Babel is majority owned by its employees via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and will continue to place our employees in the driving seat, building a sustainable, ethical agency ready for the future; one where people, purpose and planet come before profit.
PEOPLE
We are committed to improving the world of work for everyone and we are on track to receive EDI accreditation. We will continue to improve and foster an inclusive and welcoming world of work, where everyone belongs and is valued and appreciated for their uniqueness and individuality.
We are committed
- Our dedicated People, Culture & Training Manager moves the needle for the entire company. She encourages and empowers us to be supportive, kind and inclusive human beings and to go that extra mile to respect our clients, suppliers and how we treat our planet.
- Our learning and development policy ensures all staff benefit from continuous professional development that fosters employee satisfaction, engagement and career growth, and reinforces our company values: quality, collaboration and compassion. You can read and download our Learning and Development Policy here.
- Dedicated training programme for each level.
- £1,500 training budget per employee.
- 360-degree feedback and continuous support for our team through our Line Management and Mentor programmes.
- Championing and cultivating the next generation of talent:
- Taylor Bennett Foundation – For two years running, Babel has hosted a Tech PR Masterclass for their PR Training Programme cohorts.
- Bright City Bright Future – Babel welcomed two students to complete a paid internship in July 2024, giving insight and increasing access into various industries.
- Bentley University programme – Babel hosted 22 students from the USA university which aims to develop future leaders who set out to create positive change in our communities and organisations.
We care
- 35% of our team have primary or secondary caring responsibilities.
- Employees receive paid wellbeing time off where and when it is needed the most, to support others or to take time out for themselves.
- We are one of 15,000 Living Wage accredited employers and the salary for our graduate entry-level salaries, in line with the London Living Wage, is rising to £27,727 per annum plus a 5% performance bonus.
- We continue to evolve our flexible working practices, including working abroad.
- We are one of 50 organisations in the UK to be chosen to take part in an accreditation pilot programme by Empowered Foundations, Women in the Workplace: Pregnant then Screwed Accreditation Programme, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Two qualified Mental Health First Aiders are on hand to guide and support the team.
We have loud voices
- Our five working groups and four employee-forums challenge opinions and rollout new initiatives:
- EDI committee
- Women in Tech
- AI working group
- Ethics working group
- Book Club
- Consultant forum
- Manager forum
- Future leaders’ forum
- Director forum
We are different
13% are new or expectant parents.
26% of the team are aged under 25.
13% of the team are aged over 40.
26% of the team grew up outside of the UK.
65% of our people identify as female.
13% of our team are part-time.
PURPOSE
- Babel is majority owned by its employees via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and will continue to place our employees in the driving seat, building a sustainable, ethical agency ready for the future; one where people, purpose and planet come before profit.
- We are committed to representing clients and working with suppliers that align with our commitment to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical business practices, and to protecting the planet. Clients and suppliers must demonstrate a track record of fair labour practices, non-discrimination policies, and social and environmental engagement.
- For more than four years we have volunteered 1,200 plus hours of our time to support and promote the extraordinary value and work of Télécoms Sans Frontières, the world’s first NGO focused on emergency-response technologies. The organisation enables victims of humanitarian crises to contact their loved ones and begin to regain control of their lives, as well as building rapid-response communication centres for local and international responders. Since its creation, TSF has been involved in over 150 major crises in more than 80 countries, providing communications to more than 11 million people and almost 1,000 NGOs.
- Our ongoing support of environmental and disaster relief charities will never stop.
- We back and match our employee’s fundraising initiatives up to £500 per team member.
- We prioritise our physical health, from tennis, yoga, football, cricket, golf or rugby.
PLANET
Ecologi is a platform for climate action, helping individuals, families and businesses become climate positive. Ecologi has funded the planting of over 25 million trees and offset nearly 950,000 tonnes of CO2e. Ecologi is B Corp Certified. Babel’s partnership with Ecologi since April 2023 has resulted in 1,228 trees funded and 107.3 tCO2e avoided and we have supported numerous projects, including wind and solar power projects, and water and rainforest water conservation globally.
Our annual carbon footprint monitoring and certification with Green Small Business allows us to monitor and improve our environmental and carbon footprint. We regularly monitor and record emissions and have set specific reduction targets relative to previous performance (e.g. a 5% reduction of GHGs from baseline year).
For more than 15 years Babel has acted responsibly to improve our waste and carbon reduction initiatives by recycling with First Mile, including food recycling, cardboard recycling, printer ink cartridges and toner recycling, and WEEE recycling. Via donations from every recycling sack First Mile sells, the company supports Small Steps Project, an outreach programme in Nairobi supporting a world in which children no longer have to work on landfill.
Our weekly fruit and vegetable box for employees is from Eat Fruit based in Covent Garden, London, a family business committed to supporting farmers and operating in the most sustainable manner, sourcing fruit growers they know, paying a fair price and choosing varieties in their fruit boxes for taste, not for aesthetic crates, and re-using returnable recyclable boxes.
We update and publish our Environmental Policy on a regular basis. You can read and download our latest Environmental Policy here.