This article is part of an HRZone series recognising National Inclusion Week 2024: #ImpactMatters.

For too long, workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have fallen short of delivering genuine positive change. From siloed approaches to surface-level campaigns and poor investment, many organisational DEI strategies are lacklustre and ineffective. But not all.

For National Inclusion Week 2024 (23-29 September), we shine a spotlight on four organisations that are delivering real diversity and inclusion impact in the workplace. These companies have been recently shortlisted for the 2024 Culture Pioneer Awards, a programme that celebrates the heroes of workplace culture change, powered by HRZone.

What’s clear from the success shared by these four organisations is that there is no cookie-cutter approach to DEI. Each has had to examine its unique context and address specific DEI issues impacting its workforce – from race equity to bereavement struggles to disability confidence.

While strategic focus areas differ across these companies, these Inclusion Pioneers are united in their dedication to creating space for different voices across organisational communities to shape the way forward. Could this be the key to delivering real impact?

Cadent Gas

Bereavement has affected an estimated 1 in 8 people within the UK since the pandemic, and Cadent Gas saw a need to support those experiencing this trauma across their workforce. 

The Grief Awareness Community Group was launched in 2022, spearheaded by Claire Valentine, a hydrogen programme specialist who at the time was going through her own bereavement experience. The community’s overarching goal is to help people share their experiences of trauma and nurture a culture of belonging. With board-level backing, it has already made a significant impact in a short space of time.

Working closely with the National Bereavement Service, it offers education and advice on grief to affected colleagues. It also hosts a regular podcast to encourage others to speak up about their trauma, plus a regular drop-in session for colleagues to talk about their loss. 

The community ensures conversations around grief expand into overlooked areas, such as stillbirth and loss of a partner due to domestic violence.

Now with 8 committee members and 137 community members, Cadent Gas’ Grief Awareness Community is a fundamental pillar of its wider diversity and inclusion strategy. 

Since the community’s launch, members have influenced the HR department to create a new policy for bereavement which is clear and inclusive, plus the business has increased the number of free bereavement counselling sessions from three to eight.

Ingeus

With a remote workforce dispersed across 80 different countries, Ingeus understands that creating an inclusive workforce is essential to its success. The company’s People and Culture Director, Juliet Mortiss, is a passionate diversity advocate and ensures it’s at the top of the people agenda.

A central component is Ingeus’ health and wellbeing strategy, which was co-created with the company’s diversity and inclusion group. This group is made up of 35 champions representing different employee resource groups – from LGBTQIA+ to ex-service veterans to parents. 

New policies and practices are sense-checked and tested among these communities to ensure they are truly inclusive.

With 13% of colleagues declaring a disability, Ingeus also has an expert-led disability advisory group, which offers practical guidance on how to enable colleagues with a disability to truly thrive. These DEI efforts expand into the community too. As a Disability Confident Leader, the company has helped 75 other organisations become Disability Confident. The company also created a new DEI Index, a tool to help UK businesses improve inclusivity in their workforces. 

Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) preserves objects that showcase the historical context of social history, including the impact of colonial history. In 2021, following the Black Lives Matter movement, the V&A formed an Anti-Racism Taskforce and developed a 3-year DEI strategy to address institutional challenges and drive an inclusive cultural work environment.

To address priority DEI challenges, the V&A developed a DEI governance structure that brings together 12 people from across the business to ensure the most critical issues are being tackled. The museum’s robust DEI workforce data monitoring dashboards support the governing team’s ongoing decision-making and assessment of impact. Through actions such as creating a forum for staff diversity networks and delivering inclusive recruitment training, the V&A is not only attracting fresh diverse talent but retaining it.

Since this activity, the V&A has improved employee engagement levels and increased recruitment of those self-identifying as from a minority ethnic background, better reflecting the museum audience.

Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure strives to create a culture of DEI where everyone can thrive and be their authentic selves. Commitment starts at the top with the president and CEO chairing the Global Inclusion & Diversity Council (GIDC), which comprises cross-functional leaders striving to promote equity and foster an inclusive environment.

Initiatives such as Women in Travel were launched to inspire and develop women through bespoke growth opportunities. The company also launched a global movement called “IAmRemarkable” to empower everyone to celebrate their achievements. All while challenging the social perception around self-promotion.

That’s not all. Spanning 18 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, and South Africa, the organisation’s Pride diversity resource group takes a conscious leadership approach, creating an inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ associates and allies. 

Engagement levels have increased following this activity, with the vast majority of employees agreeing that ‘My manager is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive workplace.’ (4.46 out of 5).

#ImpactMatters

There is no simple copy-and-paste approach to workplace DEI. But there are commonalities across these organisations that helped contribute to their success.

From the get-go, each created a clear objective for their diversity and inclusion activities, secured senior backing and investment, and outlined where they aspired to deliver impact. Of equal importance, they allowed space for diverse voices across their internal communities to shape the strategy and drive change.

We hope these inclusion success stories inspire your organisation’s future DEI initiatives in some way. We’ll be announcing the winner from this shortlist on 13th November at our Culture Pioneers Leadership Forum, featuring Disrupt London.

Is your organisation doing great things in this space? Why not enter our 2025 Culture Pioneer Awards programme? Subscribe here to be informed when next year’s award entry period opens!