The British Chamber of Commerce’s Workplace Equity Commission

The British Chamber of Commerce’s Workplace Equity Commission have produced their report titled “Boosting Opportunity and Realising Potential”, which includes a five point plan on how the government and employers can work to address the challenges that SMEs face when looking to improve access and opportunity within their business.

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) research has revealed that less than half of SMEs have introduced any specific policies or programmes for under-represented groups in the workplace. They are held back by a lack of information, resources and the complexity of legislation. There is also a fear of financial and reputational risk and of doing or saying something wrong, which is “leading to paralysis”.

The BCC are asking the government to provide a framework that incentivises and gives confidence to firms to move forward at pace and help employers tackle these challenges head on.

The BCC have set out a five-point plan on how the government and employers can take action. The plan can be found here, with some of the BCCs recommendations for employers being  as follows:

• Build workplace equity into business strategy and put in place a plan to diversify at the decision-making level.

• Monitor diversity statistics in their leadership team and report this internally, putting in place action plans to address any gaps.

• Take low cost, deliberate steps to create a workplace culture where everyone can achieve their full potential.

• Make it clear that equity isn’t just a HR issue, but a responsibility for all leaders and employees from the moment they become an employee and throughout their career.

• Ensure the business has trained and diverse managers.

• Routinely gather data on the workforce and benchmark to assess the impact of interventions and working practices.

• Enable managers to identify and address any issues.

• Ensure recruitment strategies are modernised and that they do not deter talented individuals from applying for the job vacancy.

• Proactively seek out diverse talent.

• Make a statement by publicly demonstrating a commitment to workplace equity.

• Provide a flexible workplace to help employees balance work and learning with health, caring responsibilities.

• Understand the drivers of employee turnover, including employee benefits, development opportunities and progression.

• Engage with schools and education providers to raise young people’s awareness of, and aspiration for, work within a specific sector. Provide structured work experience and extended industry placements.

The economic benefits of having a diverse workforce are clear. Companies leading their geography and industry for EDI perform better than their market average across a number of metrics. “Not only are they more able to engage and retain staff, but evidence shows they are 36% more likely to outperform on profitability and able to achieve a 20% higher rate of innovation.” (Diversity Wins by McKinsey and Company).

Forbes Solicitors provides tailored training on a variety of topics, available both in-person and remotely. In addition, we can draft new policies or review existing ones to ensure they meet current standards. We also offer an HR health check to identify potential areas for improvement in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within SMEs and larger organizations. Contact us today to learn more.