2degrees: Committing to equity and creating an environment where everyone can thrive

In today’s competitive labor market, leading organizations are incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into their business model in order to attract and retain top talent.

New Zealand based telecommunications company, 2degrees, has made a commitment to equitable practices in their WELL Certified Platinum office, and is seeing bottom-line benefits as a result.

Amy Deperrois, Head of Organisational Development, sat down with IWBI to discuss this further.

How do you think employee requirements and expectations have changed our understanding of inclusive environments?
The world has changed significantly, and the pandemic expedited shifts in the workplace. We saw a rapid acceleration of remote work at scale, which led to hybrid work becoming today’s reality. As these changes have happened, we’ve seen shifts in what employees value. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging have become talent imperatives. People increasingly choose the company they work for based on what it stands for.

At 2degrees, we’re all about fighting for what’s fair – whether that be for our customers, our partners or our people. We believe creating a supportive, inclusive environment is essential to empowering our people to perform at their best. Equity aims to level the playing field – ensuring we provide people with opportunities they may not have previously had access to.

What are some of the strategies that have been implemented, and how do they impact people in your space?
We’ve focused our DEI strategy on three key areas: building inclusion, improving gender balance and building cultural capability. We offer inclusive cultural events throughout the year to celebrate and build understanding of the vibrant, diverse cultures we are lucky to have represented on our team. Our Superhub space is open, welcoming and multi-functional – the ideal place to share food, conversation and culture.

What are some of the early successes you’ve had with WELL?
Our people provide lots of positive feedback on our Fanshawe Street head office, which is WELL Certified to the Platinum level. The natural light, plants, great air quality – and they just love the free fruit and vegetables which are grown from our own vegetable garden onsite. We’ve enjoyed equally amazing feedback from our partners on our office environment – one partner recently described it as “the best office space in New Zealand!”

As we cater to a diverse workforce, we need to ensure we offer workspaces that adapt to people’s different needs. Organizations need spaces that allow for quiet, focused time and other spaces that encourage teamwork and collaboration. Our work with WELL helped us to provide both, and gave us a roadmap for educating our people around how to work effectively in our office space, which has been critical to success.

Around 78% of employees in the tech industry shared that DEI initiatives are very important to them when considering whether or not to accept a job offer.

How is your focus on equity providing your organization a competitive advantage?
We know that if we want to attract, retain and grow our people, we need to create the conditions to allow them to flourish. We have chosen to focus our efforts on initiatives to attract, develop and retain women in technology. In fact, we have direct feedback from employees who have specifically chosen to work for 2degrees because of our efforts.

How is your investment in WELL paying back?
We have a monthly feedback survey where our people provide feedback on how they experience work at 2degrees. This includes the physical work environment, among other indicators. Our people overwhelmingly report that their physical work environment supports their physical health (a score of 8.4/10) and contributes positively to their ability to do their job (8.3/10). Our diversity and inclusion score is also in the top quartile of employers benchmarked. Our people tell us that they enjoy the physical environment and it, along with collaborating with teams, is a key driver for working from the office. Ultimately, we know that if we care for our people, it shows up in how they care for our customers.

How is a commitment to health and equity a cornerstone of your 2023 corporate strategy?
We’re on a mission to support mental health and well-being, and we’re passionate about providing our people with the support they need. We organize initiatives and provide benefits such as flexible working policies ,free flu shots, equitable parental leave, yoga, speaker series that promote health and wellbeing, an extra day leave and more. We understand the importance of our workers’ health to our continued successful operation.

Creating an environment for success starts with WELL
How can investing in health pay back for your business? Explore more client stories to find out.