trust Are Key to a Successful Office Culture
Despite a global pandemic and working remotely, we have managed to preserve our culture, even growing our headcount in countries like the UK by 64% during this time. 75% of the growth has been through the recruitment of more women into the business.
Over the last 12 months, we have had a low turnover of staff of 3.9% which is, again, significantly better than the UK average which currently sits at 14.4%.
Our promotion of flexible/remote working is not only a recruitment promise, it has been adopted and is supported throughout the business. Currently, our hybrid working model suggests 1-2 days a week in the office but also recognises that some roles can be worked in a fully remote manner. This flexible approach is an example of our culture that it has rendered the necessity for formalisation via a policy redundant. Our open-door policy and flat management structure allow us to embrace open, frank, and honest feedback to which we listen, adapt, share, and grow as a result.
The Values that Guide Us – Professional, Innovative, and Caring
There are many roles which make up our business. We have a fantastic team behind the scenes at Flint, and each person contributes to the success of the business and enables us to become a supplier of choice for our customers. Our company strategy doesn’t only focus on our business initiatives, investments, and customer experience, but it is underpinned by the Flint values – Professional, Innovative and Caring – at all times. These values guide both our approach to customer interaction and also the way we treat each other.
It’s important to note that whilst the this article focuses specifically on ensuring we correctly prioritise and invest to support women in the workplace, this is only one aspect of creating a truly diverse and inclusive community as you will no doubt have seen from our recent article related to Pride Month.
Interested in working with us? We are currently hiring and are always looking for bright minds, that are interested in contributing and making a difference in a truly diverse and inclusive company. Check out our Careers page or take the initiative and send us your CV and a few words about you here.
Any more questions? Contact us!
