Enhancing communication and building connectivity between staff across the Club to support their personal development was a key area of focus this season.
Learning and development remained central to policy making and a range of opportunities in both areas was provided. There was a continued focus on emerging talent, which built on the successful graduate scheme as a new cohort of young people joined the Club.
New training initiatives were also provided for managers across the organisation to help them deliver best-practice recruitment, which included equality, diversity and inclusion training.
In addition, a leadership and management learning programme was attended by 139 managers. It covered areas relating to their own self-care, supportive conversations, and how to promote a positive mental health culture.
Sharing the work being delivered off-the-pitch so that all departments could develop and flourish remained at the forefront of planning too, with the launch of a new global staff intranet to enhance communication and collaborative working across the Club and the wider City Football Group family.
In terms of specific benefits for staff, it was further recognised that there are many variations of working parents.
The Club pledged to work with staff to support their family journey, whatever that may be, and introduced an enhanced parental leave policy, to ensure that everyone in the organisation could benefit.
As part of the new policy, staff will now be entitled to 100% pay for the first 39 weeks of parental leave, creating a new industry standard.
Supporting staff to develop their own career pathways remained an important area of focus and this season, former goalkeeper Karen Bardsley took on a new role off the pitch.
As one of the women’s team’s longest-serving players, Bardsley called time on her playing career having made more than 100 appearances for City, winning eight major trophies during her tenure.
She took up the new position of Project Officer at City, extending her nine-year stay at the Club to help City behind-the-scenes through her new role. Over the season Bardsley immersed herself in the work of various departments around the Club and managed specific projects to support the women’s team set-up, both on and off the pitch.
Boasting a Master’s degree in Sports Directorship, which she studied for during the latter stages of her playing career, the former shot-stopper illustrated the possibilities that exist within the Club for career development.
During the season, City also entered into new partnerships with several organisations to assist in the long-term development of its staff policies. This included becoming a member of the Business Disability Forum, enabling the Club to draw on the group’s policy and advisory support for a whole host of initiatives in the years ahead.
The Club also joined Women in Football’s corporate membership scheme as part of its strategy to identify new opportunities for staff to develop their industry learning.
This built on the wide-ranging activities the Club has delivered with the staff-led Women’s Network, to provide access to industry-leading training courses, bespoke leadership programmes and mentoring from expert consultants.
