Corporate Social Responsibility

Our Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Astute Technical Recruitment Limited (Astute) is a leading technical staffing agency that interacts with a wide variety of people, including our employees, clients, candidates, suppliers, and the broader community. We believe it is essential to operate responsibly and maintain the highest quality standards.

We understand social and environmental concerns, and our goal is to operate in a way that consistently adds value to everything we do. Our business values and operations continuously meet the expectations of our stakeholders. We seriously consider all feedback and maintain an open dialogue, which helps us to fulfill our requirements. We communicate our strategies openly, ensuring broad alignment and maintaining a continuous commitment to sustainable development.

Investing in Our People: Employee Development and Well-being

Astute’s key assets are our employees across all departments. For this reason, we feel it is vital to offer robust programs centered on talent development and well-being:

  • We provide a structured training and development program for every staff member to foster career growth.
  • We continually monitor performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and encourage employees to gain appropriate industry-related qualifications, often with financial assistance from the company.
  • We cultivate an enjoyable work environment that includes flexible working hours around a core schedule.
  • We offer numerous benefits, ensuring our people’s well-being is always a core value.

Astute is keen to ensure employees are rewarded for their part in the growth and ultimate success of the company while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Community Impact & Support for the Armed Forces

As a Portsmouth-based business with strong connections to the military, Astute demonstrates a commitment to our local community and the Armed Forces Covenant pledge:

  • We work closely with the armed forces community, supporting veterans and their families.
  • We support our local community and are deeply involved in several initiatives and events benefiting the Portsmouth Hospital’s charity, providing much-needed funds and gifts for wards across our local hospital and the NHS.

As part of our commitment to education and workforce development, Astute also works very closely with local schools, colleges, and universities to develop future career opportunities by offering work experience, mock interviews, CV writing lectures, and career workshops.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Astute is an Equal Opportunities employer with an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion. We operate a comprehensive diversity policy to ensure all candidates seeking employment do so on an equal standing.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and are committed to ensuring that no candidate will receive less favorable treatment on the grounds of age, race, color, nationality, ethnic origin, creed, disability, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender, marital or parental status, political belief, social or economic class, or any other reason which Astute deems unjustifiable.

Health, Safety, and Workplace Well-being

Astute enforces a strict Health and Safety policy, ensuring that we identify and manage risk and consult with our employees on any issues that may affect their welfare.

  • We have invested in several employees to become First Aid and Mental Health First Aid trained, helping us provide and maintain a safe office environment.
  • All electrical equipment is routinely PAT tested.
  • Our employees understand the need to work in a safe manner to help prevent accidents and maintain healthy working conditions.

Astute has carried out a full risk assessment of the workplace, ensuring that it is COVID-19 safe and that we, as a business, are doing all we can to protect our employees and mitigate the spread of infection. For further information, please refer to our COVID-19 / Social Distancing Policy and COVID-19 Healthy & Safety Workplace Risk Assessment.

Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability

Astute is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner, in accordance with sound environmental practices. This policy is particularly important as we work with several organizations in the Environmental, Power Generation, Renewables, and Waste sectors.

To achieve our sustainability goals, we look to minimize our consumption of natural resources and energy while consuming material goods in moderation. We reduce the creation of waste through:

  • Adoption of improved operating practices, such as running a virtually paperless office.
  • Submitting invoices and asking candidates to submit CVs electronically.
  • Implementing a robust recycling program for materials including laser cartridges, cans, paper, and plastics.

All waste is disposed of in a safe and responsible manner. We continually monitor environmental legislation to understand our impact and develop new processes. Astute’s staff are trained and educated on key environmental factors within the context of our business environment.

Energy Efficiency & Green Commuting

Astute understands the need to operate in an energy-efficient manner, especially given our close relationships with companies in the Power Generation and Renewables sectors. We attempt to reduce our energy consumption in a variety of ways, including:

  • Turning down the water heating system and turning off lights when they are not in use.
  • Unplugging mobile phones immediately after they have finished charging.
  • Promoting shared transportation through lift-sharing for commuting and client visits.
  • Offering a Cycle to Work scheme to promote healthier journeys and reduce environmental pollution.
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