Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I)
We provide a wide range of high quality ED&I services to clients in both the public and private sectors as one of our main business streams and as an integral component of our other services. Our starting position is that diversity includes everyone and we use Appreciative Inquiry to assist people in making sense of their own experiences of difference so they can identify good practice and apply this in a knowledgeable, skilled and consistent manner.
Berkshire Consultancy is aware of the important role ED&I play within organisations as they strive to move beyond mere compliance with equality legislation. Best practice utilises the wide range of skills, knowledge and talent of the organisation's workforce to meet increasing demands in a constantly changing local, national and global environment.
Equipping people and organisations to become cultural navigators is at the heart of our philosophy. We work with BME communities, LGBT and disabled people, women, those of different religions and/or beliefs and ages to enable them to excel in their work environment. Organisations that utilise the potential of their diverse workforce become highly skilled cultural navigators. We work with organisations and their people to effect mutually sustainable change, learning and growth as we recognise individuals need to embrace organisational norms and values without sacrificing their own and organisations need to identify and work with the different norms, cultural experiences and values of their diverse workforces.
We offer an enquiring and affirmative approach to reviewing diversity practices. Whilst we use our expertise and skills in working with organisations to raise ED&I awareness, we believe that the most successful organisations are those who demonstrate that ED&I forms an integral part of their aims, strategic goals and objectives. We work with organisations to apply the principles of equality impact assessment to map both diversity and organisational data and instigate effective consultation and involvement processes that ensure relevant actions which are an essential part of day-to-day business activity. The benefits of this are twofold. Firstly, it sends a powerful message that ED&I is highly valued by the organisation. Secondly, it embeds their ED&I strategy firmly into the organisation's functions, processes, practices and procedures, serving to increase personal and organisational performance. In short, we help our clients to bridge the complex and invariably daunting gap between commitment and implementation of ED&I best practice in such areas as recruitment and retention, personal development, marketing, procurement, supply chain management, customer care and corporate social responsibility.
Our work in this area includes:
Introducing equality, diversity and inclusion:
- Developing effective ED&I policies, strategies and action plans
- Providing advice, guidance, business cases, protocols for awareness development and leadership training
- Developing and implementing effective internal/external communication, consultation and involvement strategies
People development:
- Facilitating training to develop broader awareness and understanding of ED&I, work-life balance, corporate and social responsibility and customer care principles
- Devising and delivering leadership programmes aimed at developing the senior management potential of minority groups
- Supporting leaders to make effective use of ED&I to support culture change. This includes professional development, performance management and talent management within diverse teams
- Coaching, mentoring and Action Learning workshops supporting career progression for minority groups.
Integration of systems and processes:
- Designing and developing Equality Impact Assessment processes
- Creating effective Quality Assurance measures
- Designing and delivering bespoke training for particular functions, e.g. ED&I in Procurement and Supply Chain Management
- Designing bespoke Equality Standards and Health Checks for functions and services
- Acting as independent advisers in mediation and reconciliation meetings for diverse groups
- Developing job and management competencies.
Diagnostics, Research & Evaluation:
- Evaluating, analysing and monitoring projects providing evaluation of outcomes to identify good practice and opportunities for further development.
As a company with a proven record in promoting ED&I, Berkshire Consultancy is committed to embedding these within our corporate ethos and values by ensuring that they inform all our practices, procedures and relationships. This assists us to deliver a credible and effective service, tailored to our clients’ needs.
