There’s only one thing you need to bring to Fleet Alliance each day: talent.
That, and the right attitude. A willingness to embrace our four pillars of fairness, trust, engagement and respect.
Gender identity, race, creed – none of this matters to us. Because inclusivity is essential to the Fleet Alliance business.
So I am absolutely delighted that Fleet Alliance has been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women 2020. This further accolade adds to our recognition as a Best Place to Work for the eighth successive year.
There are good reasons to have a more diverse workplace. You will find that 46% of our senior management team is female; and that in overall terms the business has 61% female representation.
According to an article in the World Economic Forum, co-authored by Christine Lagarde president of the central European bank, women bring different skills and perspectives to the workplace compared with their male colleagues, as well as different attitudes to risk and collaboration. Meanwhile, the financial performance of a business has been shown to improve when a corporate board is more evenly split by gender.
A more balanced workplace helps bring greater diversity and benefits both women and men. For example, flexible working is greatly appreciated by our staff because we understand that homelife is important, so providing a suitable balance with work expectations is critical.
A more inclusive environment also helps where both female and male staff can benefit from facilities such as our Wellness Wednesdays. These include stress-down workshops, with a particular emphasis on mental well-being, therapies and treatments, yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. While these activities are not directly aimed at women, it helps to make the workplace more inclusive, and less intimidating for all employees.
And central to what we do is Fleet Alliance Loves: an employee engagement initiative that extends beyond our workplace, whether that’s for charity, the community or the environment. It’s important to look beyond our own personal issues and to embrace and understand the difficulties faced by others less fortunate, or adopt measures that can help reduce our impact on the planet.
Fleet Alliance Loves fosters understanding, care, sharing – and, importantly, laughter. You can never have enough laughter and happiness in the office.
It’s part of what makes Fleet Alliance one of the UK’s a best place to work year after year. And now it’s also a best place to work for women.
We are deeply proud of this.
But I recognise this is just one step in making Fleet Alliance an even better place to work. We need to be more inclusive. We need greater diversity. These are areas of the business we are working on to improve our performance. Because I want Fleet Alliance to be the best place to work.
There’s only one thing you need to bring to Fleet Alliance each day: talent. That, and the right attitude. A willingness to embrace our four pillars of fairness, trust, engagement and respect. Gender identity, race, creed – none of this matters to us. Because inclusivity is essential to the Fleet Alliance business. So I am … Continued
It’s time for many of you to change gear: from makeshift home office to socially distanced work environment. It’s going to take some time to adjust – and it is no different in the automotive industry. However, as we all adapt to our new conditions, we might just have to plan those gear changes further … Continued
What does the new normal look like for you? Good question. Socially distanced desks? A one-way system in the office? Half the staff still working from home? Or is it impossible to return to work just yet? All of these – and more – of that I have no doubt. But in the ‘new normal’, … Continued
There’s no hiding from the fact: air quality continues to be an issue in Glasgow, where Fleet Alliance is headquartered. Scotland’s most polluted street – Hope Street, Glasgow – still has higher levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide than is permitted under European Ambient Air Quality Directive. The permitted level is more than 22% above … Continued
One of the many things that attracts me to electric cars is their innate simplicity. There’s a complete absence of all those valves, tappets, pistons and associated paraphernalia that make up an internal combustion engine. Don’t get me wrong – the sound and performance of these engines can be spectacular, visceral. But electric cars are … Continued
Walking around the nearly deserted streets of my home city Glasgow – during my once a day choice of exercise – two things struck me: how silent were the streets; and how clean the air. I know it’s a desperate time, but it’s important to look for positivity around us. This lack of noise – … Continued
Recent history has suggested fleets should run for their tin hats whenever the Chancellor gets up to announce a Budget. But not this, Rishi Sunak’s first as Chancellor. I was impressed all round by the positive response and support to business in the face of the coronavirus outbreak with all of its unknown outcomes. Whether … Continued
Changes to OpRA. Yes, yes, I know, very dull. That’s an ‘Optional Remuneration Arrangement’, if you’re at all unsure. Still, I remember people talking very animatedly about the situation at a BMW Group fleet drive event, rather than the very impressive BMW 5 Series we had just been driving. During lunch one of the new … Continued
I’m learning a different language. It’s kWh rather than mpg. I mean we have all become used to mpg, even though our fuel is delivered in litres. But no matter… Anyway, on the road to zero emissions and electric cars, we need to come to terms with this new language. And you won’t find it … Continued
Norway. We have much in common with our Norse neighbours. As the UK plots its exit from the EU, we’ll join Norway as a non-member outside the European Union; the UK and Norway are significant trading partners – the UK is Norway’s biggest export market; and, of course, our cultural heritage is intrinsically linked with … Continued