How do policies create effective EDI practice? Building robust measures for change

Recently, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has been the focus of many global debates. Whilst EDI initiatives across the world are being interrogated more than ever, we’ve been reflecting on the importance of EDI to create positive change. There are 4 key aspects to robust EDI practices we’ll be exploring: 

1. Inclusive and accessible policies, 

2. Development and training, 

3. EDI strategies to guide this development, 

4. Involvement of staff and service users. 

   
   

This blog focuses on inclusive and accessible policies. Check out our blog page for the other posts in the series coming soon. 

Inclusive and Accessible Policies 

Policies are often where EDI fails or thrives in an organisation – they are the bones that hold everything up. Whilst having dedicated policies that focus on EDI are important, that shouldn’t be where you stop. Some questions to consider: 

Are your policies easy to find and use? 

If you asked a colleague to find your Dignity At Work policy, would this be easy for them to do? Policies that sit behind a maze of folders are likely to go unused and unknown to your teams. Circulating direct links to different policies over emails can help ensure all staff have easy access to these documents.

Additionally, when your team access policies how easy are they to read/digest? Being greeted with walls of text can present barriers for proper engagement. Adding in process diagrams or visuals can help digest the information.

Do you see all your policies as EDI policies? 

All policies are EDI policies as they aim to make your organisation’s processes and practices accessible and clear to everyone. As a result, do your policies consider how they would be used/practiced by different members of your teams? 

Completing an Equality Impact Assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your policies can flag what is working well and what can be built on. This also allows you to focus on the intersectionality of your policies which is key to creating a truly inclusive workplace. 

Do the people they aim to support make use of them? 

A policy’s success/impact can only be accurately measured by whether they support and benefit all members of your team as intended.  

If you have an outstanding Training and Development Policy but only a handful of staff know about it, then it is the same as having no policy. You can test your policies by asking for team-wide feedback during review periods and raising awareness of them through team meetings/1-to-1s to ensure they have the desired impact for your organisation. 

Effective dissemination and use of policies are key parts of having a psychologically safe culture as we cover in our Active Bystander training. Ensuring that your teams feel included and able to learn, contribute and challenge safely is a product of effective policies. 

So, where do I start? 

It can be easy to get overwhelmed thinking about how much more we could all be doing to enhance our EDI practice. However, EDI is a journey that every organisation should have an ongoing commitment to.  

This is because EDI aims to recognise and support employees, service users and supporters for their humanity and the diversity of needs and ambitions that come with that. We find it exciting that there is part of every business that teams can continue to grow and build together. 

Our Active Bystander and Inclusive and Compassionate Leader training can support you as you start this journey. 

This blog is one of four posts in a series about building effective EDI practice. Check out our blog page for the next post in the series where we will explore the role of training.