Debenhams Ottaway

At Debenhams Ottaway we value the diversity of our employees. To ensure our clients receive the best possible service, we encourage and support difference in our teams so that they can provide an empathetic, innovative and engaging service.

We encourage an inclusive and respectful working environment that seeks out everyone’s contributions driven by their individual and diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

We believe it is important that our staff feel supported. All employees have access to the firm’s Employee Assistant Programme service, where employees can talk to a professional about any personal problems that may impact their work. Our HR team are qualified mental health first aid champions (MHFA). They are not only able to provide support for existing staff who may be having difficulties but also are able to understand the discrimination that those with mental health issues may previously have experienced in recruitment and selection processes. We offer flexible working to our staff and are continually looking for ways to improve our working environment. We are committed to providing our teams with interesting and challenging work whilst encouraging and supporting everyone to find time for rest, relaxation and exercise.

Every year we give our staff the opportunity to complete our diversity questionnaire and the statistical information is published on our website. We strive to keep learning from any feedback we receive so that we can continue to attract and retain the best talent who will deliver the best service to our clients.

Our local community is very important to Debenhams Ottaway and each year everyone at the firm chooses a charity to support for the year. We take part in various activities to help raise funds and awareness for our chosen charities. In 2019, Debenhams Ottaway was recognised in the St Albans Chamber of Commerce Business Awards and won the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award, which highlights our commitment and strong presence in the local community.

As part of the commitment to our chosen charity, Youth Talk, our corporate, commercial and charity sector teams have provided them with pro bono advice. In addition to this, we offer annual work placements for the students of a local St Albans school and sponsor a primary school in Radlett.