Rochdale

At Action Together, we recognise that our strength comes from our diversity, so we are constantly working to be as inclusive as possible. Here are just some of the things we have done over the past couple of years:

1. EmbRACE Diversity Group – our EmbRACE Diversity Group was created as the ‘Anti-racism Working Group’ to understand how racism might manifest at Action Together and to support our work towards becoming an anti-racist organisation. That is still its core purpose today, but we now also work towards improvements in all areas of equity and inclusion. Members meet every two months to assess progress and plan actions.
2. Celebrating religious diversity through events – faith is an important part of many of our employees’ and members’ lives, and also a great way for people to connect through shared customs and traditions. We organise events throughout the calendar year to celebrate religious observances, creating opportunities for our teams to get together and connect with one another. So far this year we have held a staff iftar during Ramadan, and we are planning events for both Diwali and Christmas.
3. Hybrid and flexible working – the traditional office environment and 9-5 shift pattern can make some people feel excluded from the workplace, and we know that if we worked this way we would miss out on the valuable talent and creativity of some of our employees. We offer our staff members flexibility with their working hours and the opportunity to choose their work location where possible.
4. Training – we all want to ‘get it right’ when it comes to inclusive practices, and we know that appropriate training supports our employees and our members with this. We have worked with some fantastic member organisations to provide anti-racism and neurodiversity training for our staff, with more inclusion-focused training to come.
5. Recruitment and induction – we have improved our recruitment processes, following best practice guidance from lived experience experts, and we’re currently doing the same with our induction processes. All candidates who interview with us now have the opportunity to give feedback on their experience to ensure that we are able to keep improving.
6. Flexible bank holidays – most bank holiday dates in the UK are based on Christian holidays, so will not hold special significance for many people. Our staff members have their bank holiday allowance added to their annual leave pot, so they can choose to take those days when works best for them.
7. Pronouns in email signatures – we recognise that gender is complex, and you cannot tell a person’s gender or preferred pronouns by just their name or the way they look. By including our pronouns in our email signatures, we are normalising sharing pronouns with the intention of creating a more inclusive environment for trans, non-binary and other gender non-conforming people.
8. Clear reporting procedures – we have developed guidance for our staff on how to report any discrimination they may experience or witness while at work, or any changes they feel we could make to our ways of working to be more inclusive. Alongside these reporting procedures, we have also written ‘how to’ guides to support staff with managing difficult situations such as challenging discrimination, responding appropriately when challenged, and supporting an individual when they make a disclosure.