Corporate social responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility
SSP recognises the important contributions made by our wider community of stakeholders, in particular our employees, our clients and the local communities in which we operate. Our values, management systems and practices, as well as our association with local, national and international charities and organisations, all embrace our commitment to health, safety, continuous improvement, employee development and the well-being of all our stakeholders. The Executive Board also takes into account social, environmental and ethical issues in its discussions and decision-making.
Employees
SSP recognises the value that its employees create for the business and is committed to the personal development and training of its employees. We provide a safe and secure workplace and promote good health and safety and environmental practices.
People are at the heart of the business and the support and involvement of talented individuals is vital to its continued success. SSP has a strong culture of employee engagement and seeks to ensure alignment with our vision and values through regular management updates and employee briefing sessions.
We seek feedback from our staff through employee surveys. Comments and suggestions from employees on the company’s performance and management are encouraged and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
We are a signatory for both the Inclusive Behaviours in Insurance Pledge and the Tech Talent Charter.
Clients
SSP has been built by establishing long-term relationships with its clients. We value each and every client and are proud of the long-standing nature of our client relationships. Many customers have been with SSP since 1984 and on average a customer stays for more than ten years. Continuing client satisfaction is central to our ongoing success and is regularly measured and monitored through customer surveys and direct feedback.
The Community
We are a company where people matter, and we are committed to making an active contribution in our local communities. We work with local partners, mainly those that are close to the hearts of our employees, to offer new opportunities and to play our part in the development of neighborhoods and communities. Over the last few years, we have donated a substantial amount of furniture to local schools, charities and the Gambian School Trust. We have donated toys and gifts to the Children’s Wards at local hospitals and we have had a number of charity bake sales.
Our employees are also encouraged to participate in a range of volunteering activities and are allowed a maximum of two days' paid leave per year to participate in these. Recent volunteering activities include helping to build raised vegetable boxes for a school, helping scouts make improvements to their headquarters including building a perimeter fence, and organizing litter picking / clean up exercises.
The Environment
Environmental responsibility is an integral part of SSP’s organisation: We consciously assess our impact on the environment and encourage everyone who works for us to contribute to an improved environment. This is shown in a number of ways: : Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, more of our infrastructure being moved to cloud based solutions to reduce our reliance on physical infrastructure, and we allow flexible working which also allows us to reduce our property footprint.
We also:
• Strive to reduce energy consumption, for example replacing fluorescent lighting with more efficient LED lighting and switching off electronic equipment when not in use
• Reduce waste and maximise recycling, for example paper, glass, plastics, toners, metal, batteries and other hazardous waste.
• Recycle old computers
• Minimise printed material.
• Send documents electronically instead of by mail
• Avoid printing, and, if unavoidable, print using both sides
• Use electronic equipment (MS Teams) for virtual meetings and training sessions to reduce travelling for both employees and customers