Take Action Make Impact

Pamela Sinnott talks about National Inclusion Week

National Inclusion Week provides a great opportunity to reflect on how far we have come in creating inclusive workplaces but also where we need to act and have more impact.

I joined Certitude in June this year in a new and dedicated post as Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner. My first three months have been a whirlwind. We’re a wonderfully diverse organisation and you can see that diversity and inclusion is already highly valued throughout the organisation, from our colleagues, our support networks, our senior leadership team, our Board, right through to being one of our golden threads in our Forward Plan strategy. Inclusion is essential to us and to the people we support.

Through our diversity and inclusion Colleague Networks, we provide a safe place to share experiences and give peer to peer support. And by feeding back to the wider organisation, these colleague networks are vital in providing voices of lived experience that help us work towards the goals set out in our Diversity and Inclusion strategy.

So what action are we taking?

Together with our learning and development team we’re already working to enhance the capacity, knowledge, and confidence of our managers to support our diverse teams. This includes more information and guidance for managers on subjects such as reasonable adjustments and transitioning at work.

In October as part of Dyslexia Awareness Week we will be hosting the first in a series of ‘Diversity and Inclusion at Certitude’ webinars – Uniquely you. The webinar series will be available in a library of resources that will include personal insights and experiences with colleagues explaining what works for them and how we can all work to support each other.

We’re also working to increase the quality, reach, and impact that diversity events have at Certitude. This includes an International Women’s Day (IWD) event in March 2024, an all-Certitude Intercultural Diversity Day celebration in May 2024, a presence in the London Pride Parade in June 2024 and, more imminently, our Black History Month event which is happening next month.

I am so excited about our Black History Month celebration this year. With over 57% of our colleagues at Certitude identifying as ethnically diverse we have much to celebrate. It’s an evening event which we hope will give more people the opportunity to catch up with each other, to relax, be inspired and most importantly celebrate this important month. We’ve got a fantastic group of speakers which includes our keynote speaker, journalist Onyekachi Wambu, who has written widely on Africa and her global diaspora and edited the anthology Empire Windrush: Reflections on 75 Years & More of the Black British Experience. Colleagues can book their place via the links on Ournet.

Our impact

National Inclusion Week is all about taking action to make an impact. At Certitude, I have witnessed incredible experience, passion, and dedication to people living good lives – for the people we support as well as our colleagues and our wider teams. This isn’t just rhetoric. Our latest colleague satisfaction survey confirms that people are already feeling the impact of our actions. There is power in saying we are inclusive, but there is even more power behind people feeling able to bring their whole selves to work.