Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service takes positive steps towards achieving positive workplace culture

The Workplace Charter sets out the behaviours, ethics, and values they have collaboratively agreed upon as a workforce, which incorporate the Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) Core Values, National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Core Code of Ethics and Leadership Framework. 

This comes after several months of engagement and staff feedback to create a meaningful charter that accurately reflects the needs of their workforce.

The final behaviours were written by GFRS Service Improvement Group Making Us Better (SIGMUB) - a group of dedicated personnel who are working to continuously improve the Service. The group aims to represent the views of all their colleagues from across GFRS. The final artwork which showcases the Workplace Charter was also chosen by the group, who proudly signed the first of the printed copies to demonstrate their contribution and commitment to the charter. With the charter finalised and signed off by the group, the charter was then shared with the wider workforce as part of an official launch. Further engagement on the Workplace Charter is scheduled to take place over the coming weeks and months to fully imbed the charter into day-to-day life within the Service. 

The charter breaks down the themes from the GCC Values, NFCC Core Code of Ethics and Leadership Framework into specific behaviours that resonate with the entire workforce on a personal level. Thus, providing clear foundations for their culture moving forwards, with behaviours which every member of the Service will be held accountable to uphold. 

Mark Preece, Chief Fire Officer at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I am pleased to see that all the hard work engaging with the whole workforce and channelling ideas into a set of behaviours for the Workplace Charter has come to fruition. It is of the utmost importance to us as a Service that we create a positive and inclusive workplace culture, where everyone feels enabled to be their true and best self. Inclusion for us, is about everyone, or no one.”

Cllr Dave Norman, cabinet member with responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service, said: “At Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service our people, are our greatest asset. By cultivating a positive workplace culture, we can empower our people to provide the highest standard of community safety and emergency response to the communities of Gloucestershire. The launching of this charter is a further positive step forward in our improvement journey as a Service which will help us achieve our shared goal of a safer Gloucestershire.”