UN Global Compact
We first signed up to the Compact in 2010, renew our commitment each year, and report our actions and plans.
Our approach to corporate social responsibility aligns with the social, environmental and economic principles of the Compact.
Relevant commitments we have made include:
Social
- To respect the rights of our employees
- To promote equality in terms of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and culture
- To support the personal and career development, and mobility of our employees across the Group
- To safeguard the wellbeing and quality of life at work of all our people
Environmental
- To reduce the carbon footprint of our employees’ travel and our vehicle fleet
- To promote responsible and sustainable procurement practices
- To conserve energy, water and the material resources consumed in the conduct of our business
Economic
- To promote the sustainable growth of our own business and those of our clients
- To ensure there is zero tolerance for corruption within our organisation and require a similar commitment from our supply chain
- To embed sustainability principles in the business improvement solutions we develop and provide for our clients
Where we stand
In recent years we have made valuable progress in many of these areas.
As we build on that progress and further develop our CSR strategy, we are taking further steps. Our first priority is living up to our social responsibility.
Valuing all our people
Ayming’s business is based on human capital. It is through our employees’ skills and expertise, and their dedication to boosting the performance of our clients, that we create value. To sustain our success we must continue to invest in this human resource.
But we see our people as more than a resource. So we are re-inventing HR to reflect and nurture the Ayming culture.
We recognise that interpersonal relations are the key to happiness at work within Ayming, and our success as a company.
Like Ayming itself, our Human Relations department must be a centre for innovation – attracting and retaining diverse talent, transforming our businesses, and ensuring we are leaders in social responsibility.
HR and Innovation
Our HR team is pursuing a range of initiatives including:
- Collaborating with start-ups, science schools and universities, clients and charitable foundations
- Creating a career path that gives employees visibility of their prospects and promotes mobility – geographical, horizontal and vertical
- A more forward-looking approach to talent management embracing skills evaluation, new forms of training, and continuous feedback and ‘feed forward’ between employees and local managers
Women and diversity
Our main focus now is on diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace.
Women outnumber men (by 56% to 44%) at Ayming. We continue to work to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
In May 2018 we launched #IWILL – our International Women in Leadership Lab. This project aims to enhance gender diversity and make Ayming an even greater place to work.
The members of our working group – all extraordinary women working across the group –are designing new initiatives to promote diversity. These will be based on best practices across the group and in other sectors, reflecting the lessons from our participation in the 2018 Women’s Forum on ‘bridging the gap’ in Toronto and Paris.
One example of such best practice is Ayming Italy’s programme for supporting employees as they become parents, which is being extended group-wide. The aim is to remove stress and worries about work from this life-changing experience, while safeguarding the person’s continuing professional career. The programme focuses on communication – keeping people informed of company activity, on their preferred terms, while they are on leave – and also facilitates their return to work.
Other initiatives include:
- Launching a #Bossofmyworklife programme – encouraging people to take responsibility for their own destiny, and present their professional dream to a careers committee
- ‘Job dating’ camps: potential job candidates spend four hours with our teams, taking part in a creative workshops, speed interviews and other activities. This dynamic format for matching talents and roles, which we are rolling out to all countries, has resulted in a success rate of more than 85%
- Helping employees pursue international career opportunities through two-year secondments (modelled on France’s VIE)
- Partnering with schools to attract young talent and develop their employability
- A work placement programme to give students an introduction to the working world
- Encouraging employees to work remotely, where practicable.
Economic & environmental
Eliminating corruption is one of the core aims of the UN Compact. Having previously issued a code of conduct to remind all Ayming employees of our commitment to integrity, we ran a communications campaign and have introduced a warning system for risks of corruption.
Transport is a major generator of greenhouse gas emissions. Encouraging our people to work from home helps cut commuting trips as well, as promoting a healthier work/life balance.
We have drawn up a mobility plan to encourage staff to switch to sustainable modes of transport, and commissioned an assessment of our carbon footprint and an energy audit. The findings will inform our developing strategy.
In the meantime, we are supporting efforts to absorb carbon in the atmosphere through tree planting. Treedom is a Certified B Corporation that pays local farmers around the world to plant trees and then monitors them.
