Service delivery
The Guardian Service is a decentralised organisation with all staff primarily working from home.
The majority of our staff are active Guardians (75%), and we ensure geographical proximity to our clients in our recruitment process to ensure we can minimise travel time to client sites. Operating across the UK our Guardians are based in Scotland, Wales, the Northwest, Southwest, Greater London and the Home Counties.
It is dialogue such as this that drives improvement and learning. It creates a better workplace for everyone which means that experienced and valued staff are retained, and that new recruits are attracted. It protects integrity and individual and organisational reputations. It makes organisations, and those who work in them, successful.
With over 10-years' experience, the Guardian Service has developed a unique approach that encourages people to speak up, to listen, to make informed choices, and to ensure that action is taken and feedback is given.
The Guardian role requires on site visits; however, we encourage the use of public transportation when possible and this is reflected in our expenses policy.
Whilst in-person meetings are essential, we offer client staff the opportunity to engage virtually.
Given the nature of the service, the means of delivery of our reactive and supportive work with individuals must be led by them. However, our proactive work and communications and engagement activities include digital delivery which can be stepped up or down depending on the needs and priorities of clients.
We have a central office which is located in a WeWork shared office facilities accommodation. By opting for this option we are reducing our overall carbon footprint.
Our IT systems are based in the cloud on the Microsoft Azure platform reducing our need for investment in hardware and the associated energy costs of maintaining and running an internal IT system.
Through education and discussion, we build awareness amongst our staff on all activities that create emissions, even those that might not seem obvious e.g. emails.