This week we’re celebrating National Inclusion Week. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the great things happening across our organisation to promote both diversity and inclusion.
What does inclusion mean to me?
Inclusion is about creating a culture where people feel valued, respected, listened to,and our people feel supported to challenge business leaders if their experiences at work are different from this.
For me, inclusion is about recognising and valuing the differences we each bring to the workplace and creating an environment where everyone has equal access to opportunities and feels empowered to contribute to the organisation’s success. There is plenty of research to say that not only is this the right thing to do, it’s also critical for commercial success.
By having a diverse workforce that represents the communities in which we live and work, we’re building a company that is truly able to put customer needs at the heart of its operations. I’m committed to driving a culture where bias is minimised, regardless of an individual’s background, gender, race, belief or any other visible or non-visible difference. Only then can we all bring our whole self to work and aspire to be the best we can be.
What is happening during National Inclusion Week in Centrica?
The theme this year is #EverydayInclusion. We have a range of events and activities taking place throughout the week, with a host of speakers lined up to share their personal stories. Through these activities, we aim to encourage open and positive conversations to identify collective actions to help remove barriers to inclusion.
We are particularly excited that we’re launching an employee network for ethnicity this week. The Ethnicity Network is a direct outcome from listening to our employees in the last 18 months, giving our people a voice and ultimately enabling a more inclusive culture.
Our Networks play a key role in delivering our strategic objective to be an employer of choice and are particularly active in promoting their activities around the business during National Inclusion Week.
We’re working to continuously support our employees through open conversations, employee networks and policy changes. We’ve already seen the enormous benefit of adopting flexible policies for carers. We know it makes a huge difference to our people if they feel supported at work and we can help minimise the stress that juggling both roles can cause.
During this year’s National Inclusion Week, please join the conversation in your organisation, and make your voice heard. This way, we can all contribute towards making our companies inclusive places to work.