AUDITING EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

Introduction

The Equality and Diversity team of our client, a large Government Agency, planned to carry out an audit to establish the extent to which equality and diversity had been built into the core business of their Head Office units. Astar Management Consultants was commissioned as a result of the work we had been undertaking for the Agency with their operational units and with their parent Department.

The critical areas of focus were:

• Understanding of equality and diversity in relation to the overall work
• Practical actions taken and planned to build equality and diversity into:
• Policy development
• Service delivery
• How accountability was determined and allocated
• How progress was measured, monitored and evaluated
• How information gathered was being used to improve performance

Process

Initially, we undertook detailed desktop research to establish what policies and procedures were in place within the Head Office. Further research was then carried out to determine whether staff felt that these policies were in line with equality and diversity obligations and values set out by the organisation.

We used qualitative research techniques including questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured one to one discussions to establish how far these policies were followed through and to look at how the implementation of these policies was monitored.

Additional research was carried out, with the Board to provide strategic context, with the Regional Directors to give an operational perspective and with the Trade Unions to provide an employee representative perspective.

Key Findings / Learning

• That there was universal acknowledgement from all parties that actively valuing and managing diversity is fundamental to the work of the Agency as an employer and as a service provider from both a business and a moral perspective and that diversity has the potential to deliver long-term business benefits.
• But that it was felt that at ground level that some of the senior managers only paid lip service to this important issue.
• That there was a strong will to effect change but severe work pressures were seen as a major barrier to delivering the equality and diversity agenda.
• That the reality within the Head Office units did not reflect intent or aspiration. There was work to be done on all areas of diversity but that ethnicity and work-life balance were generally viewed as the most critical areas for attention.
• That there were varying levels of understanding, ownership of the issues and practical application across the Head Office units. These resulted partly from a lack of training and partly from a lack of ownership and accountability with regard to the Head Office meaningfully delivering on its diversity commitments.
• That management responsibility was defined and prioritised by what an individual was held to account for and accountability was determined by explicit performance objectives. While specific equality and diversity objectives were in some cases in place at executive level these were not necessarily cascaded down the line.

Adding Value

We also made a number of recommendations for improvement including:

• Practical actions and behaviours at Board and senior management level – what behaviours help the organisation to achieve equality and which do not
• Management and Monitoring Information – how to collate it and make best use of it
• What the drivers and barriers are to successful equality practice
• How to support staff in relating equality and diversity to their day to day work
• Determining and allocating responsibility and accountability
• The differing perspectives found at regional and strategic levels

Follow Up

A total of eight recommendations were made from the findings of the research. As a result of them, the Agency has implemented a consistent rolling training programme around diversity, has begun to include explicit diversity objectives in job descriptions and appraisals and is working towards revising their monitoring information processes.