Progress updates

November 2020

Collaborate with external partners

• work with an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) partner in the next phase of staff engagement

We are nearing completion of a procurement exercise to collaborate with a specialist EDI consultancy supplier to explore, identify and understand the concerns and issues about our colleagues’ lived experience of structural racism, racism and racial inequality with an acknowledgement that, through intersectionality, other inequalities within the workplace will be discussed.

We have interviewed five providers and shortly we will be announcing our EDI partner consultant.

Developing proposals and making use of our data

• review workforce statistics and work with the EDI partner on the creation of targets and measures to build a more inclusive workforce at all levels
• look at our corporate learning and development offer and review our workforce development schemes including career progression, coaching, mentoring and reverse mentoring
• use the outcomes from the focus groups to inform the review and, where appropriate, revision of the council’s employment policy and procedures
• use the outcomes of our listening circles, upcoming focus groups and ongoing engagement activities to inform a workplan, which will include measurable objectives and outcomes

A data and research working group has been set up and includes colleagues from HR, Organisation Transformation and Public Health to

• i) review our existing set of data including deep dive into areas of concern/interest
• ii) research examples of good practice and case studies with demonstrable success

Key information from the data will inform and underpin focus group discussions, also supporting or dispelling commonly held beliefs about workforce outcomes. Focus groups will help with identification of priority areas and suggestions for improvement

We will seek advice from the EDI consultant to develop action plans around how best to address gaps, issues and challenges

Our Annual Workforce Report will be taken to the December Cabinet and will include a refreshed workforce equality plan. This refreshed plan will include the beginnings of recommendations across the broad field of employment practice including recruitment, grievance, discipline, learning, coaching, leadership and mentoring and reverse mentoring. Further actions will follow as our staff engagement exercises continue.

Communication and re-education

• renew our commitment to equality and anti-racism with refreshed and ongoing internal communications and engagement activities. Themes will include but are not limited to ally-ship, white privilege, gas-lighting, microaggressions and incivilities

A communication strategy has been drafted which will incorporate multiple and diverse media of communication. This will include re-education, awareness of services offered by the council, career and life stories of our BAME colleagues, linking to relevant national and international awareness campaigns and providing useful resources for all staff.

• embark upon an ongoing re-training and re-education programme of our leaders and managers so that they understand the critical role they play in addressing racism, structural racism and injustice in the workplace. We want to ensure our leaders are actively anti-racist

We held a Leadership Network session on 6 October, which allowed our leaders to meet and discuss equality, diversity and inclusion with our Staff Networks. The session explored the challenges and opportunities for creating lasting change. More sessions are planned later this year.

A Directors Forum event took place on 14 October with Sue Liburd MBE. The event explored what it means to be actively ‘anti-racist’, and explore best practice and develop inclusive leadership. Planned events will continue with our leaders through November.

Staff engagement

• review our engagement strategy with all staff to create more dynamic two-way communication channels between staff, trade unions and workforce leads on highlighting opportunities and also areas of concern to ensure our support is appropriate and targeted
• ensure there is always a safe space in which staff feel they can share their lived experiences of working at Southwark free from any repercussions

Interactive playback sessions on results of the July Wellbeing Survey - We have run two of four sessions exploring the results of the race and inequality questions we asked in the July Wellbeing Survey and also the themes that have come out from the listening circles.

Employee Lifecycle Focus Groups - Following the playback sessions and the appointment of an EDI consultant, we will hold thematic focus groups around the employee lifecycle, which will address some of the areas identified in the listening circles.

We are maintaining ongoing engagement with all staff networks, trade unions and subsidiary groups, eg Unison black members' group.

Page last updated: 19 November 2021