We worked with RS Group to roll out DE&I solutions. Find out how they overcame their challenges and the impact the learning has had.
We have always been passionate about E,D&I at RS Group and especially about creating a culture where our people can bring their true selves to work and thrive. We needed a catalyst that would enable us to build this culture and after piloting IncludeMe we knew that with some tailoring this would be possible. Our main challenge was bringing awareness to what inclusion truly means at RS and then using that insight to encourage people to consciously think and act inclusively so that our aspirations regarding our culture could be achieved.
We wanted an experience that was emotive, visceral and enabled a global diverse workforce to start, maintain and continue the connections and conversations that need to be had regarding this very complex and challenging topic.
We worked with New Wave to tailor and extend the IncludeMe programme, making sure it aligned with the current inclusion journey. This meant that participants could start to commit to building an environment where all our colleagues can feel safe to be themselves. Something that is incredibly important to us.
The power of learning by sharing together with a diverse group across the business has been invaluable.
Many of the 30 cohorts that experienced the IncludeMe programme connected in such a deep and valuable way. The progressive nature of the programme meant that global relationships were built, creating opportunities for diverse teams to collaborate and develop their cultural intelligence. The content inspired curiosity, courage and commitment. The activity and conversations in the facilitated sessions helped participants to become cognisant of their bias. Meaning that there is greater conscious awareness of the behaviours that we expect to see within working groups at RS Group.
The main focus for us is to encourage our people at RS Group to keep the learning alive. Therefore we are creating an alumni cohort that will continue the messaging and conversations regarding the IncludeMe experience to a larger audience. We are also in the process of setting up further roll-outs of this incredibly valuable developmental experience to the wider business, so that our purpose of creating a culture where people can bring their true selves to work and thrive, can be made a reality.
We have been working with and will continue to work alongside New Wave to create and deliver a variety of D,E&I initiatives. We are also taking advantage of their off the shelf programmes that focus on leadership and communication skills.
Here are our favourite statistics from our recent cohorts:
Find out more about our DE&I programmes, here.