Acknowledgement
We would like to formally take this opportunity to thank all staff who took part in the focus group sessions. Our thanks are not only for their participation, but also for the openness and integrity by which they collectively engaged in the focus group discussion. A particular thanks goes to the focus group leads for organising the discussions and feedback sessions. We would also like to convey our appreciation for the willingness and enthusiasm that organisations have taken on lessons learnt, not only from the feedback sessions but also during the focus group discussion itself. We would therefore like to acknowledge that the feedback provided in this report relates to a point in time and that many who participated in the focus groups have already taken action to make significant improvements. Humaira Ashraf Director HNA Associates Ltd Andrea Overton Deputy Head of Leadership Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy
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Contents
Section
Page(s)
Section (1) -
Background................................................................................................... 4
Section (2) -
Introduction, Methodology and Approach.................................................... 5
Section (3) - Structure of report......................................................................................... 6 Section (4) -
Focus Group Findings................................................................................... 7 - 11
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Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - Vision, Objectives & Strategy
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Interventions, Processes & Governance
o Engagement
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Investment in Diversity & Inclusion
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Challenges & Hurdles
Section (5) - Insights.......................................................................................................... 12 - 14
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Overall Aim for Promoting & in the Workplace
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Drivers for Change
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Silo Working a Barrier to Shared Ownership & Team Working
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OD Cultural Change Programmes Separated from D&I Cultural Change
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Organisational Challenges
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Hearing the Voice of Minority Staff Members
Section (6) -
Recommendations for organisations............................................................. 15 -18
Section (7) -
Recommendations for organisational readiness for change......................... 19 -21
Humaira Ashraf - Short Biography........................................................................................... 22 Appendix (A) Focus Group Inquiry Questions......................................................................... 23 Appendix (B) Outline mentor/mentee programme .................................................................. 24 Appendix (C) Overview of Content.......................................................................................... 25
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1. Background research & development by Innov8, a hypothesis was developed that the ‘organisational readiness’ for change is a significant but entirely neglected factor in the pursuit of change. In particular, there is a ‘2D fault-line’ in most organisational plans for increased diversity and more inclusive leadership:
This work was commissioned by Innov8: leading differently for better healthcare. This is a significant programme of work led by Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy over the past five years that aims to: • Increase the diversity of senior leaders and decision makers in the NHS
• T he responsibility for change is left to individuals who are often relatively junior and working in relative isolation.
• Grow the capability of leaders at all levels to be more inclusive To achieve these aims we work with organisations, teams and individuals to create healthy NHS organisations.
• T he need for change is divorced from the organisation’s business strategy With this in mind, Innov8 commissioned an independent expert in the field to inquire into this factor in a way that would:
The work of Innov8 has made an important contribution to the ‘reframing’ of diversity as an organisational asset and championed the call for effective leadership to be appreciated as inherently inclusive.
• Provide a development intervention for those organiations that stepped forward. • provide critical reflection for Innov8 and Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy
Most recently, Innov8 research has focused on how the concept of healthy organisations can provide an inspiring and attainable ‘roadmap’ to improve the NHS as an employer and provider of services to all.
This report summarises the findings and insights of this work and provides recommendations relevant to all NHS organisations and those supporting leadership and organisational development.
Based on the interrogation of the existing evidence base and the direct learning experience of six years of
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2. Introduction, Methodology and Approach The focus group sessions held between December 2015 and March 2016 took the form of a two hour semi-structured discussion facilitated by an external consultant, Humaira Ashraf, HNA Associates Ltd. For information purposes a copy of the semi-structured questionnaire is attached as Appendix A.
Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy are committed to supporting organisations within the region to manage talent, improve diversity in management and leadership roles and create more inclusive workplaces for all. As part of this commitment a series of focus groups have been held with following seven organisations:
A prerequisite of the session had been to involve a range of staff from within the organisation that either had explicit or implicit responsibility for promoting diversity and inclusion.
• Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust • Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Following the focus group sessions, the outputs of the discussion were pulled together into a draft report specifically written for each of the above mentioned organisations. The report was fed back to each organisation at a face to face meeting to ensure that there was agreement and understanding on their content.
• Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust • Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust • Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Foundation Trust
The individual focus group reports are owned by the organisation and therefore the responsibility to share the findings and implement proposed changes also rests with the organisations themselves. Common themes and conclusions have been drawn out of the individual organisational reports to produce this final report and it is envisaged that this will be made available for discussion and feedback to all Trusts within the Yorkshire and Humber region.
• Airedale NHS Foundation Trust The purpose of this report is to present a summary of the focus group findings and insights. The report also aims to propose a series of recommendations to enable Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy and organisations within the region to: • Understand the specific challenges and hurdles organisations are facing in respect to creating diverse and inclusive cultures • Understand which processes and systems are required to be put into place to enhance the jointworking and co-delivery of diversity and inclusion strategies across the organisation • Understand the capability requirements of both the individuals and teams responsible for implementing diversity and inclusion strategies across the organisation
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3. Structure of Report For ease of reference this report has been structured into the following sections: •
Section Four - Focus Group Findings
o Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - Vision, Objectives & Strategy
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Interventions, Processes & Governance
o Engagement
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Investment in Diversity & Inclusion
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Challenges & Hurdles
•
Section Five - Insights
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Overall Aim for Promoting D&I in the Workplace
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Drivers for Change
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Silo Working a Barrier to Shared Ownership & Team Working
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OD Cultural Change Programmes Separated from D&I Cultural Change
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Organisational Challenges
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Hearing the Voice of Minority Staff Members
•
Section Six - Recommendations for organisations
•
Section Seven - Recommendations for organisational readiness for change
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4. Focus Group Findings 4.1 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Vision, Objectives and Strategy
• The vast majority of interventions centered on WRES data collection, analysis, assessment and reporting to committees
• Most organisations appeared to include mention of their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in the overall vision and values statement. There was, however, little evidence of the alignment and formal cascading of equality and diversity (D&I) objectives, i.e., from the vision, strategy to individual Personal Development Review(PDR).
• There was some reported evidence of equality impact assessments being carried out on workforce policies and in some cases also on major service design programmes • On the whole interventions aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion appeared to be limited. Some stated that this was because there was not enough priority (and therefore not enough investment) given to this topic whereas others felt that due to the low numbers of minority groups within their organisation, there simply was not a need for additional improvement activity.
• At least 70% of the organisations included mention of equality and diversity objectives in the People or Workforce strategy. However, despite this reference, equality and diversity appeared to sit separate from other organisational development initiatives. • There appeared to be evidence of overarching equality objectives in place for Workforce and Patients’ Services.
4.3 Engagement • Staff satisfaction scores, as highlighted by the NHS staff survey results, were high for some organisations and low for others. Irrespective of overall satisfaction results, however, the survey results highlighted inequality issues experienced by staff from minority groups.
• One organisation had effectively deployed the use of workforce data targets almost as objectives. They developed action plans to help them achieve their target outcomes and regularly monitored progress against these targets. • None of the organisations involved in the focus group session seemed to have robust D&I strategies in place, although there was evidence that some organisations were actively in the process of developing such a strategy.
• For at least three of the organisations which took part in the focus group discussions, the workforce reflected their predominately White British demographic. As a consequence, the number of staff from minority groups completing the staff survey was very low and therefore was not considered to be a strong driver to implement changes.
4.2 Interventions, Processes and Governance • Accountability for delivering on D&I objectives appeared to mainly lie with the D&I leads reporting Director. Overall accountability rested with the Chief Executive and Chair respectively within two Trusts and in both cases it was clear that diversity and inclusion was a priority for these organisations.
• Less than half of the organisations which took part in the focus group session had formal staff networks in place. Where they did exist, they appeared to be actively engaged in both providing feedback on issues encountered and influencing the progression of the equality and inclusion agenda.
• Governance and reporting processes varied. For example, some Trusts had formal committee meetings in place to review progress on workforce diversity objectives. Others simply took a compliance perspective by providing the Board with a bi-annual report on WRES (Workforce Race Equality Standard) data.
• Trusts seemed to be relatively proficient at engaging with community groups in an attempt to reduce health inequalities and to ensure that services were developed to meet user needs
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4.4 Investment in Diversity and Inclusion
4.5.1 Organisational Level
• On the whole, investment in capacity to progress the D&I agenda was limited. At best, some organisations had both a Head of D&I in place with either an D&I Advisor or Project Manager supporting this individual. However, other Trusts only allocated a part-time resource to the progression of this agenda.
Purpose
• Although the progression of the diversity and inclusion agenda requires the collaboration of a number of staff, particularly within the HR function, it was evident that this responsibility was not shared across disciplines. Consequently D&I leads, whether part-time or full-time, mainly operated in isolation.
• The focus for the organisation needs to be on identifying the specific change requirements at a local level. ‘... the national picture does not necessarily apply to us as regionally things are very different. We need to understand what the issues are for us locally.’
• The organisation is unclear as to why they are doing this. ‘There is a disconnect of why we want a workforce that reflects our community… We need to get people to understand how it affects themselves.’
Environment
There was no evidence of investment in developing the capability of the D&I leads, particularly in relation to their capabilities to lead such a major transformational agenda.
• The demographic is mainly White British. The membership of the Board also reflects this demographic. ‘…there is very little integration… the non-white population probably don’t feel that they are part of the population. There is probably a lack of trust as minority groups probably don’t feel that they will get the right quality of health care when they are geared towards a predominately white population.’
• Few Trusts had invested in cultural change programmes as a vehicle for changing behaviour. Whilst there were some obvious synergies to be made with these programme outcomes and the necessary behaviour change required to promote diversity and inclusion, on the whole the opportunities that this situation presented went unrecognised.
• In overall terms the diversity of the workforce is probably higher than the general population. • The Trust is probably the largest employer in this area. For the majority of roles, turnover is low as ‘… staff don’t have many other employment options and tend to stay with us’.
• The majority of the organisations appeared to have invested in the delivery of a mandatory equality and diversity training programme for all staff.Less than half of the organisations which took part in the focus group session mentioned that they had invested in additional equality and diversity training for their senior managers.
• Low attrition rates. ‘ ...the Trust sits in a bubble as there are very low attrition rates. When you haven’t got that sort of turnover there is little need to consider attracting new recruits into the organisation.’ Culture
• Some organisations had a small allocation of funding for initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace; or example, one organisation had £3,000 allocated for membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme.
• ‘… there is something about an Acute Organisation that celebrates and reinforces behaving in a reactive way…’ In such a culture the basic but important matters, such as staff appraisals, training, etc. are often the causality.
• Some Trusts were able to demonstrate they had ensured their HR policies and procedures contain references to their commitment to valuing diversity.
• Lack of stability in the leadership team. ‘We have had several different CEOs in the last five years.’
4.5 Challenges and Hurdles Below is a summary of the focus group discussion around the challenges and hurdles facing organisations, teams and individuals in respect to creating an organisation that values diversity and promotes inclusion. The comments in italics are direct quotes from the discussions:
• There appeared to be a number of issues around unfair treatment and lack of recognition. However, the organisational culture did not appear to be supportive of openly discussing such issues.
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Behaviours
The lack of either a safe or central mechanism for raising these issues means that senior managers do not get to hear about the issues, and as a consequence would be unable to address them.
• Unfair treatment and disrespectful behaviours are experienced at every level across the organisation. ‘… As a Consultant I have been in here for 21 years and I still have not been given a consulting room… I share a desk with three other secretaries. My peers who have come after me have been given their own consulting rooms….’ • The issues around progression are subtle. ‘… If you fit in with a group, that group will help you progress. I think this group support happens more with White British than it does with BME staff.’
Behaviours • Unfair treatment is not just an issue for this organisation. It is the same across all NHS organisations. ‘…the NHS is a national organisation and has a particular issue around appreciating and recognising the contribution that people are making in a fair and equitable way…’
4.5.3 Individual Level Behaviours • Discriminatory behaviour in respect to appreciation and recognition for good work. ‘…. the issue is that a local person (White British) will get greater levels of recognition and appreciation for the work that they have done even when the BME member of staff’s contribution has been considerably more than their colleagues…’
‘…We need to be valued for the contribution we are making on an individual level. However, it is up to the organisation (not the individual) to ensure that things are equitable/fair and that discrimination does not occur…’ • Lack of organisational support in dealing with individual issues around unfair treatment and discrimination. ‘… If an individual is experiencing unfair treatment there is no mechanism for the individual to report this behaviour… the organisation is simply not sensitive to these type of issues…’
• The reasons why BME staff do not get awards or progress in their careers is not considered to be lack of capabilities, it is to do with unfair treatment. ‘…the behaviours are very subtle as there is an issue around acceptance… BME staff are simply not treated fairly….’
4.5.2 Team Level • Evidence from ACAS and the CQC has indicated that behaviour of some individuals are not always professional and the current appraisal system does not facilitate discussion around this point. ‘There is a big problem that managers will not pick this up in PDR conversations – they don’t want to have difficult conversations.’
Silo Working • There is a lack of ownership. ‘Silo working prevails where individuals are tasked to deliver organisational objectives.’ In such circumstances, securing buy-in at seniors levels can be challenging. ‘… it is seen as someone else’s responsibility, someone else’s job…’
Capabilities • On the whole, capability levels of individual managers to effectively lead their teams is low. Historically, the majority of the investment has been directed at clinical development and people development has taken a back seat. People have been told what to do and therefore do not think for themselves.
Leadership Team • ‘The leadership community can find it difficult to get hold of the ‘fluffy’ stuff. They need to understand what the tangible benefits are. They need to understand why we are doing this.’ • ‘Don’t get the sense that they (the leadership community) have understood what they want from this agenda…. we lack a cohesive vision… there is a tendency toward a tick box response to compliance.’
Capacity Limitations • ‘Individuals lack capacity as they not only have to deliver on their personal objectives, but are increasingly pulled into supporting medical/clinical staff shortages. … it is not surprising that staff don’t readily involve themselves in the E&D agenda, particularly if it is not a direct objective of theirs.’
• Our senior leaders need to be particularly skilled at managing diversity. For example, they need to manage situations where there are several different perspectives and opinions in a way that everyone feels that they have been listened to.
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• Demands on staff are high, yet they are told they need to be more resilient and tougher. The danger with this is that it can legitimise behaviour which only serves to demotivate and disengage staff. ‘It ultimately suppresses the ability for us to have a dialogue around capacity and scope of work.’ Minority Staff Progression into Senior Roles • Few role models. ‘In respect to diversity, if you haven’t got mentorship and don’t have role models, then it would make things worse for you’ • Talent management. There is an issue around minority staff progression into leadership roles. ‘We don’t really know what the problem here is as yet. Our data suggests that staff from minority groups do apply for posts and get interviews but fail to secure posts.’
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Evidence from ACAS and the CQC has indicated that behaviour of some individuals are not always professional and the current appraisal system does not facilitate discussion around this point.
5. Insights 5.1 Overall Aim/Goal for Promoting D&I in The Workplace is Unclear
5.3 Silo Working a Barrier to Shared Ownership and Team Working
• With the exception of two organisations which took part in the focus group discussion, the purpose behind creating an organisation that values diversity and promotes inclusion was unclear. Even when a number of interventions were introduced, the overall aim/goal was unclear.
• Typically, D&I seems to be the remit of just a few individuals in the organisation (HR Director and Head of D&I). To achieve the desired impact of change, more managers need to share this responsibility at a formal level.
‘…our aspiration is to reflect the demographic we serve…. I think we are probably reflecting this in our medical staff profiles…’
‘…it is less about trying to replicate the demographic, it is more about applying fair and consistent treatment across the organisation…’
‘..the strategy is about valuing people for what they do rather than who they are. It is about appreciating everyone’s perspective. It is about how you listen and appreciate…’
5.2 Drivers for Change • Where the demographic is not a driver for change, organisations appeared to struggle with giving priority to this agenda. This issue was further compounded by the fact that statistically for some organisations the workforce diversity was higher than the demographic, albeit only in certain roles. • Trusts did not appear to recognise that diversity and inclusion goes beyond traditional issues like race, gender and sexuality and is a more complex process than simply recruiting diverse staff. It would therefore be more productive to consider diversity and inclusion in the broadest of scopes.
Diversity and inclusion goes beyond traditional issues like race, gender and sexuality and is a more complex process than simply recruiting diverse staff.
• In the majority of cases the organisational culture and ways of working appeared to be geared more towards silo working. In such an environment individuals are given accountability for getting key corporate level tasks delivered. This way of operating is ineffective when the desired change is expected to have an impact on behaviour across the entire organisation. • The changes needed to harness diversity and inclusion and ultimately improve staff engagement can only be yielded through the collective efforts of a team. Thus shared ownership of D&I outcomes and effective team working is essential. 5.4 OD Cultural Change Programme Separated from D&I Cultural Change • The primary focus of D&I activity seems to be on monitoring and reporting of performance against targets and for some the engagement of staff networks. To effectively embrace diversity and promote inclusion, D&I needs to be wired into the values and behavioural competencies of the organisation. • Although a number of organisations explicitly acknowledged that achieving the desired D&I outcomes would require a culture change process, D&I still appeared to sit separately from OD functions. One of the reasons cited for this separation was that historically Trusts have not had OD resource to work on this agenda. • Even where Trusts had commissioned large scale behavioural transformational programmes, the apparent synergies between developing the professional attitudes and behaviours of their employees with developing the capabilities of employees to value diversity and promote inclusion were largely ignored.This rather obvious omission was, however, readily picked up by focus group leads and in most cases corrective action was 12 rapidly taken.
work. 5.6 Hearing the Voice of Minority Staff Members
• Staff engagement and internal staff communication programmes appeared to also sit separately from D&I. This separation can be counterproductive because if deployed correctly, staff engagement processes can be very powerful in reinforcing messages around values and behaviours expected of employees.
• Not all focus groups included diversity amongst their membership. Where the group membership was diverse, hearing about the issues that these staff experienced first-hand proved to be extremely powerful.
• If the disconnect between internal communication and D&I prevails there is potential to detract from a consistent message. It also has a significant risk of confusing staff as messages could be perceived as contradictory. For example, are the behaviours associated with ‘care’ (a core value of one of the Trusts involved in the focus group discussion) that different from valuing diversity?
• For the non-minority staff members, being able to listen to such experiences enables the data around such issues to become a reality. There is no opportunity (as there has been in other focus groups) to skim over the issues. Exposing these experiences can also implicitly provide greater energy and impetus to addressing issues and in making the necessary changes.
5.5 Organisational Challenges • D&I leads were not only operating in isolation, most were found to be operating in the context of a number of organisational challenges. For example, overall low staff morale, hierarchical barriers and lack of senior management support. Attempting to influencing change therefore within this organisational context brings with it unique and significant challenges.
Individuals who are working on this agenda are likely to also reflect the experiences of their colleagues. As such, individuals may not always have the necessary emotional resilience and resources that are needed to progress.
• The challenges are not only related to the fact that in such a context there are a wide variety of hurdles to overcome; but individuals who are working on this agenda are likely to also reflect the experiences of their colleagues. As such, individuals may not always have the necessary emotional resilience and resources that are needed to progress this area of
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Although a number of organisations explicitly acknowledged that achieving the desired D&I outcomes would require a culture change process, D&I still appeared to sit separately from OD functions.
6. Recommendations for organisations their thinking styles, work habits, their approach to solving problems, or anything else.
This first section proposes a series of recommendations aimed at the organisational and team level to implement. Section 7 provides proposals on the capability requirements for the successful implementation of an organisational culture that values diversity and promotes inclusion. It is also envisaged that the latter will contribute towards the Yorkshire and the Humber Leadership Academy team’s development programme planning.
• Furthermore, high employee retention rates and few external drivers to recruit a diverse workforce suggests many of the benefits of diversity related to economics and innovation are not being yielded. It is therefore proposed that consideration should be given to developing an organisational culture that not only values the traditional forms of diversity but one that also embraces cognitive diversity.
6.1 Organisational and Team Level Recommendations
• Cognitive diversity is defined ‘as the extent to which a group reflects differences in knowledge-including beliefs, preferences and perspectives.’ Studies have shown that cognitive diversity increases the likelihood of creative new knowledge and innovation across organisations through integration of such variances in diverse knowledge. This integration across wider groups has the potential to overcome the factors constraining the development of new knowledge and also embraces difference and inclusiveness principles.
The recommendations proposed below are intended to provide helpful but not prescriptive guidance to support the Trusts to effectively embed and integrate diversity and inclusion into core mainstream business: 6.1.1 Be Clear on What it is That the Organisation Wants to Achieve and Why Diversity and Inclusion is Important Establishing Purpose • Whilst the outcomes of diversity and inclusion may be similar for most organisations, the drivers for change will be different. For example, having a workforce that reflects the community it serves will always be a driver for valuing diversity in the workplace. However, in the case of Trusts where the demographic is mainly White British, it suggests this cannot be the only driver.
6.1.2 Effectively Communicate Intentions and Create Synergies Across Workforce Strategies Alignment • D&I objectives should form a core part of the organisations’ workforce strategy and should be connected and/or integrated to other workforce strategies, for example, HR, OD and workforce planning.
• Thus organisations need to be clear about what diversity and inclusion means to them at the local level. What are the benefits to them at the strategic level, for their service users and particularly for their workforce for embarking upon this journey?
• There should be clear alignment between the overarching D&I objectives, wider workforce strategy and the diversity data monitoring targets.
Developing a Broader and Deeper Understanding of Diversity and Inclusion
Connecting Strategy, Purpose and Action • The D&I strategy (or the D&I component of the overall workforce strategy) should provide a simple articulation of the desired end result in the form of a simple vision or a number of goals.
• The topic of diversity and inclusion can often take on a traditional perspective, for example, race, gender and religion. In view of the demographic population of some of the Trusts which took part in the focus group discussions, this is too narrow a definition. Within organisational culture, diversity can in fact encompass any dimension or attribute that makes one employee different from another, whether it’s
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• By integrating all of the various elements of the workforce strategy, synergies with other change activities are created. Duplication of effort therefore can be mitigated against, allowing collective effort and resources to be directed at the desired behaviour change.
• All employees need to not only understand what the organisation is trying to achieve in relation to D&I, but why the organisation considers this as a priority. They need to know how valuing diversity and promoting an inclusive style of working will benefit them individually, the patient and also the organisation.
6.1.4 Support Staff Along the Journey
6.1.3 Understand What Diversity and Inclusion Means in Relation to Overall Organisational Cultural Transformation
• Diversity creates differences and this can create complexity and tensions in the workplace. This is part of human nature. However, while these tensions can have negative results, they can also be an organisation’s greatest strength if the culture of an organisation is one that values and encourages people to actively manage diversity as an asset.
Culture Change • Organisational culture is a by-product of human nature, and as it exists now, it will exist in the future and will exert powerful influences on the organisation whether it is ‘planned for’ or not. The key lies in making sure those influences are positive rather than negative, making sure culture emerges as an asset rather than a liability.
• In a high performing, inclusive organisational culture, diversity is effectively managed and unfair treatment is not tolerated. • Staff need to know that the organisation will support them and that there will not be any negative repercussions for them as a result of raising issues around unfair treatment.
• The key elements of organisational cultures that value diversity and promote inclusion are also key elements that deliver high quality, high performing and continuously improving cultures. Thus D&I and high quality, high performing behavioural change activity are by their very nature similar.
• Furthermore, it is proposed that a central mechanism be created specifically for the purposes of providing staff with a focal point whereby they can formally raise issues and receive support in resolving issues.
• It follows therefore that behavioural competencies required to promote diversity and inclusion should be incorporated in the organisation’s behavioural/ culture change programme of work.
• Any talent management programme should also explicitly include objectives around investing in diversity of senior leaders.
Values & Behaviours
6.1.5 Organise and Align Resources and Collective Effort to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion Outcomes
• Values are the overarching frameworks from which behaviour competencies can be identified. Values underpin how individuals approach their interactions with others and are reflected in the day to day behaviours of the organisation.
Shared Ownership and Accountability - Through Team Based Working
• Valuing diversity and inclusive styles of working should form a key element of the organisational values. It is when the link between organisational values and required behaviour competencies are not aligned that D&I culture change activities are stalled or at best have limited organisational impact.
• Creating an organisational culture that values diversity and promotes inclusion is a significant undertaking that requires the collective effort of an organisation. • One person, or even one team, cannot alone achieve the desired outcome. HR, OD, L&D and Communication practitioners must work together to implement the change activities on an organisationwide basis.
Integrated Culture Change Goals • Typically a cohesive and aligned workforce strategy will integrate the culture change elements of D&I with the components of organisational development (OD), Learning and Development (L&D), Human Resource (HR) and staff engagement activity.
• To sustain focus and effort on diversity and inclusion culture change, particularly in the context of increasing work pressures and financial constraints, shared ownership and accountability amongst all practitioners should be formalised. A vehicle for doing this is by creating team working shared objectives.
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6.1.6 Measuring Progress and Continuous Improvement
Agents of Change • One of the factors attributed to the slow progress in respect to the creation of inclusive cultures has been that the senior leaders do not have appropriate ownership of the process.
Whilst much of the transformational element of change lies in ensuring that the right cultural conditions are in place for diversity and inclusion to thrive, the assimilation of workforce diversity data has an important part to play in monitoring the progress of change. Thus, it is proposed that organisations continue with the workforce diversity data reporting and compliance processes. Specifically, it is recommended that:
• It is vital therefore that in setting and promoting diversity and inclusion plans, HR, E&D, L&D and OD Practitioners appropriately engage managers in delivering the desired culture change. Practitioners in this instance need to operate as ‘agents of change’ or ‘change makers,’ acting as a catalyst to the organisational transformation process and assuring delivery of successful equality outcomes.
• The WRES workforce, demography and staff attitude survey data should be assimilated to develop an understanding of the current position within the Trust around diversity and inclusion. • This data should also drive the process for setting targets for change and improvements. • The establishment of staff networks can also help to create a qualitative feedback loop on issues experienced and progress around improvement plans.
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The key elements of organisational cultures that value diversity and promote inclusion are also key elements that deliver high quality, high performing and continuously improving cultures.
7. Recommendations for organisational readiness for change The discussions also emphasised that a tick box compliance attitude towards diversity and inclusion alone would not result in the desired culture change. However, despite this recognition, diversity and inclusion appeared to sit separately from other culture change initiatives.
This section provides a summary of the feedback and proposals around developing organisations’ readiness and capability to create an organisational culture that values diversity and promotes inclusion. The focus group discussions exposed the capability development needs for four groups: 1) the ‘Agents of Change’ or ‘Change Makers’ group, these are the individuals and teams responsible for implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives 2) Senior Managers, this includes Chief Executives, Directors and HR Directors 3) Team Leaders 4) Aspiring Managers and leaders from minority groups.
Best practice research has also indicated that the elements of a high performing team culture is similar to an organisational culture that values diversity and promotes inclusion. To move this agenda along it would be necessary for the senior team to approach diversity and inclusion in a more holistic way. They need to be aware that this is not simply about compliance to a legal requirement, but also a way of ensuring high levels of workforce productivity and engagement across the organisation as a whole.
The capability needs identified include skills, knowledge and attitudes required for the successful implementation of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. For ease of reference these recommendations have been structured to provide an overview of the rationale, proposed approach and outline of the content for the development needs for all four groups:
Proposed Approach
7.1 Senior Leadership Team (including Directors of Workforce, People, HR and OD)
The suggested format is the delivery of one half day session, or alternatively two 1½ hour sessions adopting a presentation and discussion style of delivery.
Rationale
Overview of Content
The senior leadership team are key to establishing the business priorities and also in setting the tone for organisational culture. It is necessary therefore that the senior team not only place diversity and inclusion at the top of the agenda but also that they understand why doing this is important and what the benefits are for their organisation.
• Diversity and inclusion o The national picture o The findings from the focus group discussions • Defining what diversity and inclusion mean to the organisation and how the creation of a diverse and inclusive organisational culture will contribute to their vision of being a model employer and help achieve fiscal and clinical outcomes
The focus group data highlighted that the national picture around diversity and inclusion does not always fit the local situation. For example, the demographic in London and Bradford is radically different from that of Hull and Doncaster. The issues around diversity and inclusion appeared to be different for each organisation and therefore it naturally follows that the drivers for change are also likely to be different.
• Understanding of different perspectives and cognitive and cultural diversity • Understanding (revisiting) the importance that perceived ‘fairness’ has on individual motivation • Developing an integrated workforce strategy
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7.3 Aspiring Diversity Leaders - Mentoring for Diversity and Inclusion
7. 2 Managers/Team Leaders Rationale
Rationale
No matter how well written a workforce strategy that integrates diversity and inclusion is, it will be meaningless unless it is effectively implemented. The managers and team leaders are the vehicle for operationalising workforce strategy and are thus a key lever to creating the right culture conditions for diversity and inclusion to thrive. Therefore, the investment in developing the capabilities of this group is key to progressing the diversity and inclusion agenda.
The focus group discussion along with other NHS diversity data indicates that one of the biggest issues impeding the progress of diversity and inclusion in the workplace is the lack of progression of minorities into senior level posts. To address this point, several programmes aimed at developing the capabilities of minorities have been delivered in recent years. However, despite the high quality of these programmes there has been little impact on staff from minority groups securing senior level posts.
The focus group data highlighted that managers tend to avoid difficult conversations and do not have the necessary skills to adopt an inclusive style of working.
Part of the reason for this rather disappointing result may be because the presupposition behind such development programmes is that the development needs lie only with the participants. Whilst the data suggests that staff from minority groups do need support in respect to confidence building and developing greater levels of emotional resilience, on the whole the issues related to progression lie elsewhere.
Furthermore, there are a number of research studies that emphasise the important role first line managers play in creating co-operative and productive relationships between staff members. An effective or unskilled line manager could mean issues around discrimination or unfair treatment are mishandled, which in turn can lead to low employee morale. In contrast, a skilled and capable manager can turn this situation around by creating an environment where the employees can feel supported and confident they will be treated fairly. This style of management leads to high levels of employee engagement and productivity.
Independent research has nevertheless highlighted that mentoring for diversity and inclusion is the most successful development programme for encouraging the progression of minorities into senior level positions. While diversity training is an important strategy in breaking down barriers, it often does not extend far enough. Too often, attendees leave these sessions knowing something about diversity but not really changing their perspective. Why? Because their behaviour doesn’t change.
Proposed Approach A blended learning and development programme is the suggested format for capability building for the management and team leader group. It is envisaged that the programme will include a blend of online learning video tutorials, a series of ‘how to guides’ and a series of face to face development workshops.
• The role of first line manager in creating a fair and inclusive culture
This is where a formal mentoring programme that is focused on diversity initiatives can help. Mentoring programmes bring people together and empowers them to share the ‘real’ issues and, as a result, change the internal system to being more balanced and fair. Mentoring programmes also take the theory from the classroom and provide a safe environment for honest dialogue between the majority/non-majority pairs.
• Understanding behavioural expectations
Proposed Approach
• Understanding of different perspectives and cognitive and cultural diversity
The development approach proposed here is to provide the necessary support, tools and training to organisations to effectively introduce a diversity mentoring scheme. Rather than do it for the organisations, it is proposed that they are provided with the following:
Overview of Content
• Understanding and effectively managing diversity • Team leading and team building skills o Understanding the role teams have in creating a cooperative and inclusive work environment o Collaborating and creating shared ownership
• Consultancy support to develop the business case for establishing a diversity mentoring scheme • Coaching and consultancy support to develop their own diversity mentoring organisational framework
• Confidence building and the appropriate tools to effectively performance manage staff
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culture that nurtures support, respect, care and compassion between staff and patient/service users and between staff members and the management team
• Tools and guidance documents for mentor and mentee matching and contracting relationships • Training for Trainers to deliver mentor training and mentee training programmes
• Create a climate of shared ownership and accountability for delivering on D&I objectives
An outline of a proposed programme aimed at a consistent approach to achieve impact is provided in Appendix B.
• Understand different attitudes to change, what might drive these and how to influence people to embrace change more willingly
7.4 D&I Programme Team - Agents of Change/ Change Makers
• Be able to align D&I data gathering activity to the workforce strategy and vision
This programme is aimed at staff who have a responsibility to either explicitly or implicitly promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• Be able to present data in meaningful and engaging way
Rationale They also need to be emotionally resilient to effectively overcome resistance and setbacks during the change process. Within the context of increasing work and financial pressures facing the NHS they need to be able to train their mind to approach each day with a sense of optimism and growth mind set.
The creation of a culture that has a more ‘inclusive culture of diversity’ requires an attitudinal and cultural transformation on an organisational wide scale. This needs a long-term, relational approach so that managers are able to move away from ‘managing diversity’ toward ‘managing for diversity.’ Such an undertaking requires the collective efforts of a team and cannot be the domain of the Equality and Diversity lead alone.
Optimism and a growth mind set will in turn enable the change agents to understand how they can leverage their respective talents and resources to empower themselves to fulfil their goals. Above all, this level of resourcefulness means that they will have the ability to cope with a difficult situation and make it a winning situation.
The focus group discussions revealed that diversity and inclusion practitioners are often working in insolation and face a number of challenges in the workplace. These challenges include excessive workloads, lack of autonomy, support and co-operation from colleagues. The responsibility for delivering on diversity and inclusion objectives appeared to be limited to one or two individuals. This lack of shared ownership is likely to be one of the main reasons why progress in this area has been slow.
Proposed Approach The learning will focus on skills and attitudinal change and therefore it is proposed that the format of this training will be a series of two day workshops followed by an action learning set. The content of the workshops will be drawn from:
A key outcome of the focus group discussion is the proposal that D&I, HR, L&D and OD Practitioners work together as a team. They should take collective responsibility for engaging managers in delivering the desired culture change. Practitioners in this instance need to operate as agents of change, acting as a catalyst to the organisational transformation process and assuring delivery of successful equality outcomes. The requirements of these practitioners are considerable and it follows therefore that there should be an appropriate level of investment directed towards developing the capabilities of this group.
• Theories, models and fundamental principles of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and how it can help us more effectively manage and influence key relationships and enhance our communication skills • Theories, models and techniques derived from Applied Neuroscience to enable the regulation of emotions and stress and increase resilience and motivation • Theories, models and techniques derived from the field of positive psychology to enable the development of optimism and growth mind-set
As agents of change, these individuals need to have an enhanced collaborative leadership style with a range of skills and abilities that enable them to: • Influence leaders and employees within an organisation to embrace diversity and inclusion
• Tools and techniques derived from Neuro Linguistic Programme (NLP) to help build rapport, influence and present ideas and propositions in a compelling way
• Work collaboratively across the organisation to support the development of an organisational
An indicative programme outline is provided in Appendix C
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Humaira Ashraf Short Biography Humaira Ashraf is a faculty member of the Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) Leadership Academy. Her work with the Y&H Leadership Academy has involved supporting the inclusive talent management cultures workstream and the development of the Talent Management Guide for Busy People. Humaira is also the Director and founder of HNA Associates Ltd., an organisational and leadership development consultancy, providing executive coaching, leadership development and consultancy support to a range of public and private sector organisations including the following; DEFRA, DWP, Merton Council, Alliance Cornhill Insurance, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, Muller Diary, Wrigley’s UK, AHH Pharmaceuticals and NFU Mutual.
Humaira Ashraf Faculty member of the Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) Leadership Academy.
Humaira has recently held the position of Deputy Director of Organisational Development at NHS England where she led the introduction of the Performance Development Review Programme, Learning and Development Infrastructure Programme and also supported the introduction of the talent management pilot. Humaira has an MSc from Bristol University and post graduate qualifications for Coaching and Psychotherapy. She is a licensed EBW (Emotions and Behaviours at Work) assessor and an NLP Practitioner, Master Practitioner and NLP Certified Trainer. She is currently undertaking qualifications in Applied Neuroscience and Brain and Behaviour.
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APPENDIX A Inclusive Talent Management Focus Groups Semi-structured Discussion Questions
7. What, if any, interventions have worked/are having a positive impact in terms of encouraging diversity and inclusion?
1. What does your organisation wish to achieve around diversity and inclusion? - - - -
8. If we are to make significant progress in moving forward with creating a truly diverse and inclusive organisation, what in your view needs to happen/ change?
Are the organisation’s aspirations written down as objectives? If yes, where and who is accountable? Are these shared objectives? Are there any agreed targets in place? How do any objectives around diversity and inclusion connect to the overall organisational strategy?
9. What are the capability development needs of those who have formal responsibility for implementing diversity and inclusion strategies/interventions?
2. What is currently in place to support the diversity and inclusion agenda? - - -
10. With a view to giving this subject impetus, what do you think are some of the key things we can do in this organisation within the next few months to move this agenda forward?
Interventions - developmental and processes Governance structures (boards, steering groups) Formal engagement processes (staff networks etc.)
3. Who has formal responsibility for ‘driving’ the diversity and inclusion agenda?
4. What investment has been made to date in capability development for those who are directly involved in driving the diversity and inclusion agenda?
5. How do others in the organisation get involved? -
How does the conversation change when others are involved in such discussions?
6. What have been the challenges to achieving organisational goals/aspirations around the diversity and inclusion agenda? - At organisational level - Team level - Individual level
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APPENDIX B •
Overview of Content of the Mentor and Mentee Training Programme •
Mentor Training Content:
o What is Diversity Mentoring and how does it differ from other forms of mentoring? o What are the career challenges facing staff from minority groups? o What are the benefits of Diversity Mentoring for the organisation, the mentor and the mentee? o What are the differences? o The fundamentals of embracing diversity o Looking Inwards - The Tools for Self-Awareness • Awareness of perception – unconscious bias • Awareness of cultural identity • Awareness of values and beliefs o Looking Outward - Understanding and valuing diversity • Listening for understanding • Empathy and reading of non-verbal communication o Understanding Inclusive Leadership and Talent Management • Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation o Next Steps • The matching process; • The contracting process and relationship building process
Mentee Training Content
o What is Diversity Mentoring and how does it differ from other forms of mentoring? o What are the benefits of Diversity Mentoring for the organisation, the mentor and the mentee? o Framework for eliciting and organising information from a mentor relationship o The deployment of modelling methodology, tools and techniques for a successful mentor/mentee relationship o Creating rapport o Developing personal confidence and building trust o Developing career goals and personal development plans o Understanding Inclusive Leadership and Talent Management • Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation o Next Steps The matching process; • The contracting process and relationship building process
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APPENDIX C Overview of Content • Emotional Intelligence - what is it and how can you apply core EI skills for achieving greater selfawareness and awareness of others? • Strategies for developing greater levels of emotional resilience and personal power • Emotions and behaviour at work around decision making, collaboration and inclusion • Understanding the nature of conflict and deploying strategies for effectively managing disagreements • Emotions and the brain o Understanding what our emotions are for o Emotional range and emotional awareness o Optimism and Pessimism o Impact of stress on our emotions • Understanding the development of empathy in the brain and how it impacts our understanding of diversity o Affective arousal, empathetic concerns, empathetic understanding o Emotional distress, compassion • Understanding of Motivation at the Individual, Team and Organisational Level o Extrinsic and intrinsic o Motives and the content of goals o Impact of autonomy on motivation o Motivation and short term and long term rewards • Team working and Collaboration o Facilitation tools and techniques o Team leadership skills and strategies • Deploying NLP tools and techniques to o Influence self and others o Build rapport and maintain successful relationships o Deliver presentations with impact
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