Wales & West Utilities are celebrating a prestigious win at the 2023 Utility Week Awards where the commitment of the gas distribution network to cultural change for a more inclusive and psychologically safe workforce was recognised.
The Skills and Diversity Award was collected on stage by representatives of the business, at the Utility Week Awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, last night (5 December).
The award recognises the commitment of the gas distribution network to creating a more open and inclusive culture to increase quality and safety across the business. The approach to inclusion and diversity is firmly rooted in the business’ values and aims to ensure that everyone feels safe, can be their whole self at work and expect to treated with dignity and respect.
The win comes at pivotal time for the company, after an extensive programme of learning and development activity has been driven forward over the past year to ensure honesty, transparency and innovation as part of a results-orientated culture. The programme has included workshops focusing on behaviours at work, inclusion awareness, leadership, and the development of a network of mental health first aiders.
Commenting on the award, Bethan Jones, Head of Human Resources said:
We were absolutely thrilled to collect the Utility Week Award for Skills and Diversity. The award is testament to the hard work of the team in delivering real change and improvement for everyone across the business and the customers we serve.
Changing culture is an incredibly challenging yet important area for us to focus on and while it takes considerable time, I feel very confident we have laid strong foundations to build on for the future.
Wales & West Utilities, the gas emergency and pipeline service, brings energy to 7.5m people across the south west of England and Wales. If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call us on 0800 111 999 straight away, and our engineers will be there to help any time of day or night.