Creating an equality, diversity and inclusion action plan

29 January 2024

Incommunities lacked clear and transparent strategic direction around Equity Diversity and Inclusion. A plan was needed to fix the basics and create a strong foundation to build upon. The plan needed to be aligned with our 2 year strategic plan already in place, but still including measurable improvements around our people, customers and workplace culture.

Creating a plan that was authentic, action oriented and met our needs was crucial. It was clear that there were some short term actions that could be identified and were necessary before more long term strategic objectives could be tackled.

Our Short-Term strategic plan was developed in 2023 and set out one year to:

  • Align with our overall 2yr plan
  • Provide agility to change, learn, reflect and adapt our plan and priorities
  • Make incremental measurable improvements and strengthen our EDI foundation.

This plan was approved by our board and released in Summer 2023 https://www.incommunities.co.uk/download.cfm?doc=docm93jijm4n2763.pdf&ver=5074

 We haven’t been idle, we’ve made significant progress:

  • 8 key Wellbeing and Inclusion campaigns and stories were delivered in 2023
  • New partnerships established with Bradford Hate Crime Alliance and Equality Together
  • Inclusive behaviours and Leadership workshops have commenced to improve education and awareness and culture
  • Inclusive Language Glossary released
  • Procurement of new mandatory EDI eLearning to offer for managers and colleagues
  • Investors in Diversity Award Accreditation achieved
  • Improvements made to improve Diverse representation at recruitment – ethnically diverse candidates at final interview stage has increased by over 20%.

Tips for organisations and replicability

Developing EDI strategies is not one shoe fits all. The main aim of any EDI strategy should be creating cultural change that is authentic to your organisation, your people, your place.

This might mean flipping the script and looking at more short-term actions, it might mean including actions that deliver different impacts than expected, but to ensure success and sustainable change, authenticity needs to be at its centre.

Contact person: Marianne Cuthbertson
Wesbite: www.incommunities.co.uk
Email address: marianne.cuthbertson@incommunities.co.uk