Corporate
Social
Responsibility

Our values and beliefs

At Hodes, we’ve developed a simple set of six values that spring from our vision to be the most creative and intelligent business at finding and keeping talent. They frame the way we work, shaping our relationship with clients and the way we recruit and appraise our people.

In summary, we deliver, challenge and partner with commitment, passion and respect.

More specifically, we deliver against our promises, going the extra mile and working together to get things done. We challenge by pushing the boundaries to deliver intelligent solutions and find new ways around familiar problems. And we partner with each other and our clients, valuing everyone’s contribution and ideas.

Our sense of commitment means we’re dedicated to all of our relationships and work to delight clients and colleagues alike. Our passion means we take pride in everything we do, adding our energy and enthusiasm to every project. And our sense of respect means we treat each other and the environment with courtesy and care.

A sense of responsibility

Respect is one of our key values and it shines through in the sense of responsibility that we have about the world around us. Corporate social responsibility is, of course, flavour of the month in some quarters. But, at Hodes, CSR is less about grand statements and more about making a difference and building a sustainable business with our everyday actions.

Here are some of the things we do each day:

Good causes

We try to be a giving bunch and support a number of charities including Breast Cancer Awareness, Macmillan Cancer Support and Comic Relief through office fundraising days and client events, such as Quiz Nights, and our recent art gallery event. We also send advertising books and software manuals to Oxfam and donate our Christmas card budget to a different charity each year. What’s more, every year a team from Hodes takes part in the Race for Life appeal.

Waste

We recycle all our printed paper, using bins positioned besides printers and copiers. Moreover, everyone has a smaller recycling bin on their desk. Our printers are set to double-sided printing and we recycle all our cartridges. We also encourage people to think before printing with a reminder at the foot of emails.

Our recycling policy also includes computers, batteries, light bulbs, light fittings and cooking oil. What’s more, we’re phasing out plastic cups and introducing glasses and moving towards digital- based internal communications.

In the autumn of 2008 we created a roof garden at our London Head Office, which grows soft fruits, vegetables and herbs for our canteen – and we’ve been enjoying a bountiful harvest ever since. Plus to give everything from strawberries to sweet potatoes the best growing conditions, we make our own compost and in the process have recycled 7,704kg of food waste from the staff canteen.

Ethical purchasing

All of our printed materials are produced on paper from sustainable sources and we only use fair-trade products in our office kitchens.

Energy consumption

We recently ran an internal campaign reminding everyone to turn off their computers and lights. Our ladies and gents’ loos have automatic light switches that only go on when needed. And our reception area is the only place in the agency that’s fitted with air conditioning.

Carbon footprint

We’re conscious of the carbon we’re burning and have rolled out a number of ideas to keep it to a minimum. We’ve a company-wide cycle-to-work scheme that offers people subsidised cycles. In our canteen, we use produce from local sources wherever we can. And we use technology cleverly to cut down on unnecessary visits and support homeworking, when it’s appropriate.