Nicola Milburn discusses the importance of wellbeing in the workplace
At Rendall & Rittner, staff wellbeing is extremely important to us. Area Director, Nicola Milburn discusses her position and how she balances her own well-being and her work life.
Nicola explains: “I have worked for Rendall & Rittner for 13 years and have watched how the company has taken steps to improve employees’ work-life balance. Rendall & Rittner often holds evening resident’s meetings, so in the last few years changes have been made to help staff and ensure that their work and home life are balanced. For example, if staff work beyond 9pm at an evening meeting, they can purchase dinner and claim it back and they are also encouraged to take a half-day the following day. I think it is a great way to demonstrate that Rendall & Rittner cares and recognises your dedication and wanting you to rest and recuperate, ready for the next afternoon.”
“The ability to have flexible working hours within a company like Rendall & Rittner is fantastic because there is no issue with taking a couple of hours for yourself. For me personally, if my son has an assembly at 9am and I can’t be in until quarter past 10, it is not an issue. Rendall & Rittner also provides us with the flexibility to work from home, meaning that there is no travelling involved and we begin work a little earlier, and finish earlier if needed. It works well with my family life, I had both my children whilst in employment with Rendall & Rittner, so it has been nice that I can do things with them that others may not be able to due to their working hours.”
“After my 10 years’ service at Rendall and Rittner I was able to take a sabbatical from work at full pay for 4 weeks which was a huge benefit to me and my family and which not many other companies offer. We had just bought our first home and I was able to take this time off to spend quality time with our children whilst they were off school for the summer holidays as well as unpacking and moving into our new home.”
Rendall & Rittner’s culture is something that stands out to Nicola “The company has always been like a little family and I did worry when the company expanded that it may change, however, it is still completely family orientated, and is definitely somewhere I would recommend to my friends and family to work. The staff here socialise between two and three times a week after work and I met two of my best friends working at Rendall & Rittner! It is definitely a place where you look forward to coming into work.”
Nicola has recently been promoted to an Area Director and her staff’s wellbeing is always at the forefront of her mind, Nicola explains: “I would describe myself as approachable, I try and interact on a personal level with my team. Lots of colleagues will come and speak to me if their own line manager isn’t around, and I do take an interest in people’s personal life. I think it is all about being open and personable with people, as well as sympathetic at times. I am comfortable speaking with my team about any issue and believe that this definitely builds a relationship of trust between us.”
Outside of work Nicola is a busy mum of two and enjoys attending ‘Fight Klub’ every Monday with her two friends, whom she met at Rendall & Rittner. During the week Nicola tries to spend as much time with her family as possible and is thrilled that the company’s policies allow for flexible working.
Nicola also enjoys the perks available to her at Rendall & Rittner: “Occasionally the company hire a masseuse, as part of regular Wellbeing Weeks, to do 15-minute massages on everyone which is really nice. We have Fruity Friday, where once a month two large crates of fresh fruit are delivered for staff, encouraging healthy eating. We also make sure we do a team-building activity once a month.
“The company encourages us to use LifeWorks, which focuses on employee engagement and well-being by offering brilliant discounts on loads of things such as cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and more. It also offers a call centre, where if you are feeling down, upset or worried, you can call them 24/7, free of charge for confidential advice. There is an app you can download and the nice thing about it is that you can recognise people for the great things they have done. It can be something as little as a conversation where you have helped someone, so you can say thank you on the app and the whole company will see it.”
She concludes: “For me personally, Rendall & Rittner has been the place to be and the place to stay. Rendall & Rittner offers an excellent work life balance, even if you are rushed off your feet, you know if you need some time back, it will not be questioned.”
