Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2012 to 2015
delivering promises, improving lives
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[email protected] WDH 23/01/2015
Foreword I am pleased to introduce you to the WDH Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. The strategy is aligned to our Vision to create confident communities and confident people. Our Vision encapsulates everything that WDH stands for and the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy supports all of our employees and customers in maximising their full potential through the creation of healthier, greener, safer, sustainable and confident communities. Embedding diversity and inclusion in everything we do is essential if we are to achieve our aims. This means that diversity and inclusion is everybody’s responsibility and is part of the way we all carry out our roles. This strategy is a co-ordinated approach to recognising and valuing difference and responding to the different needs of individual customers and employees in how we carry out our dayto-day work.
Kevin Dodd Chief Executive
Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Contents 1.
Introduction and Summary ............................................................. 1
2.
WDH Vision ................................................................................... 2
3.
Background to Strategy .................................................................3
4.
What Have We Learned?............................................................... 4
5.
Aims of the Strategy ......................................................................4
6.
Plans for Change ...........................................................................5
7.
Key Responsibilities.......................................................................6
8.
Expected Outcomes ......................................................................7
9.
Monitoring Review .........................................................................8
1.
Introduction and Summary
This strategy outlines our approach to diversity and inclusion and the importance of embedding this approach into everything we do to meet the needs of our customers and to maximise the potential of our employees. WDH has a well developed system of governance for equality, diversity and inclusion. A Single Equality Scheme and associated action plan have been in place since 2009 and are currently being revised to reflect our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). The Act came into effect on 1 October 2010 and provides a cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. The Act updates, simplifies and strengthens the previous legislation, delivering a simple and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. This revised Diversity and Inclusion Strategy reflects the changes brought about by the Act. The provisions in the Act come into force at different times to allow time for the people and organisations affected by the new laws to prepare for them. The provisions which came into force on 1 October 2010 under the Act 2010 are attached as Appendix 1. The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Single Equality Scheme meet expected best practice principles in that they:
Are led from the top with Board and Executive Management Team (EMT) sponsorship for the revised strategy and scheme.
Are easily understood by all employees and customers.
Embed diversity and inclusion into all existing processes, procedures and policies that relate to customers.
Embed diversity and inclusion in the recruitment, training, retention and promotion processes.
Embed diversity into project planning and management disciplines.
Have clear and concise action plans that translate into team plans everyone can understand and relate to.
Monitor and report on objectives and trends.
Link to established performance indicators.
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Key milestones over the next three years include: By the end of 2012:
To develop and approve this revised Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in the light of the Act.
To introduce a revised Single Equality Scheme and action plan.
To complete Equality Impact Assessments on all priority policies, procedures and projects.
By the end of 2013:
To hold 80% of customer profiling data against each of six diversity strands. No information on transgender people is currently being collected as the current advice is not to ask for this information.
To develop team specific action plans based on the analysis of the customer profiling data and best practice on equality, diversity and inclusion.
To develop monitoring systems for actions and agree responsibilities for action.
To consider benchmarking against the Social Housing Equality Framework.
By the end of 2014:
2.
To monitor progress against agreed actions.
WDH Vision
Our Vision is to create confident communities throughout the district and beyond. People in confident communities feel safe where they live, trust the services they receive and are confident about their future prosperity and opportunities. Our strategic objectives are to:
Be a landlord of choice by putting the customer first.
Adopt best practice in good governance to be a well managed business.
Be a positive force through leadership and influence to develop the potential of our people.
Be a partner of choice to create better places to live.
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Strategic Objective
Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Aims
Be a landlord of choice by putting the customer first.
Understand and respond to the needs of our diverse customer base.
Adopt best practice in good governance to be a wellmanaged business.
Adopt good governance on diversity and inclusion to support WDH as a well managed business.
Embed diversity throughout the business through raising diversity awareness and conducting equality impact assessments and analysis on all policies, procedures and projects.
Influence the embedding of diversity and inclusion best practice into all policies, processes and procedures to ensure WDH maximises the potential of all our employees and meets the needs of all customers.
Influence the Board and EMT to continue to actively support diversity and to role model inclusive behaviours.
Learn from best practice and work with partnership organisations to deliver inclusive services.
3.
Be a positive force through leadership and influence to develop the potential of our people.
Be a partner of choice to create better places to live.
Background to Strategy
This revised strategy replaces the previous Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2009 to 2012 and encompasses changes that have come about as a result of the Act. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is about recognising and valuing difference across both our customer base and our workforce and is about fairness in its broadest sense, not limited to those protected characteristics covered by legislation. It is about creating a culture where everyone feels comfortable with being themselves and where policies and working practices support the individual’s ability to maximise their potential. As both an employer and a housing and service provider, WDH must adapt to the changing demographics that are affecting the employment and housing market. With an increasingly ageing population, the requirement for adapted properties and for supported accommodation is set to rise. The number of one person, lone parent and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) households is also on the rise. On the employment side, the proportion of school leavers from the BME community is growing year on year, whilst the workforce is ageing and with an ageing workforce comes an increased incidence of workplace disability and ill health. The Strategy and Single Equality Scheme will ensure WDH nurtures talent from the widest possible pool in the future, reflects the make up of our local community through our workforce and thereby meets the needs of our diverse customer base.
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4.
What Have We Learned?
The existing Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is well embedded and employees are demonstrating good practice in meeting the needs of service users. Over the past two years, WDH has adopted a more strategic approach to diversity and focussed on meeting the needs of customers through establishing a culture of diversity and inclusion for all. This has been achieved through:
The introduction of the Diversity and Inclusion Operational and Monitoring Groups.
Investors in Diversity Level 2 accreditation.
The widespread use of equality impact assessments (EIAs).
The collection of good quality customer profiling information.
The analysis of this data is helping to shape services for the future and make decisions that are truly evidence-based.
5.
Aims of the Strategy
To support a culture where diversity and inclusion are embraced as part of day-to-day business practices, all strategies need to be aligned to deliver our Vision. The Strategic aims are as follows: Understand and respond to the needs of our diverse customer base. One of WDH’s key Strategic Objectives is to be a landlord of choice by putting our customers first. This can only be achieved if WDH truly understands the diversity of our customer base and how to respond to individual needs through the continual collection and analysis of customer profiling data to ensure all decision making is evidence-based. Adopt good governance on diversity and inclusion to support WDH as a well-managed business. The strategy supports a well-developed diversity and inclusion strategic framework with clear roles and responsibilities, a Single Equality Scheme and robust SMART action planning, objective setting and monitoring on diversity and inclusion. Influence the embedding of diversity and inclusion in all policies, processes and procedures to ensure WDH maximises the potential of all our employees and service users. A strategic approach to the completion of EIAs on all policies, procedures and projects ensures that diversity and inclusion is embedded in everything we do. Rigorous analysis of equality data is now a requirement of the EIA process.
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Influence the Board and EMT to continue to actively support diversity and role model inclusive behaviours. Employees will understand the importance of diversity and inclusion to their work if the Board and EMT continue to be role models for inclusive behaviours, and visibly and actively support diversity initiatives through communication and attending diversity events. Learn from best practice and deliver inclusive services. The strategy supports the building of a network of diversity practitioners in the public, private and housing association sectors in order to understand and disseminate best practice throughout the business.
6.
Plans for Change
Specific milestones for each of the strategy aims are as follows: To understand and respond to the needs of our diverse customer base:
To ensure WDH has at least 80% of customer profiling data against each of the seven diversity strands with the exception of transgender.
To use the collated customer profiling data to identify where certain groups may be dissatisfied with our services and take action based on the evidence.
To share customer profiling data with local management committees to help them to shape local services.
Use a range of involvement activities to gain further detail on how exactly services can be improved and ensure involvement activities reach all groups that make up our communities including seldom heard groups.
To take steps to ensure our workforce, Board and local management committees reflect the local communities they serve.
Adopt good governance on diversity and inclusion to support WDH as a well managed business:
Ensure that the Diversity and Inclusion Operational Group and the Diversity and Inclusion Monitoring Group continue to meet quarterly to discuss diversity issues and concerns.
Develop SMART diversity and inclusion objectives through the use of customer profiling data and EIAs and assign ownership for objectives through current team planning processes.
Develop meaningful monitoring systems.
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Influence the embedding of diversity and inclusion best practice into all policies, processes and procedures to ensure WDH maximises the potential of all our employees and customers:
Ensure all policies are equality impact assessed.
Equality impact assess all processes and procedures to ensure they are accessible and inclusive.
Ensure all EMT reports recommending changes are accompanied by an EIA.
Influence the Board and EMT to continue to actively support diversity and to role model inclusive behaviours:
Ensure that the Board and EMT understand and approve the strategy and approach.
Continue to influence the Board and EMT to commit to supporting diversity events through attendance and to increasing visibility on diversity and inclusion.
Continue to influence the Board and EMT to incorporate diversity and inclusion messaging into corporate and operational communications.
Learn from best practice and deliver inclusive services:
Develop a network of diversity practitioners in the private, public and housing association sectors to ensure WDH is at the forefront of new thinking on the diversity and inclusion agenda.
Embed diversity and inclusion in the attraction and employment cycle and in all service provision by equality impact assessing all policies, processes, procedures and projects.
7.
Key Responsibilities
The following paragraphs set out the high level responsibilities expected from the Board, EMT, line managers, individual employees and the Diversity and Inclusion Manager. The Board and EMT will:
Provide effective leadership and deliver a clear vision to the organisation on our approach to diversity and inclusion.
Be responsible for the implementation of the strategy, Single Equality Scheme and associated actions.
Establish and maintain an inclusive culture in which the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy can flourish.
Champion diversity and inclusion through role modelling, attendance at diversity related events and through communications.
Treat all employees and customers with dignity and respect at all times.
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Line managers will:
Achieve diversity and inclusion objectives and targets set for their business area within team plans.
Actively promote and support diversity and inclusion to ensure that WDH is recognised as an organisation that values and respects difference.
Ensure their employees complete the mandatory Housing e-Academy Diversity and Inclusion e-learning module or workshop.
Help employees to make the links between the work they do and diversity and inclusion.
Treat all employees and customers with dignity and respect at all times.
Employees in partnership with line managers will:
Ensure they complete the mandatory e-learning package or attend a workshop.
Treat all employees and customers with dignity and respect at all times.
Achieve diversity and inclusion objectives and targets set for their role.
The Diversity and Inclusion Manager will:
Develop the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Single Equality Scheme.
Monitor progress against diversity and inclusion action plans and escalate any issues.
Develop a Diversity and Inclusion Policy in collaboration with key stakeholders.
Produce an Annual Report that highlights progress against the diversity and inclusion actions, including impact statements.
Provide advice and guidance on diversity and inclusion issues.
8.
Expected Outcomes
The overall objective of this Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is to support the achievement of our Vision by:
Understanding and responding to the needs of our diverse customer base.
Adopting good governance on diversity and inclusion to support WDH as a well managed business.
Influencing the embedding of diversity and inclusion best practice into all policies, processes and procedures through the use of EIAs to ensure WDH maximises the potential of all our employees and service users.
Influencing the Board and EMT to actively support diversity and to role model inclusive behaviours.
Learning from best practice and delivering inclusive services.
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9.
Monitoring Review
This strategy will be reviewed annually and will be informed by customer and employee feedback, changes to legislation and best practice. The Employee Survey, workforce statistics, the Tenant Census and a range of satisfaction surveys will be utilised to help monitor the inclusiveness of policies and services and to measure the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Specific measures will include:
Ensuring that the Board and EMT understand and approve the strategy and approach.
Board and EMT commitment to supporting and attending two diversity events each year.
Incorporating diversity and inclusion into all communications where appropriate.
Identifying gaps and improving service provision for minority groups by analysing relevant customer profiling data and incorporating specific actions in team plans.
Developing a network of diversity practitioners in the private, public and housing association sectors to ensure WDH is at the forefront of new thinking on the diversity and inclusion agenda.
Embedding diversity and inclusion in all service provision and people processes by equality impact assessing all policies, processes and procedures and by embedding EIAs in the project planning process.
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Vision to create confident communities
Mission to inspire, transform and promote excellence
Values to be creative, inclusive and work with integrity
delivering promises, improving lives
