Creativity, Collaboration and PRIDE
At Saddington Baynes, inclusivity is at the forefront of our studio culture. As cheesy as it may sound, it strives to create a welcoming environment where everyone feels at home.
It’s because of this that Saddington Baynes provides both online and offline opportunities for casual socialising to benefit its team’s mental health and keep them connected, and exciting events in the studio (like our recent avian visitors) have given us.
In the spirit of Pride month, communications assistant Justine Keogh sat down with Ocean, studio and production coordinator, to discuss what SB is doing right now and its plans for the future to help make our studio a more inclusive place for the team.
Here’s how it went...
Q> How does SB show inclusivity to new team members?
Ocean> Well other than hanging a GIANT 5-foot Pride flag in our studio as a permanent feature (because why not), we’ve also updated our SB New Starter Forms to allow new staff members to optionally state their pronouns. This then gets added to their email signatures and Slack profiles, with their permission of course. We’re also ensuring our studio handbook includes up to date policies on diversity and non-discrimination. We do this as a way of showing our team, as well as clients, our stance on inclusivity in the workplace. We want them to feel comfortable and respected.
Our team have the pleasure of choosing to work either in the office or from home, which can be a little difficult for new members to meet the wider team. To tackle this, we regularly organise a Friday Beer O’Clock session, which includes a variety of games and quizzes over Zoom and in the studio - so regardless of whether we are working from home or not, our new starters have a chance to meet the team over a beer or two!
Q> Great, sounds like you’ve been busy! How is SB celebrating Pride this month?
Ocean> For this year’s Pride celebration, we are encouraging all staff to express themselves through any creative output they choose; whether it be through makeup, CGI, etc! The winner of the most popular submission (as voted for by the team) will win the honour of choosing which LGBTQ+ charity we donate to this year. I’m hoping this competition gives people the space to show other sides of themselves that they may not get to express in their day-to-day work. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone’s creations!
On top of that, we're also following SB tradition and having a bake sale (because we're big cake fans here)! All donations will go to the same charity.
Q> That sounds fun! Can’t wait to see the submissions! What can we do moving forward to make SB an even more welcoming place?
Ocean> Myself and the team have been attending inclusivity training - we’ve found it immensely helpful and will continue to attend so we can bring more positive changes to SB. I’d love our toilets to become gender neutral at some point - if it wasn’t a council owned building, I think we would have made that change already! I think the main thing for us to do is to keep an open mind and a welcoming presence for all staff so that everyone feels comfortable to come to me or our HR Manager with any issues or suggestions. Progression takes time and the needs of employees are ever-changing.
If you'd like to help support LGBTQ+ charities, or are seeking support, take a look at the links below:
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/get-involved
https://www.theproudtrust.org/support-us/
https://www.houseofrainbow.org/
https://prideinlondon.org/support-us/
