Creating an inclusive culture

Creating an inclusive culture through awareness and education

Education on and awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) remains a priority, particularly through partnering with our leadership who are fundamental in driving inclusion. Sessions enable a safe space for people to share experiences, listen, learn and explore perceived sensitive topics, leading to an increased sense of belonging.

September saw the company-wide celebration of Global Inclusion Week (GIW), a pivotal event in the DEI calendar allowing us to not only celebrate inclusion but also shine a light on specific DEI topics. This year we spotlighted social mobility, field force inclusion, LGBTQ+ and mental health.
 

Led by the DEI team, and in collaboration with employee resource groups (ERGs), the line-up this year was bigger and better than before with significant external and internal panels, intimate ERG led conversations and even bespoke career development sessions – 13 sessions ran across full five days. We were so proud that our three flagship events each reached 1000+ attendees, the most popular being the ‘day in the life’ Field and Operations Panel. Overall, this year we had 6600 event sign ups, increasing from 2162 since last year and only 693 in 2020 – a 205% increase year on year.

Engagement via Viva Engage (our internal social media platform) reached 24,628 views on GIW videos and posts, and most of the sessions received at least 4.8/5 rated feedback. We used this year’s theme to encourage people to ‘take action make impact’ by setting a personal DEI objective, joining an ERG and voluntarily making sure their demographic data was updated in our systems. The positive impact of GIW on our workforce was seen beyond survey feedback; within three months we recorded a 12% increase in DEI performance objectives set and a 13% increase in new ERG membership.

Our global DEI curriculum for people managers proactively invites all people managers to participate in monthly DEI educational opportunities. Topics include:

• Understanding DEI at National Grid
• Reasonable accommodations and equity for disability inclusion
• How to have difficult conversations around DEI at work
• Speaking inclusively and authentically for LGBTQ+ equity
• Leading inclusive conversations around race and racial equity
• Advancing gender equity to the next level

So far in 2024, we are proud to have delivered over 834 hours of DEI learning across the organisation. We prioritised learning and training across 7 different topics, training 556 attendees.

Local educational sessions led by the DEI team in partnership with business DEI networks also have a huge impact and are tailored depending on the need. The appetite has increased significantly this year as the pull for DEI continues to grow, with approximately 206 hours of face-to-face facilitation time delivered.

Developing, progressing and removing barriers for those from underrepresented groups is crucial. We do this in many ways, such as through listening circles, reverse and mutual mentoring programs, leadership summits tailored to the experience of underrepresented identities and their allies, and sponsorship and partnerships with external organisations such as Taking the Leap, Powerful Women and The Partnership.

Our people are at the heart of our company – ensuring they feel represented makes our company stronger. An inclusive culture is one where every colleague has their voice, concerns and needs heard.

As such, in March 2024 we launched a refreshed and focused self-identification campaign globally to 31,416 colleagues. The aim of the campaign is to strengthen our knowledge of our workforce where colleagues can anonymously share demographic information, so that it can be used to best determine process towards our commitment to representing the communities we serve and the effectiveness of our inclusion and people-focused activities. Our work on the self-identification campaign will continue into 2025, with a focus on sustaining and further elevating inclusion and belonging felt by all colleagues. Throughout the next year, in part to the strategic advisement of our self-identification ERG Task Force and our Global DEI Office, we will also elevate activities to intentionally further inclusion along intersectional identities, including LGBTQ+, disability, social mobility and veteran inclusion.

In August 2023 we launched our very first Mutual Mentoring initiative. Mutual mentoring differs from traditional mentoring in that both participants are mentors –  the relationship is non-hierarchical and there’s a curriculum-based approach involving explicit learning objectives to guide the conversation. While mutual mentoring is beneficial to many dimensions of DEI, the pilot paired 15 members of our Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) with women of colour/ethnic minority, creating partnerships to help navigate career challenges and strengthen leadership skills.

The model of mutual mentoring was well received – participants shared that the pairings were compatible, the sessions were effective towards achieving their learning needs, but that they wanted more time together. Throughout the pilot, we surveyed participants and 88% of respondents felt ‘very safe’ when asked ‘how safe do you feel in conversation with your partner’.