“I’m lucky, I’ve never been scared to speak up when I’m at work. I think the more we share our thoughts constructively, the happier we can be. If everyone finds their voice and uses it, we can do good things.” RS colleague Thomas Hardouin is no stranger to using his voice, as a singer and songwriter in choirs and pop-rock bands for over 25 years. We caught up with him to discuss why it is important for everybody to feel heard in the workplace.
One quiet afternoon Mark Watson our Talent and Acquisition Manager, approached Navjot Sawhney, the founder of The Washing Machine Project in our London office with an idea. He wanted to climb Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) with a Divya hand-cranked washing machine attached to his back. Crazy? Possibly. Doable? Maybe. Our World caught up with Mark to find out more
Meet Tom Portingale, a devoted dad who's on a mission to champion the cause of neurodiversity, both at home and at work. With a young son diagnosed with ADHD, Tom's journey is filled with daily battles and heart-warming victories. He opens up about the challenges of raising a neurodivergent child and the support he's found within the RS family.
We may be spread across multiple countries and continents, but giving back brings us together. We asked two keen RS volunteers to share their experiences of volunteering in their hometowns. Divided by 1800km but connected by care, we sat down with Bonnie Dunion and Anna Cudny to discuss how they have turned their passion for volunteering into practical – and much-needed – support in their local communities. “It all starts with finding something you’re passionate about and feel you can help with,” says Bonnie, Project Owner for Help & Support, based in Corby, UK. “I couldn’t agree more,” adds Anna, Office Manager in Warsaw, Poland. “For me it started at the biggest children’s hospital here in Warsaw. It’s very personal to me as they looked after my daughter when she was five. It was a horrible place then – there were no windows and it was dark. So, to give back to this place that did so much for my daughter, my team helped paint a corridor in the psychiatric ward to make it lighter and brighter.” It hasn’t all been straightforward though, as Anna and the team ran out of paint and money before they managed to finish. That didn’t stop her, as she says: “I raised the money to buy the extra paint from local businesses and RS. I’m quite stubborn, once I’ve started something I want to finish it. Read more click the link below!
Earlier this week we closed out our PRIDE activities as our SPECTRUM ERG welcomed Jamaican-British competitive swimmer Michael Gunning to deliver a keynote presentation in our London office. Michael is an international, elite-level swimmer, best known for participating in the 200-metre butterfly event in the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. As a passionate advocate for championing equality, diversity and inclusion, Michael helps provide multiple opportunities for minority and underrepresented communities around the UK. In 2023, he launched Speedo’s Swim United Campaign to help inspire, educate and remove barriers in sport, and also campaigns for equal rights for the LGBTIQA+ community around the world. A huge thank you to Michael for such an amazing session, which was attended both in person and virtually by our colleagues from across the globe. #Pride2024 #WeAreRS #Pride
Who are the women engineers who’ve inspired you? Tell us who, and how, in the comments below this post on LinkedIn! Then, hear from women in engineering at RS as we celebrate International Women in Engineering Day. #WomenInEngineering #WomenEngineers
Last week our colleagues around the world joined together for a hashtag#Pride2024 Spirit Week, organised by our SPECTRUM employee resource group (ERG). LaRissa O'Neal, MAIO, our SPECTRUM ERG co-chair told us: "Each day we invited people to wear a different color from the PRIDE flag. We also used this event as an opportunity to introduce several flags from within the community and share insights into the importance of this rainbow of identity and expression." PRIDE SPIRIT WEEK 2024 ❤️ Monday - Red 🧡 Tuesday - Orange 💛💚 Wednesday - Yellow/Green 💙 Thursday - Blue 💜 Friday - Purple A huge thank you to everybody who participated and provided an array of vibrant colour across our workplaces. hashtag#Pride hashtag#SpiritWeek hashtag#WeAreRS hashtag#LoveWins
Have you ever wondered why there seems to be little choice for women’s PPE? Bold as Brass founder Katherine Evans recently took part in our panel on women’s PPE. Here, she provides some insight into how PPE choices for women can be narrowed down before they even get to the end user. Swipe through for her thoughts. Our Senior Director of Safety Solutions, Ryan Plummer, says: “Katherine raises valuable points about the current issues with women's PPE. At RS we are actively working with the key brands in the industry to ensure they have an inclusive range; over 70% of our main clothing brands, for example, now have a ladies fit option available. “These are either launched into RS, or in the process of being launched in to the portfolio. It's still not where it needs to be, in terms of full colourways and styles, but we are making selective choices about ranging new products if there is not a ladies fit available.” #PPEForWomen #HealthAndSafety #PPEEquality
Tom Portingale is our Global Head of Employer Brand Marketing and has been with the business for 15 months so far. We managed to grab some time with him to discuss what life has been like for him since joining RS. Good morning Tom, so what does a typical day look like for you as the Head of Employer Brand? Tom: "My days are busy working on two really exciting projects, to redevelop the Group careers site & the creation of RS’ first global Employer Value Proposition (EVP). But in-between, engaging with our colleagues around the world to help shine a light across our channels on how they’re making amazing happen." What is your favourite thing about working at RS? Tom: "Telling the story of a business with 80 years heritage; started from humble beginnings to the FTSE listed, global leader it is today. And the 8,000+ colleagues around the world who are one team, delivering brilliantly, doing the right thing, to make every day better." And do you have a favourite memory of your time with us so far? Tom: "Meeting our CEO, Simon Pryce, in person for the first time – in the office lift!! It wasn’t a deep & meaningful chat, but in the time it took to reach the ground floor, I walked out knowing he was an advocate of how an Employer Value Proposition would benefit RS, in helping to attract and retain great talent!" hashtag#RSLife hashtag#OurPeople hashtag#Talent hashtag#EmployerBrand hashtag#RSCareers
"I never felt that I needed to hide or restrict awareness to my identity, the hurdle has been being a lone voice and not wanting to create a tokenism around me and my identity." We caught up with LaRissa O'Neal, MAIO the co-chair of our Spectrum ERG to discuss being an LGBTQAI+ women at RS. hashtag#WeAreRS hashtag#Pride2024
