Building a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace

Progress underway with continuous learning and acceleration still required

Yesterday, we reflected three years on from the murder of George Floyd. I want to encourage and share why we still need to do more to embed anti-racism into every part of society and why businesses need to enrich their culture to try and put an end to discriminatory behaviours. 

Whilst it’s true that we’ve all come a long way in the last three years, we need to maintain the momentum and drive continuous learning. Last year I wrote an article on Race Equality Day, highlighting that despite commitments made we are still moving forward at a snail’s pace.   

Since then, a new report from McKinsey showed that 84 percent of Black employees indicated a desire to be promoted, but just 62 percent perceived an opportunity to advance. And not only that, they also don’t view their work environment as a meritocracy. It stated that “The lack of trust manifests itself in numerous ways. Black workers are less likely to feel supported, encouraged, and treated as professional equals by their peers. Fifty-one percent of Black employees have at least one mentor, but just 38 percent said they have at least one sponsor, meaning many Black workers lack valuable direction and support on career paths and development opportunities. In addition, Black frontline employees report feeling included in the workplace less than any other racial group. 

Fast forward to 2023 and a Catalyst report indicated that just under two thirds (59 per cent) of women from underrepresented groups in the UK have experienced racism at work. Additionally, the UN reported that more broadly the UK was failing to address systemic racism against Black people. 

So, there is still a long way to go. A lack of trust, disparity in pay and lack of opportunity are still prominent. We all must do more to combat this in every way we can, and business is part of this. The positive news is that business is making some progress. We are seeing more and more companies pledging to become anti-racist and starting to implement policies that will make that change. But that needs to accelerate. 

What are we doing? 

At Capita, my own workplace, we’ve launched several strong policies designed to tackle the issues. We set up listening across the company with over 2, 500 colleagues having their open say about racism. Off the back of that we created the Black Employee Network Group of which I am the ExCo sponsor which led to the setting up of a second group, the Black Lives Matter Advisory group. These bodies have made significant progress and continue to help move us forward. Listening is a key step in making change happen, and I wholeheartedly recommend that as a first step.  

Having listened we moved on to how we could respond. As a result, we identified 3 key areas we need to improve on.  

1: Ensuring an inclusive culture with zero tolerance to racism. 

We set up an award-winning Mutual Mentoring programme, which has so far seen over 340 colleagues sign up. We re-calibrated our pay and performance ratings by protected characteristics, and we took a zero-tolerance approach to racism in the workplace, a result of which meant 92% of colleagues saying that their manager has taken direct action against any form of discrimination, harassment, or bullying.  

2: Having a sustainable representation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic colleagues, reflecting the communities we serve, in all levels of the workplace. 

A key area here was around leadership roles. We ensured that we set ourselves targets to improve on our 2023 figures which we’ve met and launched a new programme, RISE which helps minority groups to become future leaders. Finally, we tried to increase representation in our leadership by creating our Leadership Council. 90% of them are female, ethnically diverse or both.   

3: Educating and raising awareness of racism in the workplace and through the power of our networks. 

We introduced new anti-racism training which has now been completed by over 30,000 colleagues. We’ve championed our black colleagues through our annual Black Employee Network Awards to celebrate black talent. Additionally, we have also been nominated externally for many awards including the Black Talent Awards, the Black Tech Awards and the INvolve - The Inclusion People Global Empower Lists  

What’s next?  

These are just the start and although we have come a long way, we know there is still more to do but important to recognise our ongoing progress to date. I shared it last year and will share again, it’s down to all of us. 

Achieving meaningful change will take more than just targets. We need to ensure we create a culture that is inclusive so anyone from any background can thrive and feel valued. We all have a part to play in creating this environment. We need the help of champions, allies, sponsors with authentic leadership to ensure the pathways for success is sustainable and enjoyable and delivers the results our society and our businesses urgently need.

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