5 November 2024
The People Working Group are committed to ensuring Badminton England is a ‘great and safe’ place to work.
Made up of 14 people who cover all Badminton England departments, the tight-knit team is working tirelessly to put people at the heart of all the organisation does.
Bonded by a shared passion of developing people and the culture at Badminton England, the People Working Group is championing Badminton England’s core values.
“The group see themselves as enablers,” said Linda Freeman, Head of People at Badminton England. “That’s why we’ve developed a ‘People Plan’ which has three focus areas: developing a culture which brings out the best in people, delivering a brilliant people experience and looking after our employees.
“It sounds really cheesy but it’s a collective endeavour. We’re a team and everyone involved is driving a lot of behind the scenes work to create a positive culture and a diverse and inclusive environment for our employees.”
Benjamin Horseman and Jia Bin Lee hope their experience at the Junior World Championships can help propel them onto the senior stage. 💪
They reached the last 16 at the Junior World Championships in China last month and are hungry for more! 🔥⬇️https://t.co/UV7zAT3Ail
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) November 1, 2024
The People Team at Badminton England are responsible for overseeing all people processes including recruitment, onboarding, creating people policies, staff development days and all HR administration to support employees and creating an all-round productive, but crucially happy, working environment.
People group member and CRM & Insights Executive, Dan Ward, added: “We’ve just done a benchmark survey which asked people how happy they are at work so we can make sure Badminton England is a great place to work and address the areas that staff tell us we need to focus on.”
The group have spearheaded a change in how the company runs its all-staff meetings, making them more interactive – it’s not just about management and hierarchy – they want things to be driven by the staff, for the staff.
Aneta Kaszewska, group member and HR Business Advisor, added: “We love to celebrate people’s learnings and achievements too. We have a staff intranet where we shout about people’s performances and achievements to really promote a supportive culture.”
No more tangible is the inherent volunteering time that employees are giving out of work to develop skills and give something back to the community.
There has been cake bake sales, “whack it Wednesday” (staff badminton at lunchtime), lunchtime running clubs and social events to promote a one team concept.
“Our aim is to drive positive culture within the organisation by living and breathing our values. The People Team seeks to ensure Badminton England is a brilliant place to work where staff display the best versions of themselves,” Louise Hewitt, group member and Young People Manager said.
Our national adult participation programme is designed to get anyone and everyone on court, playing badminton…no strings! 🏸
A new look No Strings aims to offer low-cost, no-commitment, fun, friendly, welcoming sessions, accessible to one and all ❤️💛💙💚💜#ASportForEveryone
— Badminton England (@BadmintonEnglnd) November 4, 2024
As an added incentive, every employee gets their birthday off, which seems small but it’s just another example of how Badminton England values our people.
Linda concluded: “More than anything working with this group of amazing people, real ‘people’s people’ who have so much energy, is a real highlight for me day in and day out.”