Commitment and collaboration

Having an EDI policy is a critical aspect of positive employee engagement and provides the perfect platform to outline your organisation’s commitment to ensuring an inclusive workplace that is equitable and diverse. Ensuring that your organisation is inclusive and supports all employees to thrive at work, regardless of their background requires practices and processes in place that value difference and break down barriers.

An EDI policy is also the place to outline the organisation’s commitment to safeguarding those who may face inequality or harassment due to one or more of the nine protected characteristics, and set out procedures for dealing with these should they arise. However, a pioneering approach to developing an EDI policy would look to go beyond legal requirements, for example, by considering social mobility and/or intersectionality. Take a look at this example from the British Council.

To create your EDI policy:

1. Before embarking on creating an EDI policy it is crucial to first set a specific vision on what your EDI policy is and its impact on your company and its customers. 
2. Review existing resources, such as this one from High Speed Training, which includes guidance and a free template.
3. Outline the behaviours expected from the workforce and ensure they align with the organisational and EDI values.
4. Clearly state that any form of discrimination, victimisation, harassment or bullying is unacceptable, in the form of a zero tolerance approach and statement. Set out procedures for dealing with complaints and reporting. Take a look at this resource from Acas.
5. Be clear about how to access support in general, or when reporting concerns.

An effective EDI strategy should detail how the organisation seeks to improve its EDI outcomes over a defined period of time, typically with specific and measurable actions. 

Set a clear EDI vision that articulates what EDI means for your organisation. Be specific about the type of culture you want your organisation to uphold;

Engage key stakeholders (senior management, board members, employees and trade union representatives) to create your EDI strategy - EDI strategies work best when they have the buy-in of senior leadership, and any Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). You can find more information on ERGs in the ‘Building an Inclusive Culture’ section. (Link to Building and Inclusive Culture section for Green Medium orgs once webpage created)

Collect and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data (i.e. surveys, focus groups and interviews) to assess your current workplace demographics, staff experiences and identify any gaps specific to your organisation's needs and situation. This will help set appropriate EDI goals and provide a baseline to benchmark improvements against;

Set an EDI budget - it is important that your organisation has the resources to deliver on any commitments built into the EDI strategy. This budget must be proportionate to the gaps identified across your organisation as well as your EDI ambitions;

Identify the internal / external resources needed to deliver against your EDI strategy and upskill your teams on EDI best practice. Consider creating an EDI team or an EDI Committee to help engage employees across the organisation and work with senior management;

Put your plan into action and communicate progress regularly. Be transparent with your employees about areas where improvement is needed, and how you will go about this. Be sure to regularly consult and share your findings with your organisation’s board members and ERGs;

Senior leadership should visibly lead EDI and revisit the strategy on a regular basis in order to monitor and deliver progress. Agreed goals should be regularly measured and assessed against results, and any necessary changes put in place.  The acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) can be useful in setting goals.

This process can reinforce the EDI policy and support the wider intended culture of the organisation. By reviewing existing policies, it can also open opportunities for addressing how well the policy supports the organisation, where it is, and where it is planning to go.

When reviewing existing policies employers must consider the accessibility needs of their employees and clients. When reviewing existing policies, consider asking:

• Where is the office? 
• Is the built environment accessible as well as sustainable? 
• Does your website explain how to reach the office by public transport?
• Does it also explain how to reach the office if you are disabled?

Take a look at policies for HR, career progression, recruitment, and leadership development. Analyse how accessible these policies are to various departments within your organisation. This includes carrying out research, focus groups or using spotlights, as seen below, to consider the most inclusive and equitable practices. Consider working with a professional organisation to conduct a policy review to help you identify  and close policy gaps in your organisation.

• The Engineering and Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) has an Industry Census and associated Action Plan, including elements of EDI.
• The Royal Academy of Engineering and Science Council have published their EDI Progression Framework towards planning and assessing progress.
• In 2020, Lush published a 100 Day Action Plan which covers a series of commitments for advancing EDI.
• The Heritage Fund has a racial equity in nature toolkit, which you may find helpful to read if you are exploring the intersection between EDI and environmentalism.
• Construction and infrastructure firm Kier has made its EDI policy available through their EDI pages. You can also have a look at their Building for a Better World interactive document, which gives further insight on their sustainability and EDI work.
• Similarly, Balfour Beatty includes diversity and inclusion in their Sustainability Strategy. You can find out more about the actions they are taking to improve diversity and inclusion.

A flexible work schedule is a great way to make your organisation more attractive to potential candidates, particularly if they have caring responsibilities. Reasonable adjustments ensure your organisation is inclusive to all, by meeting their specific needs. They typically will involve adapting working methods, procedures, or the physical work environment to mitigate against any potential disadvantage. 

Flexible working can improve employee well-being and morale, reduce sick leave, protect against burnout and ill-health, and increase productivity and career longevity. It is also a crucial way to support parents and carers, and help retain neurodiverse and disabled employees. 

It is important to note that employers have a legal duty to deal with requests for flexible working in a reasonable manner, and offer an appeal process should the request be denied.
 

In 2022, Laing O’Rourke launched an industry-leading global parental leave policy, which reflects an equal parenting approach for all. Read more about the policy Any Gender, Any Birth, Any Child.

Senior leadership support for your organisation’s EDI ambitions is critical as they have influence over organisational priorities and can ensure the EDI vision is effectively communicated. Equally important are middle leaders and managers; without their buy-in, EDI is very difficult to embed.  Spending time ensuring they understand the organisation’s vision, values and expectations on EDI is critical to how the strategy is received and implemented.  

A maturity matrix is a helpful tool to assess your organisation on EDI, review progress, and consider next steps. You can see an example of a maturity matrix. While there is no ‘right-way’ to publicise your EDI progress and future milestones, sharing metrics is a great way of building transparency and accountability for yourself and other organisations in the sector. Inviting feedback from both internal and external stakeholders can provide further opportunities for honest reflection and building on key successes. Equally EDI is an ongoing process of improvement, so it is important to be honest about any challenges, admit mistakes, and be open to constructive criticism.

Regular internal communication on your organisation’s commitment to EDI is crucial to keeping employees engaged with your strategy. Making your EDI commitment public ensures accountability of senior leadership, encouraging stakeholder buy-in. Communication around your EDI strategy should also invite views and feedback from both internal and external stakeholders. Where feedback isn’t positive, it is important to be honest about any challenges, admit mistakes, and treat EDI as an ongoing process of improvement.

Many organisations communicate their commitment to EDI by signing a pledge. This can be helpful in raising industry standards and encouraging open dialogue across organisations.

Explicit commitments, or ‘pledges’, can be made as part of a focused and targeted campaign to achieve desired outcomes within a workforce community.

• The Diverse Sustainability Initiative is a collaborative programme which has made a public commitment to transform diversity within the sustainability and wider environment sector.
• Green 2.0 is an annual league table of staff racial diversity in the top 40 environmental not-for-profits and top 40 environmental foundations in the USA. The # is a UK version planned for 2022.
• The WISE Campaign aims to improve representation of women and girls in science, technology, engineering, manufacturing, construction.
• The Construction Industry Council has a range of commitments and data for you to consider including a Roadmap for Change, various diversity and inclusion commitments, and Inclusive Environments Recognition Certification.
• The Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering Pledge is a joint initiative from Construction News and New Civil Engineer.