SSE’s office in Reading has fewer desks than employees.
Standing desks and pods are all the rage in many offices, but for most companies they are in addition to individually appointed desks. It is almost as if the company is trying to discourage its employees from turning up in the morning.
Well, yes. They are, in fact.
The deficit is by design, rather than some ergonomic oversight.
The utilities giant even has a term for what they’re trying to achieve – agile working.
Creating flexibility is the name of the game. SSE is showing workers do not need to be in the office to do their jobs.
The pilot project is going so well that SSE is rolling it out nationwide.
Jenna Jackson, resourcing team manager at SSE, said the initiative would be particularly beneficial for the next generation who are typically looking for more flexibility in their working patterns, to those who are simply seeking a better work/life balance.
But there is more to SSE than desk-dodging. Under another scheme, employees returning from maternity leave can work four days a week, but get paid for five for a period of time.
Ms Jackson, who joined the company about two and a half years ago, said the measure would support those returning from maternity leave to enjoy a more gradual return to the workplace, but not be financially worse off.
Ms Jackson is responsible for leading SSE’s entry careers resourcing team, focusing on recruiting for its apprenticeship and graduate development programmes. For the most part, that means IT specialists and engineers.
The firm also has a number of employees who are dedicated to coordinating its inclusivity strategy in addition to their day jobs – coupled with a clear vision from senior leaders who are fully committed and supportive of their approach.
She said the utilities sector needed to be proactive to face down the challenges to creating a skilled, diverse employee base.
The sector’s workforce is ageing and the environment is still quite male dominated, and although SSE is starting to see some positive changes in its early careers programmes, there is still much work to do.
Ms Jackson suggested that pooling resources and cultivating a more collaborative approach across the sector, government and education would help industry.
“Engineering is male dominated, but in the last few years we have been taking on more female graduates,” Ms Jackson said.
“This year we are taking on 100% female graduates to our renewables programme, and 25% to our IT programme. It’s not about ‘positive action’ – they were just the best candidates.
“Apprenticeships, however, are more challenging, and despite putting in a lot of effort to replicate that success, so far we’re not seeing the same results.
“We’re not getting the number of female applications we would like to see.
“We’re trying to encourage more diversity through all of our entry level programmes, but it’s a struggle – and that’s not just for us, it’s for the whole sector.”
She said it was important to get rid of the “myths” about engineering and provide positive role models.
With the latter in mind, SSE is sponsoring the women’s FA cup final as part of its efforts to position itself with likeminded people to send out the right message and reinforce its commitment to inclusion.
SSE has given the subject serious thought.
“We’ve changed our approach in the last three years to help get our message out there,” Ms Jackson said.
“We have revised our strategy and gone back to basics. Rather than positive action or focusing on one area, we are trying to make SSE inclusive for everyone.”
The Perth-headquartered company entered a partnership with Equal Approach, which describes itself as a “provider of inclusive talent”.
It has also developed a strategy called “in, on, up” to bring in more diverse talent, to develop and support the existing workforce and help them progress through
the organisation. SSE is doing a number of things to support that strategy.
It has a three-year agreement with Teach First, a charity which strives to address inequality in the education system.
The two organisations have been involved in several activities, including visiting schools in less privileged areas to promote stem subjects and highlight the opportunities which would be open to them at SSE.
Leaving no stone unturned, SSE got its executives to explore their own personal biases and asked them to think about times when they have been in the minority.
Furthermore, SSE can lay claim to being the first company in the utilities industry to report on gender pay.
And SSE did it voluntarily.
SSE’s gender pay gap turned out to be just above the national average. You can bet the company has ideas for closing the divide.
