Embedding our D&I strategy and structure
Published: 14 May 2025Freedom of information class: About Registers of Scotland
We have continued to ensure that we have strong foundations to support us to mainstream D&I in RoS.
This includes ensuring we have the policy, strategy and resources we need to take this forward.
We have dedicated D&I resource
At the time of writing our 2023 mainstreaming report, we had a temporary post of D&I Lead. Having this resource since the start of 2022 helped us to set a clear direction and embed an effective structure for D&I. Given the importance of this agenda, we made this a permanent post in November 2023. This will ensure we can carry out our planned activity, provide consistent guidance and support to our colleagues and stay ahead of the changing D&I landscape.
We set a clear direction
We published our D&I Strategy in December 2023. As part of this, we identified four pillars to focus on in our efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in RoS:
- accountable leadership
- policy and infrastructure
- culture and community
- maximising potential
We outlined our evaluation strategy to ensure that we are measuring our impact against our initial purpose. We also developed maturity models to articulate how well we are embedding D&I in RoS and how our colleagues feel about D&I personally.
We established and embedded a robust D&I structure
We assigned roles to our various groups and networks, defining their contribution to the overall structure as leading, delivering, listening or supporting.
We refreshed and expanded our D&I Steering Group. Decisions are now made by senior leaders from all directorates across RoS and the group is chaired by our Director for People & Operational Services. This is key to us ensuring that we have accountable leadership.
I like the breadth of experience and the passion that people have for improvement across RoS.
D&I Steering Group Member
We also established a new D&I Delivery Group to take forward our action plan. This group reports on our progress against the plan and identifies any challenges that need to be addressed by the Steering Group and wider senior leadership groups in RoS. Both groups are attended by representatives of our Trade Union, PCS, who are great supporters of our work in D&I.
Results
- 26 colleagues are members of our D&I Delivery or Steering Groups, mostly leaders at SEO, C1, C2 and Director level.
- 85% of members of our D&I Delivery and D&I Steering Group find our meetings effective.
Our colleague-led networks focus on providing peer support through a range of channels:
| Carers | Weekly/monthly meetings and catch-ups, Teams channel, intranet page about the network and resources. |
| Neurodiversity | Teams channel for neurodivergent colleagues to share resources, advice and guidance as well as intranet page about the network. |
| Pride | Teams channel for LGBT+ colleagues to share resources, advice and guidance as well as intranet page about the network. |
| Younger colleagues | This is a new network to help younger colleagues connect with each other and plan days in the office where they can all sit together and build a community within RoS. |
We are working with the leads to evaluate each of these networks. So far, we have completed the evaluation of our Carers Network. This network is now acting to further promote the network and share responsibility for identifying agenda items across the group.
Case Study
Award-winning Carers Network
In 2024, we won the award for Best Employer for Carer Peer Support at the Carer Positive 10-Year Anniversary Awards.
The Co-Chairs of our Carers Network submitted the application, with support from our Diversity & Inclusion Lead. A key part of this was providing evidence from carers on how they benefit from peer support in RoS.
Becoming a carer while working full time has been a challenge. Thanks to our hybrid working policy, I could move closer to my Dad to better support him. A colleague recommended joining our Carers Network and I’ve benefitted from my colleagues’ empathy, support, and excellent advice. And as my understanding of caring has increased, I also value being able to support others in return.
Member of our Carers Network
Our network provides a range of support, from resources and a Teams channel to coffee chats and monthly meetings. Network members support one another personally and help us consider their needs in key developments, such as carers’ leave and the development of our employee passport.
We were delighted to award Registers of Scotland as the Best Employer for Peer Support at our Carer Positive 10th Anniversary Awards in November 2024.
We particularly liked the fact that right from the start, this Carers Network has been peer led, ‘created by carers for carers’, and similarly, the dedicated intranet page of resources was created by and is continually updated by carers. The Carers Network mailbox, Teams channel, weekly coffee chats and monthly meetings provide so many channels for carers throughout the organisation to engage with and benefit from support.
The network is also particularly pro-active within the organisation more widely – liaising on policy development, developing a guidance document for managers, and generally raising the profile of carers. They are an invaluable source of knowledge and support and a credit to Registers of Scotland.
Sue McLintock, Carer Positive
Our focus for 2025 to 2027
Our D&I Structure was re-defined over the last two years, with new groups added and a change in focus for others. We need to ensure that this structure is working as efficiently and effectively as possible.
As such, over the next two years, we will:
- evaluate our remaining three networks and support them to develop their own actions.
- continue to embed our D&I Structure and evaluate the effectiveness of our various groups, making improvements as required.
- further integrate our evaluation strategy within our work to take forward our D&I agenda.
By the end of March 2027, we will have fully integrated our D&I strategy and structure into our organisation. We will have had an opportunity to evaluate the changes we’ve made over the last two years and to make any adjustments required. Any further refinement of our strategy and structure will happen as part of our usual business practices.
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