OSiT’s approach to Social
We have built OSiT with our clients and our people, our OSiTeers, at the heart of the business – but we also alwaysconsidered our place in the wider community. It’s this concept of people that is reflected in the way we run our business day to day, as well as in our ESG policy.
Our People
Our OSiT family are the beating heart of the business and make us the company that we are. We’re focused on creating a business and culture that supports and empowers every member of our team.
We are an equal opportunities employee andchampion inclusivity within the business. We actively support Human Rights and all equality legislation. Our ethos is to respect and value people’s differences and to help everyone achieve more at work, and in their personal lives, so they feel proud of the part they play in our collective success. We hold ourselves to high account in relation to the quality of service we provide to our clients and also how we as a business (across our management and all employees) conduct ourselves, to ensure this is aligned with our Ethics Policy.
We’re very proud that in 2023 we made the Sunday Times ‘Best Places to Work’ list for the Small Company category. This is a nationwide workplace survey and our inclusion is a testament to all the amazing individuals within our OSiT family.
We want our people to reach their full potential, professionally and personally and actively support them. As well as providing learning and development opportunities to ensure everyone is able to reach their goals, we also provide wellbeing and healthcare offerings to enhance work-life balance.
In 2024 we’ll be focussing on further supporting the personal development of all our employees, with personalised training plans matched to their aspirations. We’ll also be enhancing our employee offering and introducing more wellbeing initiatives across in our buildings (which our clients can access too).
In addition to regular 1:1s with staff, we carry out an annual employee satisfaction survey, giving every employee the chance to provide anonymous feedback about: the company, their role, what they like and enjoy, and anything they feel we can improve. This is very valuable and helps us to make changes, to create the most positive and fulfilling environment we can.
We offer all employees Vitality Health Insurance. As well as providing medical care Vitality offers a holistic approach to health with rewards available for getting active. We support this with many initiatives including free gym membership and weekly yoga sessions in our centres for employees, a cycle to work scheme and even an OSiT running club.
Providing food and toiletries to The Whitechapel Mission for the homeless
Fundraising for The Fostering Network
We want all of our OSiTeers to feel supported at work. As well as informal day-to-day catch-ups and chats, we run ‘Our Space’ – an employee engagement platform providing access to benefits, a wellbeing centre and blogs and articles of interest. It’s also a forum for recognition, a place to share ideas and online personal development courses.
We believe in zero stigma around mental health. In 2022 OSiT employees attended a two-day adult Mental Health First Aider course, teaching in depth skills to provide first aid to people who may be experiencing mental health issues.
We are very focussed on the issues impacting our people in their lives and when appropriate we will proactively develop new policies to support them. A recent example is our Menopause Guidance Policy, to raise awareness and increase knowledge of this very natural process across our entire team of OSiTeers, and set out how we will help colleagues experiencing symptoms.
2015 we set up Office Space Cleaning, allowing us to bring the cleaning of our centres under the OSiT umbrella and ensuring the wellbeing offering and care we provide our OSiT team is also available to our cleaners. We saw how beneficial this was when we were able to support our cleaning team through Covid-19.
More information about how we support our people is available in our ESG report.
Our Community
From day one we’ve always wanted to be a positive and proactive part of the communities surrounding our centres. This takes many forms and our approach continues to evolve.
We’ve always wanted to have a positive impact on society, contribute to the local community and help to make the world a better place. Over the year’s we’ve supported several charities as a business and our fundraising efforts have been varied, often muddy or a bit extreme – but always fun. As well as in-house events, we’ve completed the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge, survived Tough Mudders, Rough Runners, skydives and the Bear Grylls Survival Race.
In 2023 we decided to focus on helping charities that are local to each of our centres. OSiTeers in each centre provide support by raising money, volunteering their time, collecting donations and helping to raise awareness of their work. This approach is supported by our work with Planet Mark, allowing us to measure our contribution within our local communities in more than merely monetary terms.
The 2023 charities selected by each individual centre are:
Each OSiT centre has an ambassador for their chosen charity, who ensures that we are providing what they need at the right time, and is also responsible for coordinating and logging all the fundraising, volunteering and other support efforts for their charity.
Our OSiTeers are caring and compassionate by nature and through our OSiT Volunteering Policy we offer employees paid time off to support other charities and local causes that are personally important to them too.
Prior to 2023, the management committee selected a charity annually (from amongst the very personal causes nominated by members of staff) to raise money for as a group. Over the years we raised in excess of £65,000 for small UK charities and individual causes that hold a place in the hearts of OSiT team members.
Winne
(Osteogenesis Imperfecta)
Winnie is 5 years old with an ultra rare condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta which makes her bones extremely weak resulting in the need for surgeries and specialist care. OSiT raised funds to help pay for adaptations to Winnie’s home to help make life more comfortable and accessible.
£13,600
Donations
Easter egg donations to Shelter from the Storm, Hackney Food Bank, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Refuge and Solace Women’s Aid.
£13,600
Centre 404
Centre 404 is a prominent and successful charity that offers friendly, reliable and person centred support to people with learning disabilities, autism and their families. We currently operate across 8 London Boroughs
£7,000
Good Companions Cuppa Lunch Club
Centre 404 is a prominent and successful charity that offers friendly, reliable and person centred support to people with learning disabilities, autism and their families. We currently operate across 8 London Boroughs
£1,000
The McLafferty Family
Mrs McLafferty is an employee of our accountants whose husband suffered a stroke early in their married life.
OSiT raised money for the family to help them adapt their home for Mr McLafferty’s injuries.
£13,000
Shelter from the Storm
Shelter from the Storm is a completely free emergency night shelter providing bed, dinner and breakfast for 36 people who have experienced homelessness every night of the year.
£12,000
Melanie Roberts
£10,000
Future Talent
Founded in 2004 by The Duchess of Kent and Nicholas Robinson, we break down barriers, create opportunities and harness the power of music to transform the lives of young musicians across the UK.
£60,000
Aidan Cox
Aidan was a family friend of Giles’ Fuchs and we raised money for a new specialist chair for Aidan, who suffered from scoliosis, cerebral palsy and dystonia.
£10,000
Nottingham Children’s Hospital
Nottingham Hospitals Charity enhances patient care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s Queen’s Medical Centre & City Hospital. Donations help provide added extras such as improved facilities, equipment, research & staff development.
£10,000
With help from our clients we’ve also been able to make deliveries of toys to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, food and essentials to Hackney Food Bank and 100’s of Easter Eggs to Women’s Aid, Solace, Refuge and Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children.
In 2021 we started to partner with Pact Coffee (provided in our OSiT meeting rooms) which champions farming practises that are kind to the environment and pays farmers directly and generously in return. We also partner with Redemption Roasteries, the first prison-based coffee company that retrains offenders with industry skills (offered in our OSiT cafes).
