Finding the best talent from every possible background is at the heart of our business success. We know that a diverse workforce builds customer loyalty, ensuring sustainability and ongoing performance. For a company where customer service is at the heart of everything we do, and promotion is 99% from within, diversity is business-critical.
So it should come as no surprise that our Oxford/Southampton group recently held a ‘Women in Leadership’ conference, in celebration of International Women’s Day. The theme of their event this year was the celebration of successful women within the business, and it was held with the specific objective to help further promote their careers. Enterprise has been voted one of the Top 50 Employers Where Women Want To Work for 9 years in a row, and by holding these events we will continue to ensure that it is a place where female professionals can grow and thrive.
Successful women both internal and external to the company were invited to speak on a range of issues including how to prepare for promotion, increasing self-motivation and inner drive and balancing a career with motherhood. The event was kicked off by local MP Caroline Dinenage, who gave a very insightful talk on what it is to be a female in Parliament, tweeting a photo of herself with our ladies showing their nominations for their inspirational women, ranging from Baroness Thatcher to Beyonce.
Together with events, mentoring programs and support networks, we also commit 25% of our yearly training budget specifically to diversity. And this approach is certainly working. Since 2010 we have seen an increase of 20% in the number of women recruited, and in 2013 very close to half of our new recruits were women, in what is traditionally a male-dominated industry. It works for us as a business and could work for you as a professional too. Whatever your background or ambitions, why not take a look at the graduate jobs and internships that we have on offer.