Celebrating Inclusion and Engagement: Bromford’s First Ever Be.You Conference and Awards; Building an Inclusive Culture

On Thursday 23 January, we held our very first Be.You conference in the heart of one of our communities at Stoke Orchard Community Centre in Cheltenham.

Over 50 colleagues attended the event and spent the day hearing from speakers on topics such as how we can tailor our services to meet the individual needs of our customers, looking at the makeup and diversity of our workforce and finding out what colleagues really think about their experience of working at Bromford, to a fantastic panel session with three external speakers who offered their expert and valuable insight into the future of EDI and how we can make sure we challenge ourselves to think differently to take action and make impact.

The afternoon focused on creating our plan for the future, building on the fantastic work we have already started, and we finished the day with a celebration of success for some of the fabulous work our champions have achieved over the past 12 months.

The energy, passion, commitment and determination from the group was amazing, and it was such a joy to be part of such a great day, working collaboratively across Bromford to achieve a common goal.

Inclusion and Engagement Lead and host, Tuesday Wilmott said: “This event was a really exciting opportunity for colleagues across our champion groups to come together in person for the very first time. Our groups champion Race and Faith, LGBTQIA+, Age and Gender, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Disability and Carers, Menopause, Armed Forces and Be.Heard (colleague voice).

“Our aim was simple, to create an event where colleagues could come together to network and collaborate with colleagues from different groups, providing valuable insight and feedback to help shape our future equality, diversity and inclusion plan, creating an inclusive workplace for all.”

Be.You Awards

We wanted to use this opportunity to recognise and celebrate some of the amazing contributions from our colleagues with our very first ‘Be You’ awards.

We had five categories and the winners were;

Best Collaboration  - Winner, Inclusion Week project team

This was awarded to a project or piece of work where colleagues showed great collaborated that supported our EDI agenda. The award went to the Inclusion Week project team for their passion, dedication, and commitment which significantly contributed to the project’s success, with inclusion week 2024 being Bromford’s most successful to date.

Best Video – Winner, A colleague in the Disability and Carers group

This award recognised the contribution a colleague has made to creating engaging content in celebration of Carers week, sharing his lived experience and being honest about the challenges he faces being a carer, helping shine a light on this important area.

Best Initiative – Winner, The Menopause project group and champions

This award recognised a new initiative, project or piece of work that has made a significant impact at Bromford. The initiatives delivered by the menopause group has helped drive a culture where colleagues feel able to talk about the menopause and its impact, and receive the support and tools they need, helping Bromford achieve Menopause Friendly Accreditation in August 2024.

Best content/post – Winner, A colleague in the Race and Faith group

This award recognised that not all posts are created equal. This colleague has created engaging, thought provoking and informative content on Viva, enlightening colleagues with her words and imagery, bringing important topics to life. Her posts celebrate diversity in a personal and inclusive way, with her article for Black History Monty celebrating Sir Lewis Hamilton getting over 1000 likes!

Best event/celebration – Winner, End of Summer BBQ – LGBTQIA+ group

This event, run by the LGBTQIA+ group sought to bring colleagues together over the shared love of food, where colleagues could celebrate their individuality over a hot dog or two, and find out a little bit more about the group and what they were doing. This event showcased how food can bring people together with a message of inclusion and loving people for who they are.