When it comes to diversity, communication-as-a-service organisation Voxbone is already well on the way, with 187 employees spread across seven global locations, including in Europe, Asia and the US, hailing from 39 nationalities.
The challenge, then, lies in keeping this diverse and dispersed workforce engaged, invested and connected.
Jemma Hardy, vice president of HR at Voxbone, says: "One of the biggest challenges we face, because we're in this massive [period] of growth at the moment, is keeping everyone engaged no matter where they are in the world."
To ensure that all employees spend their time at Voxbone feeling included, connected and valued, the organisation brings all new employees to its head offices in London or Brussels to acclimatise with the business; it also encourages face-to-face communication wherever possible, and tries to ensure that its benefits offerings and employee experiences are standardised across all locations.
"We work on different methods of keeping in contact and open communications with our employees, to see what matters to them," says Hardy.
In this vein, and furthering the transparency and inclusion agenda, Voxbone launched an annual diversity and inclusion report in 2018. This surveys its employees on subjects including their own characteristics, their job role and tenure, elements of their employee journey, and their engagement with the organisation's key values.
"The first report we did last year was more of a discovery experience, it was to understand where we stood, and then this one this year was to see where we'd got to," Hardy explains.
Having now been published for the second year running, in September 2019, the analysis found that 80.5% members of staff either agree or strongly agree that their individual values and ideals are respected by fellow employees and managers. Meanwhile, 91.3% agree that diversity and inclusion is important to Voxbone.
One of the initiatives that arose out of the original 2018 research into employee situations, stances and needs, was an improvement to the organisation's family-friendly policies. For example, Voxbone has since made efforts to replicate particularly valued benefits, such as the provision of emergency childcare cover, equally across all regions.
The organisation has also added a gym supplement, commuting help and improved social spaces, following its research into the workforce's wants.
The survey is anonymous, taking place during July each year, and Hardy notes that it is important to always have options not to answer; in 2019, 73% of employees completed the questionnaire.
