We aim to be an ever more responsible employer in terms of equal opportunities and the well-being of our people
This means honing an entrepreneurial spirit and creating a work environment and culture that provides every employee with pride, enjoyment and purpose. We achieve this in a number of ways:
Ensuring a fantastic future
As we grow, we’re constantly refreshing our talents and keeping our culture vibrant. That’s why we maintain exceptionally close relationships with leading schools and universities across the world. Our graduate programme takes students in on summer placements as well as on our fully fledged graduate training programme once they have left university. We also commit a great deal of effort to spotting and nurturing the fabulous talent we have. We provide learning and guidance for people managers and employees at all levels because the success of our company is built on motivated, capable and committed individuals - and our performance management approach give everyone the opportunity to take control of their own career and development needs.
Training
We believe that the quality of our leaders today and the development of our leaders of tomorrow are essential to sustaining our competitive advantage so we actively encourage and support staff through training as we see the benefits for us, our clients and our employees. We incentivise staff for certain types of training such as technology certification, providing courses and materials. In addition to using external course providers, we also have our in-house academies which are designed to retrain existing staff in new skills or train people from industry. Some of these academies run for a number of weeks and see staff leave the course with ISEB or equivalent qualifications.
Keeping in touch
We’re proud of the scope and quality of our communications with employees and their representatives. In the UK, The Forum is a body of representatives elected by UK staff to represent their interests and give them a voice in consultations with the UK company management team and on the European Works Council (EWC). At an international level, the EWC meets regularly to discuss topics that are relevant for employees throughout the Group. We also carry out a regular employee survey to precisely measure the levels of employee engagement with the Company and its aims.
Respecting rights and diversity
We believe that our diversity is a strength: the different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives within our workforce are rich sources of new ideas and potential innovation. We offer a workplace where employees are valued as individuals, and where people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
We are committed to gender parity in our own business, as well as in our industry and business in general. According to Deloitte, only 25% jobs in IT in the developed world will be held by women at the end of 2016. Sopra Steria is beating the trend: 34% of our UK workforce, and 36% of our UK board, are women. Read more in our Gender Diversity Statement.
Supporting employee wellbeing and labour standards
We are committed to giving all employees a safe and healthy working environment, and are proud to behave responsibly in accordance with relevant health and safety rules. We comply with the applicable local and international employment laws and regulations in every country where we operate. We also believe in a healthy balance between our employees’ personal and professional lives. We have a Work-Life Balance policy that encourages managers and employees to identify options for improving work-life balance.