Understand the concepts
- Businesses must understand what equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) mean and what is required to implement these concepts.
- If they are unsure, they should seek advice from a competent individual or organisation that specialises in EDI.
Leadership commitment
- Businesses must ensure that leadership and senior management are committed to driving EDI and are held accountable. They set the organisation’s tone and can either make or break EDI policies and initiatives.
- Leaders should lead by example and promote respectful interactions.
- They need to provide the necessary resources to achieve goals and include EDI in all aspects of the business.
Produce and implement a workplace policy and procedures
- Businesses should have a policy and procedures that covers EDI and must implement them effectively.
- Policies and procedures should be legally compliant and align with best practices, as they will provide a framework for people to follow.
- They should fully integrate EDI principles into policies, systems, processes and arrangements.
- They should have reporting, grievance and disciplinary procedures if there are any instances of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
- They should include employees in decision-making processes and when formulating policies and procedures.
- Acas have a policy template here.
Pay employees equally
- Businesses should pay employees equally for equal work and ensure they have the same benefits.
- Acas has further information on equal pay and the law here.
Recognise various cultural and religious celebrations
- Businesses should have calendars with all of the major cultural and religious holidays.
- They could celebrate them in various ways and get employees involved to promote multicultural respect.
Set rules and challenge inappropriate behaviour
- Businesses should establish rules and guidelines for how employees should behave. If employees are customer-facing, businesses should communicate the behaviour they expect from customers when interacting with their staff.
- They should foster an environment and no blame culture where employees are encouraged to report issues.
- If there is any inappropriate behaviour, e.g. bias, harassment and discrimination, they should challenge and address it promptly.
Monitor and evaluate progress
- Businesses should regularly assess and evaluate their progress against EDI goals.
- They should monitor and collect data to see if their objectives are achievable, including getting employee feedback.
- If their goals are unachieved, they should adjust their strategies with input from leadership, managers and employees.
Link EDI initiatives to others
- Businesses could look at certification to British and International standards to demonstrate their commitment to EDI and to provide them with a framework to achieve their goals.
- Examples of standards include:
- ISO 30415:2021 – Human resource management — Diversity and inclusion.
- BS 76005 Valuing people through diversity and inclusion – code of practice for organisations.
- The National Equality Standard (NES).
- Ensure they comply with the law throughout the recruitment process, e.g. data protection and discrimination.
- Establish SMART recruitment goals and consider setting targets for under-represented applicants.
- Create inclusive, unbiased job descriptions with neutral language and focus on the qualifications and skills of the role.
- Use positive action to encourage qualified and experienced candidates who are under-represented to apply, e.g. those with disabilities. However, they should ensure they do not discriminate against other candidates and that their use of positive action is reasonable.
- Advertise in various places to widen their reach and attract applicants from different backgrounds.
- Have blind recruitment processes that remove identifying information from applications (e.g. names, sex, gender, ages, etc.) as it can promote fairness and reduce unconscious bias.
- Provide hiring managers, recruiters and human resources staff with EDI training so they are aware of their biases and can screen, assess and interview applicants fairly.
- Use recruitment agencies that promote equality and specialise in finding diverse and under-represented candidates.
- Encourage referrals from employees from diverse backgrounds so they put forward similar candidates.
- Robust inductions – include EDI policies and processes in new staff inductions to ensure they are on board from the start of their employment.
- Inclusive training – ensure training is delivered inclusively and interactively and leadership and senior management participate. Make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities where needed, as this is a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010.
- Self-reflection – part of the training could involve encouraging employees to self-reflect and think when they have experienced bias.
- Engaging content – make the training content and materials engaging and interesting. Also, use real-world case studies and examples and include information about the benefits of EDI and the legal requirements. Businesses can use specialist training companies if they do not have in-house expertise.
- Provide training on policies and procedures – employees should be made aware of the organisation’s policies and procedures and be trained on dealing with EDI-related challenges.
- Review training materials regularly – laws and standards change, and new ideas and best practices are often shared. Training materials should be reviewed regularly to ensure it is up to date.
- Monitoring – evaluate the effectiveness of EDI training programs and measure changes, i.e. is training making a difference to attitudes, behaviours and workplace culture?
