Domino Printing: Why it’s a great workplace
Sponsored feature | Bar Hill-based Domino Printing won Employer of the Year at the 2022 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards. With entry now open to the 2023 awards, here’s a closer look at the company
Welcome to Domino
With the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic, the world of work changed for everyone.
At Domino Printing, this gave us the opportunity to review our current working models. Employee feedback gathered from several listening surveys reinforced the wish to be able to work more flexibly, which led us to embark on a major project to introduce hybrid working.
The initiative has resulted in a better work/life balance and been important in improving engagement and employee experience, as well as having a positive impact on recruitment, career development, retention and global mobility.
In addition, we enhanced our Wellbeing Programme, providing all employees with a range of offerings to support mental and physical health.
Going forward we will review and assess the way we do things, how we collaborate and communicate and how we reward and recognise our people so that Domino continues to be a great place to work.
Sharon Budworth, director of engagement
A new flexible way of working
Central to the introduction of hybrid working has been a major refurbishment programme at Domino’s Global Headquarters in Bar Hill, investing around £2million to create a workspace that can support collaborative work, enhance productivity and increase flexibility.
This has resulted in 32 new meeting spaces, named by employees: Cambridge-based scientists and innovators who have changed the world including Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall, Stephen Hawking and Alan Turing, in addition to Graeme Minto who founded Domino in 1978.
All the open-plan spaces have been equipped with furniture, re-used and recycled wherever possible, a personal locker for each employee and the IT infrastructure to support flexible working.
A new Smartway2 reservations system has been rolled out for booking hot desks, meeting rooms and the 30 electrical vehicle charging points now installed, designed to encourage more sustainable transport choices. Secure cycle storage and new shower and changing room facilities will also help to achieve this, as well as promote wellbeing through pre-work and lunchtime exercising.
Communal areas are provided when employees do come into the office, with coffee-house style cafes – including a Cloud Café on the top floor of the building and a First Quencher on the first floor – along with a restaurant providing meals and snacks all day.
The project also provided the chance to enlarge and refurbish Coding & Marking labs and provide a better environment for customers in the new Coding and Marking Customer Experience room.
A key focus in the refurbishment programme was to make it as sustainable as possible. This was achieved by obtaining a SKA rating which is an environmental assessment method, benchmark and standard for non-domestic fit-outs, led and owned by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Furniture no longer required from the old office layout has been recycled by the company partnering with Sustain, part of the Senator Group, which removes all obsolete furniture, separates the individual pieces out for reuse and recycling and saving it going to landfill.
Existing glass partition panels were relocated and reused in the new layout of meeting rooms and café areas, to increase areas of natural light and a feeling of open spaces.
Wellbeing at Domino
Domino’s Wellbeing Programme partners with BUPA, AXA PPP, AVIVA and with Cambridge practitioner Louise Lloyd who specialises in workplace wellbeing and coaching.
Recent additions include an alliance with Harley Street at Home for menopause support and a free subscription to Headspace, a meditation and mindfulness app. There are also annual workplace flu vaccination programmes and formal recognition of the importance of mental health with a cohort of trained Mental Health First Aiders.
Survey monitors employee feedback
Domino has ensured strong company-wide commitment to its shared vision, with the implementation of an Employee Survey three times a year to promote employee voice.
The Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is a pulse survey, measuring employee satisfaction and capturing feedback on ways to improve the employee experience.
It attracts high participation rates – more than 70 per cent - with many citing reasons why Domino is a great place to work.
Connect, the company’s HR system, along with Domino’s intranet, enables employees to celebrate their global colleagues’ achievements with a ‘shout out’ through the Recognition Tool.
Career advancement
Domino wants to ensure that everyone has the right skills and knowledge to be successful in their role and promotes continuous personal development by supporting its managers to listen, coach and guide their teams. In this way, employees can embrace challenges and generate new ideas, whilst driving their own personal success and contributing to the overall objectives of the business.
Employees worldwide are encouraged to apply for internal promotions and a new initiative called Spotlight Roles showcases location-flexible vacancies globally.
Everyone has access to Domino’s training and development ‘Academy’, an e-learning resource providing tools for employees to shape their own development pathway, in addition to a ‘People Manager Toolkit’ to help team leaders become better people managers.
The company’s award-winning Apprenticeship Scheme annually recruits people at different educational stages through an ‘earn as you learn’ model which includes obtaining experience in different business areas together with day release/distance learning to achieve formal qualifications.
A sustainable agenda
A CSR Committee was formed in 2020 to refocus on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The company is ECOVADIS accredited, and also a member of Sedex, an important barometer of ethical trading. Four pillars (Our People, Society, Environment and Customers) have now been established to deliver long-term improvements.
There has been a major drive to make technology and consumables more sustainable, most recently with the Cx-350i printer using vegetable oil ink and a SafeGuard AR’ app which uses augmented reality to diagnose and solve customer problems remotely.
There are also initiatives for recycling in production and offices and a Green Car Scheme is available for all employees.
2023 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards
To enter the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards, including the Employer of the Year in the 2023, simply visit cambridgeindependent.co.uk/business/science-and-technology-awards/.
Photography Awards
Domino, as an international business, is also supporting the Travel category in the Cambridge Independent’s Photography Awards.
There are categories for amateurs, professionals and camera clubs - and great prizes are on offer.
You can enter online for free at cambridgeindependent.co.uk/lifestyle/photography/ until December 1.
