Our work to strengthen our internal business culture continued in 2006/07, with the aim of making Severn Trent
a more open and transparent culture, where there are no barriers to evaluating performance, whether good or bad. Employees
at both STW and WTS took part in training workshops on ethical behaviour at work in 2006/07.
Another mechanism for improving our business is strengthening the training we give to new managers. Severn Trent Water now takes a more individual approach to new manager development - as well as an induction 'Stepping into Management', there are a variety of modules for managers new to their role. We have also strengthened the training given to managers involved in areas like price setting, allowing access to our assets, procurement and outsourcing of services. As a result, each manager will be better equipped to deal with the demands and challenges, including the ethical challenges, of his or her role.
In Severn Trent Water, organisational improvements are also raising standards. For example, the integration of Severn Trent Plc and the Severn Trent Water teams will cut out management and communication layers, sharpening our focus on what is happening in the front line and creating a more open culture.
By the end of March 2007, over 550 Severn Trent Water senior and middle managers had attended a training workshop on ethical decision-making. The workshop - entitled between a Rock and a Hard Place - gives managers a set of principles and tools to deal with ethical challenges in their day-to-day work. It was designed with the help of the Institute of Business Ethics.
All Between a Rock and a Hard Place workshops are facilitated by staff from Severn Trent Water, who have been trained by the Institute of Business Ethics amongst others. We chose this format because we believe our own staff are in the best possible position to understand the ethical challenges faced by their colleagues, and to help them deal with them. In addition, all workshops are cross-functional and interactive, using case studies & real scenarios and avoiding traditional lecture formats.
The next phase is to extend the training across Severn Trent Water, to reach all employees.
"Developing the Rock and a Hard Place workshops was a very sensible response to the problems Severn Trent had identified in their culture. I think a lot of people have been able to talk about issues that perhaps they might not have done otherwise."
"The nature of the course - with its interactive approach, far removed from the old 'chalk and talk' style training - is innovative. We are now applying the approach in the training we do for other companies, using it as a benchmark. So, as well as helping Severn Trent to create a more open culture, the development of the workshop has had a qualitative impact on learning in other companies."
Philippa Foster Back OBE
Director, Institute of Business Ethics
By the end of March 2007, 1,500 WTS employees and managers worldwide had taken part in Ethical Behaviour at Work training, which concentrated on the Severn Trent Code of Conduct, business ethics, and whistleblowing.
In the US, over 230 WTS managers and employees also received Fair Treatment training, covering issues like harassment, sexual harassment and business ethics. The training focused on an overview of the law in the US, and stressed the company's commitment to maintaining an appropriate work environment. It also underlined the role of individual employees and managers in maintaining the appropriate work environment, and gave staff ideas about what to do if they feel laws or company policies are being breached.
