Diversity and Inclusion strategy 2023-28

Billy Harkness

Director of People and Change

At RoS we are striving to create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and respected because of their difference – a place where every colleague can be themselves so they can reach their potential and help us achieve our vision and strategic goals. We want to be innovative and productive so we can deliver the best products and services to our customers, and we need diversity to help us achieve this. The more we collaborate and value difference the closer we get to living in a truly inclusive community.

This diversity and inclusion strategy provides us with a road map to create an inclusive workplace. To deliver those commitments requires us to be a place that can attract, retain, and invest in talent wherever it is found. It is for this reason that we want RoS to have a truly diverse workforce with a culture of openness and inclusivity, as a means of delivering better outcomes to the customers we serve. We must all take responsibility for advancing diversity and inclusion. My ask of all colleagues in RoS is that they get involved and that we all work together to create a great place to work where we all feel we belong.

Pauline Stratford

Diversity and Inclusion Lead

Since joining RoS at the start of the year, I have been inspired by the desire across the organisation to get things right for colleagues and customers with lived experience of inequality. This was particularly clear when refreshing our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. We wanted to reflect this in our foreword, making it a collaboration of different perspectives. I am confident with the commitment of our colleagues, that this strategy will support us to keep advancing diversity and inclusion at RoS.

PCS

Trade Union

Trade Unions have led the way with bringing equality into workplaces. PCS firmly believe every worker has the right to achieve their full potential – no matter what their gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or background is. We are proud of the work we have done in this area, improving workplaces across the Civil Service.

This policy is another welcome step in a long journey, and we are determined to continue to work towards a workplace and a society where diversity is valued, and we remove all barriers to inclusion as quickly and widely as we are able.

Wesley Liddle

Customer Services Manager

It is important to us that all our customers can access our services and receive the same high level of support when they do. A key part of this is also to ensure that our diverse colleagues have the right support to enable them to provide the best service they can. Understanding the needs of our colleagues and how to support them, helps us to better support our customers as well.

This strategy will build awareness across everyone working at RoS and put diversity and inclusion at the forefront of everyone’s minds when delivering our services. To improve, we must have the right conversations and this strategy will make colleagues more comfortable doing just that. As customer-facing teams, we commit to holding regular, open discussions to learn from our experiences of supporting diverse customers and continually improve what we do.

Ruth McArthur

Learning and Development Adviser and Member of our Neurodiversity Network

As someone with late diagnosed autism I’ve often experienced inequality without realising it. I thought that everyone else experienced things the same way. Educating myself about neurodiversity as well as other equality factors, I have become a lot more understanding, caring and open to other perspectives. It is important to me that every individual in our communities is welcomed and valued for their uniqueness, lived experience, and for what they bring to the table.

RoS, as our workplace, is a big part of our lives and we all spend a lot of time here so I can’t think of a better place to start. Growth or improvement in anything starts with awareness and to gain awareness you need education – you don’t know what you don’t know. This strategy will help us all to be more aware and to better understand diversity and inclusion.

The maturity models in this strategy will be key for progression by helping us to identify where we are in real terms and what we need to do to get better. By measuring our progress and impact, we send the message that this is important and that in turn raises awareness and creates a demand for education and a desire to improve.

I believe our networks can support this strategy by sharing our stories and experiences and learning from each other. We can measure our own journeys to becoming an advocate for ourselves and others. Together, we can create an inclusive community in RoS where colleagues feel they belong.