Certified in May of this year, Lonsdale Solutions is one of the newest B Corps to be recognised as Best for the World. The consultancy exists to offer project leadership for clients on a range of projects, including digital business transformation and technology.
To recognise their first appearance on the Best for the World list for Workers, we spoke with General Manager Nick Flynn to understand some of their favourite internal practices that have helped them achieve zero turnover in the past year, despite the challenges of a pandemic and adjusting to new ways of working.
Watch the conversation here or read the interview below.
Nick: We strongly believe that looking after our employees is a great investment in both our business and in the future of our business, and doing good is doing good business.
B Lab: Tell us a little bit about the workplace culture at Lonsdale Solutions and some of the things that you’ve done to build that culture.
Nick: We’re really happy to actively support the flexibility that our workers need within the business. We’re there to support any cohort of worker, depending on what it is they need to do in order to have the best experience, both at work and at home.
Some of the things that we offer is part-time or flexible working. If someone needs that, we can look at compressed work weeks or hours too. We look at various other ways that we can support people in terms of the flexibility that they need to meet their obligations and commitments both inside and outside of work.
B Lab: What about the the training and support that happens internally? Can you tell us a little bit about what that looks like with your team?
Nick: We believe in a continuous learning environment. We have a policy that we call ‘Any Books.’ That’s simply that if you need any type of materials, or books or journals, or maybe it’s access to an online platform, we’re happy to pay. We tell staff you don’t have to ask, just organise it and get reimbursed. It’s great for everyone involved.
B Lab: I love talking to B Corps because they’re so casual about some pretty incredible things like paying for study fees for your staff. That commitment to bettering your staff and allowing them to grow themselves while they’re at your workplace is a really incredible thing.
You also have a philanthropy program, so tell us a little bit about how your employees stay engaged with the work that you do but also with the bigger picture of where you’re situated in the community.
Nick: We commit a percentage of our revenue each year to our charitable giving, and we have specifically made the program employee run.
It’s really important for us to have the giving program as employee-owned to create a link between the fees that we generate and the fees that they generate, and being able to make a positive impact on people that maybe aren’t as fortunate as us.
B Lab: What’s something that you want to see that all businesses adopt for workers based on your experience?
Nick: For us as a consultancy, our people are the most important component of our business. We don’t sell a product, we sell a service. So we’re really investing in those people. We’ve had no one leave in the last 12 months – we have a really low turnover. It feels like with COVID, we’ve seen people adapt to flexibility and supporting more flexible workplaces., and I hope that that continues.
I think that there are more things that can be done particularly around paid maternity leave and better government support that can be put in place. Fingers crossed that those types of things will be supported more in the future.
Congratulations to Lonsdale Business Solutions for making the Best for the World 2021 list for Workers.
Interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
