Earlier this week, the BBC stated that it will take immediate action to improve workplace culture following the publication of a much-anticipated, headline-grabbing review titled “Respect at Work 2025”.
The review began in October 2024 and comes more than a decade after the BBC’s 2013 Respect at Work Review, led by barrister Dinah Rose KC, in the wake of the Jimmy Savile allegations.
This latest review was commissioned following inappropriate behaviour by high-profile individuals including ex-news anchor Huw Edwards who pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, and complaints about Jermaine Jenas’ conduct in the workplace.
What does the BBC’s Workplace Culture review mean?
The review’s aim was to:
- Examine the BBC’s approach to embedding its values and code of conduct.
- Strengthen accountability for misconduct.
- Improve confidence in speaking up and leadership response.
- Enhance clarity around complaints processes and information sharing.
The fact this report was commissioned and published is positive. The BBC is being proactive, they recognise that their culture – specifically how people feel they’re being treated – is a critically important driver for performance, creativity, and productivity.
The report recognises that things are better since the review in 2013 and specifically states the BBC “does not have a toxic culture”, but that there are inconsistencies between different teams and in terms of consequences for poor behaviour.
Despite what you may read in some articles, this does not mean this is just about “a few bad apples”. This is about how everyone at the BBC behaves every day.
The BBC needs to make sure everyone sees calling it out as being part of their everyday job, their role in making the BBC a place where everyone can thrive.
How can the BBC ensure their response will be a success?
All scandals start small, with inappropriate behaviour that is noticed by others but ignored. Two decisions are made here: the decision by an employee to do the inappropriate thing in the first place, and the subsequent decision by a witness or person in power to do nothing about the poor behaviour. This inaction is often by the person who walks on by but sometimes by the person to whom it is reported.
The BBC needs to focus on both issues. They need to embed their values through training and setting an appropriate tone from the top, so individuals are less likely to behave inappropriately.
They also need to ensure that everyone who works at and for the BBC genuinely believes that the organisation and their peers want them to say something when they feel there’s a problem and that it will be appropriately dealt with.
How to encourage a ‘call it out’ culture
It’s fear that holds people back from speaking up, and the bigger the scandal the more fear there is. By creating a culture where people call out low-level poor behaviour, there is a lower risk of issues escalating to a big scandal.
Sorting things out before they become a bigger problem means having an emotionally intelligent conversation. This requires upskilling everyone – managers, employees and freelancers – with the skills to have those difficult but necessary conversations.
Reframing the language is also really important. The words ‘speak up’ have taken on a negative tone in the same way a ‘whistleblower’ is never celebrated. The report uses the words “Call it out”. The BBC needs to make sure everyone sees calling it out as being part of their everyday job, their role in making the BBC a place where everyone can thrive.
Ensuring widespread buy-in will be crucial. We often think about the person speaking up in these stories – but real cultural change happens when other colleagues feel confident to intervene or support.
Leaders are critical here; it should feel positive and normal to raise concerns. But that will only happen if leaders role model it, welcome it and act on it – whether in relation to employees, talent or management.
Pushing back against power abuse
The BBC must also ensure action is taken against its most powerful people, as harassment is always about power. Leaders must respond well to feedback and take action. Trust is built through consistent, visible actions and the tone is set from the top.
It’s about improving their processes too – about teams reacting quicker and more effectively so people feel that speaking up will have a positive difference.
But every team in every organisation we work with gets criticised for delays. This is where using external resource, particularly for the higher profile issues, can help. Expecting poorly resourced teams to investigate and challenge the powerhouses of an organisation is never going to work.
The success of the BBC’s newly proposed “Respond Team” will depend on both the level of resource and how effectively it works with many of the established teams at the BBC from which it is to be staffed.
Rewarding good behaviours is key
Finally, successful implementation will depend on the behaviours the BBC decides to reward. The BBC is a service; reward is given in recognition of service. The BBC needs to be clear about what behaviour it is going to reward.
