Empowering our people
At Saffery, we believe that a responsible business starts with a thriving workplace. Our people shape our culture, drive our success, and define who we are. That’s why we continue to invest in their development, wellbeing and experience. To help us understand how we’re doing, we use the Great Place To Work® Survey, a globally recognised tool that measures engagement and highlights what matters most to our teams. The results guide our priorities and serve as a key success metric. In this section, we share how we’re supporting our people and growing the kind of firm we’re proud to be part of.
“Responsible business is a key part of the agenda at Saffery. Our ED&I (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) programme goes from strength to strength, and with our new Head of Learning and Development in place, we’re thrilled to see that responsible business is a key pillar in our learning offering. All these ensure that we can actively demonstrate to our colleagues how we’re building a truly sustainable business for the long-term.”
Mark Duhig, Director, People Experience
Great Place to Work® (GPTW) Survey and results
Each year we run an engagement survey to be completed by all colleagues. For the last two years, we’ve used the Great Place to Work Survey. GPTW is a certification programme and global authority on workplace culture, providing tools to help organisations create positive employee experiences.
We had an excellent response rate this year, with 1,063 responses from a total of 1,266 employees and partners completing the survey (at the time of completion). This was up 3% from the previous year and is exceptionally high against the average. The norm across UK Best Workplaces is around 70%, so it’s good to know so many of our people are engaged in this exercise.
GPTW scores are used to measure progress against our ED&I commitments, which show a balance of experiences across male and female genders.
Learning and Development
Ambition
Our ambition for Learning and Development at Saffery is to empower our people with the skills and knowledge they need to excel.
We want our offering to attract, develop, and retain talented people, and support them to deliver outstanding leadership, sustain strong client relationships, and maintain our competitive edge. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and providing access to the latest thinking, we celebrate our brand and culture while preparing for future challenges. It’s about building a future where our people and our firm thrive.
"Going forward we have embedded responsible business as a key part of our learning approach, bringing in learning around ESG and ED&I, to ensure our colleagues help build a sustainable future. We’re also working closely with the Responsible Business team to unlock the powerful potential of developing skills and gaining new experiences through diverse opportunities, including through volunteering and charitable engagement.”
Kathryn Gomme, Head of Learning and Development
Trainee Development Programme (TDP)
For each year of their training programme, our trainees attend a residential training event. Events combine technical upskilling with an investment in the professional and client service skills our people need to succeed. At these events we also profile opportunities to progress within the firm, highlighting the great career opportunities that Saffery can offer, as well as initiatives they can get involved in from ED&I to community engagement. Events are well attended by senior colleagues, including partners, demonstrating the firm’s commitment to the development of our people.
“TDP was an energising entry into Saffery. It brought together all new trainees to mix and mingle with a good social element to the programme that truly focused on us. I felt like I knew more about what Saffery stood for, heard more of the real experiences from colleagues, and was given a good starting level of technical knowledge and competence to start work at the office.”
Toby Palmer, Audit Assistant
“I found the residential training programme essential in easing my integration to working at Saffery. The relaxed and collegiate atmosphere allowed me to understand important technical knowledge, as well as develop my skills in teamwork and professional communication.”
Marcus Tolley, Audit Assistant
Pep Talks
Each month c.200 users access Pep Talks. Pep Talks offer live virtual and on-demand access to insights from experts on a range of topics focused on wellbeing, leadership, and personal development. The most popular sessions include building mental fitness, career progression, and communication skills. Pep Talks has also provided powerful guest speakers for our key ED&I awareness raising months on the topics of gender equality, racial equality and social mobility.
Mental Health First Aid Training
We had 10 colleagues complete the Mental Health First Aider qualification in 2025 and will be repeating the course in 2026. We now have over 30 trained Mental Health First Aider colleagues split between offices.
In 2024, 997 Saffery individuals completed 7,037 courses.
Responsible Leadership
Strong leadership is essential in embedding responsible business practices across an organisation. A focused approached, led from the top and integrated throughout the business, ensures that ethical decision-making, sustainability, and inclusivity are integral to our culture, shaping policies and behaviours that impact every level.
Inclusive leadership drives innovation and engagement, ensuring diverse voices contribute to our firm’s direction. Through initiatives such as the Women in Leadership Programme and Leadership for Success, we equip our leaders with the skills to drive meaningful change.
By investing in leadership development, we strengthen our commitment to a responsible, forward-thinking business that supports our people and delivers lasting impact.
Leadership Conference
In October 2024, 365 employees at Manager to Partner grade attended the Leadership Conference. This event brings together Saffery colleagues nationally to reflect on progress against our strategy. A particular highlight was futurist Chloe Combi sharing insights on leading a multi-generational workforce. The event was recorded for colleagues to access.
Leadership for Success Programme
Run in partnership with an external provider, and sponsored by our Managing Partner, this programme introduces partners to a range of leadership topics such as coaching, leading in a hybrid world, and building psychological safety, with the programme running over six sessions. Partners are given practical techniques to reflect on and elevate their leadership style.
Women in Leadership Programme
In early 2025, 17 of our female partners completed the ICAEW Women in Leadership programme. The programme sought to propel forward female talent, through developing their leadership skills, confidence, communication skills, and coaching capabilities. ICAEW say that the programme has encouraged female leaders to harness their strengths and develop a leadership style and confidence to represent their business, with clients, key stakeholders, and in the boardroom. It used a combination of workshops, skills assessments, mentoring/coaching, peer learning and 360-degree feedback.
“I’m passionate about the firm and want to be part of its leadership over the coming years to ensure that we lead our teams to success and continue to inspire and develop the next generation. I felt that this course would help me work towards those goals.”
Leonora Stevens, Partner
“It’s not just about gender parity, it’s about where in an organisation that happens. Board level representation means women have a voice and they are responsible for culture setting. It’s tone from the top and that’s where change happens.”
Hayley Brightmore-Cox, Partner
Nexia Aspiring Women Leaders Programme 2024
Six participants attended this programme which focuses on individual brilliance, looking at values, strengths, and ambitions. Participants are invited to evaluate themselves and consider what challenges they face.
“I have reflected on my strengths and the programme empowered me to make positive changes. I have developed relationships with others and now have a greater knowledge about where I want to go in my career and my values.”
Quote from participant
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I)
“As we reach the mid-point year of our ED&I strategy, 'Everyone Belongs', we’ve taken a significant step forward through a diversity data campaign which means we now capture on an ongoing basis a breadth of information from colleagues and partners, that enables us to monitor and ensure fairness across our processes and understand the diversity makeup of the firm. Our People Networks continue to grow and add value to the firm, and we’re achieving positive results against experiences of inclusion in our staff engagement survey.”
Clare Morgan, Senior ED&I Manager
Gender and ethnicity diversity and equality
- Our current ED&I strategy monitors gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background data at senior leadership and entry levels, and while we continue to strive for improved diversity at senior leadership and entry level, we have also seen positive progress in the following areas (snapshots taken in October 2024): We’ve maintained very positive (38%) female representation in the partnership, which is a standout figure in comparison to the average of 24% female representation in partnerships amongst the top 100 accountancy firms in the UK. (Accountancy Age, Top 50+50 Accountancy Firms 2024: Female leadership falls 20% despite rise in partner diversity (5 December 2024)).
- We're proud of our gender representation firmwide: 51% Female and 49% Male firmwide, 41% Female at Director and 58% Senior Manager.
- Our mean gender pay gap in 2024 was 1.7%, and our median gender pay gap was 3.2%. We achieved this through a combination of having a good gender balance across the firm, including at senior levels, which was also reflected in our external hires and promotions, and operating fair pay and reward practices. Since reporting our gender pay gap in 2017, we’ve seen improvement from a mean gender pay gap of 9.6% to 1.7%, and a mean gender bonus gap of 19.8% to 5%. We’re proud of our trajectory and being leaders in our sector.
- We made a marked improvement to diversity of ethnicity (5% to 11%) at Senior Manager level and maintained good representation of ethnically minoritised groups (14%) at Manager level and entry level (19%).
Inclusion initiatives and building cultural intelligence
For National Inclusion Week, aligning with the theme of impact, we shared learning content to cultivate an impact mindset throughout all our work and heard from members of our six People Networks.
LGBTQ+ network
“I joined the LGBTQ+ Network because coming from a smaller firm, it had at times felt isolating being the only queer person. Being a part of the Network has helped me feel that there are others with potentially similar experiences that I could reach out to if needed, even if just for a chat.”
Richard Thorne, Assistant Manager – Audit
Social Mobility Network
“I joined the Social Mobility Network as I wanted to improve inclusivity and offer a graduate’s perspective. Through the Network we have seen improvements towards new joiners not having to pay upfront membership and exam costs, which is removing barriers to entry.”
Matt Wiltshire, Tax Assistant
Accessibility Network
“Being a member of the Accessibility Network has enabled me to connect with others across offices and service lines. Network meetings are a space for members to provide practical advice and support to each other, fostering a sense of inclusion, helping us to find and develop the tools required to thrive in our roles, and driving change in the firm from the ground up to become a more dynamic, flexible and successful workplace.”
Huw Parry, Assistant Manager
Women’s Network
“I joined the Women's Network because I wanted a space to learn more about the different experiences of women at Saffery and how we can support each other. The group encourages me to recognise the challenges faced by women, but to be optimistic. Meetings are for idea sharing and they encourage me to think creatively about what we can do to advance equality and inclusion of women.”
Sophia Cattermole, Manager – Private Wealth and Estates
Faith Network
“Religious identity is an important part of bringing your whole self to work which is why I joined the Faith Network”.
Aalia Ahmed, VAT Senior Manager
Cultural Heritage Network
“I joined the Cultural Heritage Network because I wanted to meet new people across the firm and get a better understanding of different backgrounds and experiences. It’s a great way to connect, learn, and be part of something that helps make our workplace more inclusive and open. I'm happy that we are growing as a Network and everyone in the group has been so lovely and welcoming!”
Amarah Gidden, Business Support Assistant
Going forward we’ll continue our focus on data and reporting, enabling us to build meaningful insights that inform and strengthen our ED&I strategy and actions. We’ll review our equal opportunity policy and are planning on rolling out our successful inclusive leadership training, currently aimed at Directors and Senior Managers, to Partners and Managers as well. We’ll also continue to support our People Networks and initiatives to raise awareness of issues that matter to our colleagues and our business.
Early Careers and ED&I
This section highlights how ED&I is becoming more integrated across key areas of the business, including talent acquisition. Initiatives led by our Early Careers team are contributing to the firm’s broader ED&I strategy, with visible, measurable impact.
- In Early Careers we’ve overhauled our framework to build much more consistency and assess candidates in an ordered, thoughtful, and rigorous way that significantly reduces bias. We’ve worked to industry norms and with an external consultant to ensure a fairer process.
- For example, during our interviews, the case study tasks that we supply to candidates no longer includes the ages and genders of the person referenced in the case, and the names used are gender neutral to mitigate against potential bias.
- We also use Rare (a contextual recruitment and benchmarking system) to ensure that a candidate’s background is not a barrier to interviewing for an early career role. This supports improved diversity of backgrounds and perspectives at Saffery and supports our commitment to social mobility. We work with a number of local schools to encourage interest and applications from the local communities where our offices are based.
- These changes have been influenced by taking an ED&I lens, which we continue to apply to all parts of the attraction, recruitment and onboarding process. This year we’ve started to invite candidates to share (voluntarily) their demographic data with us, so we can monitor who is applying for our roles and ensure the recruitment process is fair and equitable for all.
- “We hosted three Learn and Earn events across 2024 through targeted engagement with schools and students. Between July 2024 and to the end of 2025, we will have hosted at least 38 students for work experience placements across our offices in Peterborough, Bristol, High Wycombe, Manchester, and Bournemouth. Many of these students secure these positions following attendance at our Learn and Earns. We remain committed to offering meaningful employer encounters and work experience opportunities for young people.” Annabel Leach, Early Careers Talent Acquisition Lead
- “We have been active in ensuring that we take meaningful steps. For instance, we cover up to £100 of a candidate’s travel to interviews to help level the playing field and ensure we’re interviewing the best candidates, not just candidates able to get to our offices at their own cost. All of our interviewers are trained to deliver the same standard of interview, thereby reducing bias.” Marina Law, Head of Talent Acquisition