There are just a few more weeks until we celebrate the RAD Awards in January 2023. Next up we look at the shortlist for the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award, sponsored by myGwork.
STRONGER – The British Army & ThirtyThree
The British Army aims to reflect the diversity of the population and does so through recruitment, but for a minority of soldiers, old prejudices still need to be stamped out. Microaggressions such as mispronouncing a name or casual homophobia can make an organisation feel less inclusive. The Army wanted to create an internal D&I campaign that would speak to soldiers, contractors and civil servants, starting a conversation and changing attitudes.
The campaign aimed to show the real stories of soldiers who have faced discrimination at work. ThirtyThree wrote, scripted and produced four animated films showing discrimination against a soldier on account of sexuality, gender, race or their ‘newbie’ status. Each ended with a call to action: ‘What have you done today to strengthen your team?’ Diverse and regional voiceovers humanised the animations.
The videos were shown initially to 8,500 personnel and the feedback was so positive the Army decided to make them accessible to its entire 80,000 strong workforce. They generated a conversation around identity, unconscious behaviours and how teams could work together to combat them.
Capgemini Active Inclusion – Pink Squid
For Capgemini, fostering an inclusive culture is integral to building a diverse and thriving workforce and creating competitive advantage. The company’s internal networks create a safe space for employees with similar backgrounds and experiences. Capgemini wanted to support its networks by raising awareness of them internally, increasing their membership and allyship, and showcasing the impact they could make.
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Winners will be announced on 26 January at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Capgemini has six key networks focused on race equality, women, LGBTQI+, capability (disability and carers), veterans, and mental health. It spoke to members of each network to gain insight into their origin stories and how they support employees.
With its creative, it wanted to challenge people’s perceptions, open their minds and engage with internal audiences. One person from each network was selected to share a personal story in a letter, read by someone on camera outside of the network. Readers were interviewed to understand their reactions, after which the writer was revealed and both parties were encouraged to connect. Following this, the audience could join the conversation and hopefully the network.
The ‘Stories’ exercise has been one of the top 10 most viewed on Capgemini’s UK website, with a 280% increase in active dwell time. All of the company’s networks have enjoyed membership growth, in particular the mental health network ‘Talking Heads’ which gained 32% more members as a result.
Civil Service Fast Stream Influencer Campaign – tmp.worldwide
The Civil Service wanted to open up its Fast Stream programme to under-represented audiences, showing that CSFS is accessible to all graduates regardless of background, and to increase the representation of applicants from specific diversity groups and better reflect UK communities. To do this it would need to remove any perceived barriers through a more inclusive campaign message than it could achieve with traditional paid media.
CSFS pursued an influencer-led social media campaign complemented by targeted university outreach. The campaign featured real fast-streamers on the ‘You, Unlimited’ platform, showing that CSFS offers something for everyone and the wide scope of work candidates could be involved in. Working with third parties, it identified student influencer Vee Kativhu as a key influencer to spread the message to diverse audiences. Twelve nano-influencers were also engaged for their targeted followings.
Vee’s video attracted more than 18,000 views in less than 48 hours, and over four weeks the influencers had a combined reach of 351,304 and 2,436 engagements. The campaign attracted a diverse mix of candidates, with ethnicity up 1.8% from 2021; applicants from a lower socio-economic background up 1.4%; disability up 2.6% and LGBTQ+ up 2.2%.
Neuro-diverse Centre of Excellence – EY
Consulting firm EY launched its UK NeuroDiverse Centre of Excellence (NCoE) in January 2022, mirroring its hiring model in the US. Feedback from the hiring process showed that designing interview stages and testing for neurodivergent individuals is not enough. There were issues with job adverts and email communications; the process required a lengthy application; there was minimal transparency, and a static set of communications.
A new approach asked candidates to ‘choose their own adventure’, using advanced automation via a new CRM system. Applicants select their preferred method of communication (eg. video, audio) and each touch point is presented in this style. Automation allows EY to amplify the human element so the hiring team can spend more time with individuals in the process. In addition, there is a five-day ‘superweek’ where candidates learn about the company and EY can understand their skills.
EY discovered that its usual colour palette of black, grey and yellow was unsympathetic to neurodivergent candidates so created an infographic journey in a secondary palette for these applicants.
EY has reduced the onus on the candidate to request reasonable adjustments during the process. Offering a choice of communications styles also means EY can receive feedback in real time on what neurodivergent candidates prefer. Candidates have commented positively, such as “the colours are really helpful for me”, and the fact that “this process and being in the NCoE is a bit different and we celebrate diversity”.
MI5 Protect what matters to you most – Penna
To keep people, businesses and communities in the UK safe, MI5 relies on talent from all backgrounds. Traditionally, its Intelligence Officer Development Programme attracted male candidates from white backgrounds, although numbers of women had increased. MI5 wanted to attract more students and graduates from Black heritage backgrounds, and it needed a campaign that would change their perceptions of the organisation.
‘Protect what matters to you most’ was a three-phase strategy beginning with awareness. Penna created short stories based on real-life experiences of what mattered to the audience, distributing via posts on Meta, Google, Instagram, Bright Network, LinkedIn and Pinterest. The second phase was engagement, inviting candidates to vote in a range of social media polls; and the third was conversion, with dynamic ads pushing out application cut-off dates and events.
There was a 34% increase in applications from candidates in an ethnic minority, up from 26% in 2019. The campaign attracted 50,000 clicks on ads and over 1,600 registrations. Female applicants made up 48% of applications and disabled candidates 9%.
Veolia Inclusion Strategy – Pink Squid
Veolia is a leading resource management company providing water, waste and energy services. Almost nine in 10 (87%) of its workforce identifies as male, and the company wanted to change that through an ambitious inclusion strategy to attract people from all walks of life and backgrounds.
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It carried out more than 60 focus groups to consult with colleagues on what would help create more inclusive conversations. The inclusion strategy focused on five core priorities, each sponsored by a member of the executive committee: attraction and selection; awareness and upskilling; customers; development and communication. Inclusion Week communications helped to launch the strategy, with story videos showing a range of perspectives and experiences. A video series discussing ‘what not to say’ covered important topics around Black History Month and International Women’s Day.
Since the inclusion strategy launched, the demographics of Veolia’s workforce have changed. There has been an almost 8% increase in women at all grades, including a 20.5% increase in front-line female operatives. There was a 14.3% increase in ethnic minority (minus Black) colleagues at all grades, and a small decrease in Black colleagues. The number of female drivers has doubled and a 260% increase in colleagues openly identifying as LGBT+.
