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Northwood Hygiene Products Ltd, a manufacturer and supplier of away-from-home (AfH) professional paper hygiene and wiping products, has won the inaugural Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award in the Confederation of Paper industries’ 2024 Paper Industry Gold Awards.
New for 2024, the EDI award recognises a company or individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the promotion of EDI.
Northwood’s winning entry was commended by the judges for its holistic strategy that supports its diverse workforce and had achieved results, including less staff attrition and faster recruitment.
Commenting on the award win, Dawn Roberts, HR director at Northwood Hygiene, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won the EDI award, which recognises everything that we have done as a business around recruitment and engagement. We’re really proud of our HR strategy – ‘Success Through People’ – which aims to create an inclusive environment where colleagues, workers and our communities feel valued and thrive.
“We are committed to raising awareness and further improving our diversity and representation from local communities to enhance the employee experience and enable our colleagues to be their true selves. This award marks all the hard work that has gone into developing a more diverse and inclusive business where all our colleagues feel valued.”
Northwood’s HR strategy aims to reduce attrition, improve its safety record, boost efficiency and strengthen the reputation of the business in the local community. It has improved labour turnover by more than 65 per cent, led to an 11 per cent increase in female directors and benefitted the financial wellbeing of 121 colleagues.
2023 saw Northwood continue to invest in staff, digital technologies, plant and customer service provision. The company has invested in new digital technologies to improve the employee experience. This included a new employee portal – ‘My Northwood’ – which is designed to empower employees, prioritise their safety, and boost engagement across the organisation.
A Living Wage employer, Northwood employs every apprentice on Living Wage rates of pay from day one, with a guaranteed job at the end of their apprenticeship.
