CiviCode

CiviCode is a private company committed to socially responsible digital transformation, we support Voluntary and Community Sector organisations across Northern Ireland to reimagine their operations, report on their impact more effectively, and to build sustainable digital strategies. We are based in Belfast and have 5 employees and 2 part time contractors.

Motivation for Living Wage Accreditation

Coming from a large corporate organisation that love to talk about employee wellbeing yet refused to address the massive pay gaps between employees, ignoring the glaring fact that Financial Wellbeing is a huge part of quality of life. We knew providing employees with meditation appsʼ is not a replacement for fair pay. We decided from the start that for CiviCode, wellbeing starts with valuing our employees and providing them with fair remuneration. For us the living wage is the perfect way to show our commitment to our own values and ethos.

Implementation Process

As a small start up with less than 10 employees and tech driven operational processes, implementing the living wage was easy, a matter of simply updating our payroll system and employment contracts.

Additional Workplace Changes

We also implemented flexible working patterns as many of our employees have other volunteering and caring responsibilities, enabling them to work around these commitments has increased employee productivity and satisfaction. As well as this, once a week we run a lunch and learn session where we buy a team lunch, eat together and discuss R&D projects we are working on. This has increased project alignment, enabled staff to work more efficiently and on projects they are passionate about.

Challenges and Barriers

The main challenge for us has been ensuring we have a strong pipeline of work to support the higher employee cost, and capacity planning effectively to ensure we can remain viable as a bootstrapping startup focused on social value while also being fiscally responsible for ourselves and our clients.

Benefits of Living Wage Accreditation

Our employee satisfaction rate is at 100%, with everyone getting a similar remuneration package across the whole organisation from Directors to Student Placements and Contractors, the feeling of camaraderie and commitment is higher than any other jobs we've had collectively.

“The real living wage has made a genuine difference to my quality of life, giving me more financial stability and peace of mind. Iʼm able to plan ahead and enjoy focusing more on my future.” 

Louise McKelvie - Student Placement

“True innovation can only be built on fair, sustainable foundations. By committing to the Real Living Wage, we ensure that our data engineers, researchers, and frontline staff are properly valued for their expertise, fostering an ethical workspace that drives real regional impact.” 

John McAnallen - Chief Operations Officer