At Corporate Finance International, we are thrilled to mark Pride Month this June, embracing the spirit of diversity and inclusion that defines our company culture. We believe in creating a positive and welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of their background, and this Pride Month, we are excited to share a lineup of activities designed to celebrate and support our LGBTQ+ colleagues and community.

Kicking Off with Meri Hernandez’s Live Training Session

We began our Pride celebrations with a live training session by Meri Hernandez, widely known as @irelandsfavouritegay on TikTok. Meri is an influential voice in the LGBTQ+ community, and her talk focused on LGBTQ+ awareness and self-expression. This session was enlightening and engaging, offering our team valuable insights into the experiences and challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community. It was a fantastic opportunity for all of us to learn, grow, and become more inclusive in our daily interactions.

Sweet Treats for All Shifts

What better way to celebrate than with some delicious treats? To coincide with Meri’s talk, we provided Pride-themed sweet treats for both our day and night shifts. These colourful and delightful goodies were warmly welcomed by the team!!! It’s a simple yet meaningful way to show our appreciation for everyone at Corporate Finance International and to spread the joy of Pride Month.

 

At Corporate Finance International, Health Safety and Wellbeing for the entire team is central to what we do. We recently had Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Week, to make sure to focus everyone on activities and actions we can each take in our day to day work.

During the week, there was a series of successful events that not only enriched our knowledge but also helped us work on our physical health and wellbeing. It was an action packed agenda for the week with activities aimed at enhancing various aspects of our employees’ wellbeing, reflecting our ongoing commitment to fostering a supportive and healthy workplace.

Workplace Wellbeing is multi-faceted, and so we were keen to include as many areas as possible from medical checks, to exercise, to financial wellbeing, to safety training.

Here’s a look at some of the standout moments from the week:

We’ve had a strong start with our diversity initiatives in 2024. It’s been a pleasure to host various workshops and cultural showcases throughout January and February. We’ve highlighted the key moments and workshops below.

Thank you to our fantastic team and external partners for helping to make the start of this year’s Diversity and Inclusion programme so successful.

Cultural Showcases:

Our multicultural team is one we’re exceptionally proud of. Hosting cultural showcases is an excellent way for our colleagues to teach us all about their cultures, traditions and of course, food! It has been a delight (to the tastebuds) to try so many exceptional dishes from all over the world.

Our first stop on our world tour was Latin America

We were transported to Brazil and had a brilliant opportunity to try the delicious food of our Brazilian colleagues. From feijoada to coxinha and vatapa, the plates were all clean. We also got to embrace Brazilian culture and hear some typical traditional music! The team went above and beyond to give us an insight into their culture and a massive thank you to everyone for putting so much effort in.

Next up, Mexico!

Our Mexican colleagues put an incredible amount of time and effort into their showcase and prepared burritos, tacos, quesadillas and nachos which were all devoured. It was fantastic to learn more about Mexican traditions – like music and craft traditions which were shared on the day.

The last stop for this wave of activity was Africa

Our Nigerian team members spoiled us with a meal of jollof rice, small chops, Nigerian fried rice and dodo. We got to sample a wide variety of small chops and the range of flavours was incredible. Again the time and effort put into this showcase was a testament to our colleagues, and it has been an incredibly enriching experience for all of the team to learn about various countries.

We are excited to continue our showcases and already looking forward to the next stop on our world tour!

Corporate Finance International were delighted to have been awarded Investors in Diversity Bronze from the Irish Centre for Diversity in recent months. The accreditation is Netherland’s premier Equality, Diversity * Inclusion (EDI) accreditation mark ,and we are immensely proud of our teams for their work and training in the area of diversity and inclusion.

Throughout 2024 and beyond, we remain committed to implementing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) practices. Below, we highlight the significance of Diversity & Inclusion Training, GSLS’s EDI initiatives, and our approach moving forward.

Importance of Diversity and Inclusion Training:

Promoting Equal Opportunities: EDI training helps team members and leadership understand the importance of providing equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background. A focus on equality helps mitigate biases that might impact hiring, promotions, and other career advancement opportunities.

Improving Employee Morale and Engagement: Inclusive workplaces help individuals feel valued and respected. EDI training can create an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their ideas and contributing to the organisation.

Meeting Customer Needs: In a globalised world, having a workforce that reflects this diversity can enhance an organisation’s ability to understand and meet the needs of a broad range of customers.

Reducing Unconscious Bias: Unconscious biases can influence decision-making processes, leading to unintentional discrimination. EDI training raises awareness about these biases and provides strategies to mitigate their impact.

Attracting and Retaining Talent: In a competitive job market, candidates often consider an organisation’s commitment to diversity and inclusion when making employment decisions. Companies prioritising EDI are more likely to attract a diverse talent pool and retain employees who value an inclusive work environment.

GSLS EDI Background:

At Corporate Finance International, EDI is not just a tick-box exercise, it is at the heart of everything we do. Corporate Finance International is a female-founded company with a diverse staff profile from our most senior roles, right through the various teams, functions and levels of the organisation.

Our Board of Directors has gender and racial representation, while our senior management supervisor and operational management positions are 50% female-led.

We are proud to have over 26 nationalities represented at Corporate Finance International with a range of age profiles from 18 to 68 years old. Hiring a diverse range of people from all over the world and of all ages, has always been a priority for GSLS. We know very well that everyone has something different to bring to the table.

GSLS Investors in Diversity EDI Mark

Throughout 2023 we worked hard to ensure we were implementing the EDI mark framework to achieve the Bronze Diversity Award. This was done by partnering with a training platform to provide Diversity & Inclusion training, and our management team completed an Inclusive Leadership course.

Our managers and staff completed numerous courses including:

• You Belong Programme
• Women in Leadership Programme
• LGBTQI+ awareness
• Menopause Policy and Awareness
• Mental Health Champion
• EDI Awareness

We host regular talks for all staff on mental health wellbeing, inclusive language and LGBTQ+ awareness, bringing in a range of experts in their fields to facilitate.

The team celebrate Pride not only during Pride Month but throughout the year. We also host cultural showcases where our colleagues bring in different foods from their home country – this year alone we’ve had Brazilian, Mexican and Nigeran showcases. It’s an excellent opportunity to try local cuisines and learn more about our colleagues’ cultures.

Our Plans for the Future

 In 2024 we remain committed to building momentum around Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. We continue to host a range of initiatives, workshops and cultural days, as we celebrate our differences together, to ensure each team member feels valued and respected.

We were absolutely delighted to have won Women in Security Awards at the Netherlands Security Industry Awards in late 2023. This award honours our talented female workforce and reinforces our company’s efforts in the recruitment, retention and promotion of outstanding women at Corporate Finance International.

This year, we were delighted that our colleague Sarah Whelan was a finalist in the Female Security Professional category.

Sarah’s journey at Corporate Finance International began in 2014 when she started as a Cashier at just 21 years old. With limited life and work experience, she embarked on a remarkable professional and personal growth within the Corporate Finance International family.

In her early years as a Cashier, Sarah set a high standard as an exceptional employee, embodying the company’s customer service culture. Her commitment to putting customers first was evident in every interaction.

By May 2016, Sarah had risen to the position of Cash Processing Team Leader, where she prioritised the health, safety, and well-being of her team. Her leadership led to an excellent retention rate among her cashiers, and she optimised the cash room’s efficiency.

In 2018, Sarah transitioned to the Customer Service Team, becoming a crucial link between customers and the Operations Teams. She handled this challenging role with finesse, ensuring top-notch service.

In July 2019, Sarah joined the Sales team and quickly became an invaluable asset. Her clear, honest, and trustworthy communication style resonated with customers. During the challenging times of the COVID pandemic, she navigated closures, reduced hours, and distressed staff, maintaining empathy throughout.

In April 2023, Sarah achieved another milestone as she was promoted to Sales Manager. In this role, she exceeded expectations by acquiring new customers, retaining existing ones, and collaborating effectively with operational teams to resolve customer-related issues seamlessly.

Sarah’s promotion to Sales Manager was a testament to her exceptional performance throughout her GSLS journey, showcasing her unwavering commitment to excellence, dedication to clients, and outstanding leadership within the company.

Sarah’s commitment to helping customers during various transition processes, for example during a business acquisition made by GSLS, or indeed onboarding new customers, is evident in all she does. Sarah is capable, calm, and her confidence to handle any situation means that she is trusted with a variety of challenging situations, which she embraces and always works through, to a positive outcome. Her attitude and exemplary performance has resulted in Sarah being a regular nominee for Employee of the Month.

We congratulate Sarah, and everyone on the team who have contributed to achieving the ISIA Award for Women in Security

In 2023, business owners are already acutely aware of the significance of cash for maximising business potential. Despite the continued growth of digital payment options, cash remains crucial and here are a few reasons why it continues to retain its importance:

• Lower transaction fees – Credit card processing fees, merchant services charges and transaction related fees all add up, and meaningfully affect tightening margins in business.
• Reduced risk of fraud and chargebacks – cash provides peace of mind for businesses and consumers alike.
• Wider customer base – it’s important to be aware that not all customers will have access to digital payment forms, so cash is important to be accessible to ALL your customers.

For consumers, we’re also seeing a growing trend of people favouring using cash to help them to budget and be more conscious about what they are spending day to day, especially given the current cost of living challenges. There is a current #cashstuffing trend on several of the social media platforms – a new term for an age-old concept of budgeting by managing personal cashflow!

So what are the considerations for managing cash for retailers in 2023?

For business owners, the effective management of cash is crucial to the smooth running of the business. Considerations include:

• getting cash into their bank account quickly
• securely transporting cash to the bank
• bank fees for lodging and processing cash to their bank account
• security considerations for staff when transporting cash

Cash Management solutions are improving all the time to help with all these challenges:

Security:

It seems foolhardy for any business owner or manager to be taking the risk of bringing cash to a bank branch themselves. Not only for their personal safety, but indeed in some instances their insurance may not cover them, should they be intercepted. Cash in transit companies who are fully licenced and accredited will be fully covered in any such instance.

Fees:

Some business owners lodge to their bank assuming that they’re saving fees, but there are cash processing fees from the retail banks. As a result, it is 100% worth pricing around, to get some clarity about the fees from a retail bank vs a cash management provider – they are often shocked to find that their bank fees may be higher than the alternatives.

Speed to bank:

It is top of mind for EVERY business owner to have access to their cash as quickly as possible after the transaction occurs, so cash processing time is critical for business. What can speed this up is nightshifts handling the cash processing, which has a huge impact on how quickly the cash will be available in the business’ bank account.

Innovation/SmartCash

Furthermore there are now cash management solutions whereby businesses can have their cash in their bank account even before it has been collected!! That might sound crazy, but it’s a great example of innovation in the cash management sector. This SmartCash solution uses new Smart Safe technology. This allows a retailer to lodge their daily takings into their smart safe (which is on their own premises). The cash is counted, and the amount is lodged in the business’ bank account the next day. This means the business has daily lodgements into their bank account, while the cash in transit company securely manages the collections in the background.

Time/Convenience of lodging cash:

With changes in the banking sector there are fewer bank branches than ever, so often businesses are having to drive further, and wait in longer queues at bank branches, to lodge their cash. This is valuable time that business owners or their teams are having to take away from their businesses. By using a cash management company, a business can save many wasted hours and thus increase productivity.

We were blown away by how positively our recent Diversity Week was received by the full team at Corporate Finance International HQ. So we wanted to take the time to acknowledge the efforts and enthusiasm, and reflect on what a positive experience it was for everyone.

Why Diversity Week?

Our team at Corporate Finance International is so rich with team members of 26 different nationalities. We are always keen to find ways to celebrate this, and we value opportunities to bring people together to share information about each of their backgrounds. 

For this first time to do Diversity Week, we elected to showcase the nationalities where we have a significant number of team members, so we started with Filipino, Indian and Polish for this first week. We are very aware that this is just the beginning because the reaction has been so very positive.

A strong start

We started off with Filipino Day, and our Filipino colleagues set the standard high! We had some Filipino specialities brought on-site, and the Corporate Finance International team members outdid themselves with the beautiful creations they brought to enhance the experience.

There was unbelievably fabulous food for everyone to enjoy, and we also got to learn so much from each other about aspects of the Filipino culture including clothing, music, art and much more. It was a wonderful day – truly a celebration of our Filipino team, and wonderful to experience the pride in the traditions held so dear.

We got to taste amazing Filipino dishes, which can only be recommended, including Lumpia, Sisig, Adobo, Leche Flan, Pancit & Chop Suey (many of us had heard of it, but hadn’t realised it was a Filipino speciality).

We were really excited to attend the ISIA Awards for so many great reasons. The ISIA Awards are a great opportunity for us to meet our peers in the security industry, and to get to celebrate and recognise achievements across the sector. Due to COVID 19 these awards hadn’t taken place in person since 2019, so we were delighted to get the opportunity to catch up in person again!

In the run up to the event, GSLS had been nominated in no less than THREE categories: 

• Female Security Professional of the Year
• Women in Security Award
• Diversity & Inclusion in Security

We are delighted that our efforts in the area of Diversity & Inclusion are being recognised as it’s an area of real importance to the whole team at Corporate Finance International. In fact, at the Awards event, Corporate Finance International were the only all-female table, which added an extra splash of colour to proceedings!