Our Workforce
Our Workforce
We are committed to equality and valuing diversity within our workforce. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments, reinforced by our values, are embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our employees.
We demonstrate our commitment by:
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Promoting equality of opportunity and diversity within our workforce
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Aiming to build a workforce which reflects our customer base, within the diverse communities in which we work, with the aim of having parity of representation across the workforce
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treating our employees fairly and with respect
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promoting an environment free from discrimination, bullying and harassment, and tackling behaviour which breaches this
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recognising and valuing the differences and individual contribution that people make
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providing support and encouragement to
staff to develop their careers and increase their contributions to the organisation through the enhancement of their skills and abilities -
building in legislative requirements and best practice to all our employee policies and procedures, and supporting these with appropriate training and guidance
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Recent equality and inclusion initiatives and successes include:
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In June 2020 the WMCA was re-awarded the Leaders in Diversity accreditation for our ongoing commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. The Leaders in Diversity accreditation is awarded by the National Centre for Diversity to organisations that are considered to be making a significant commitment to embed diversity and inclusion within their business. It takes into account all aspects of their work, commitment to inclusion, the way employees treat each other, and the fair provision of services.
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In 2021 we were also recognised as one of the Top 50 Inclusive Companies to work for in the U.K. WMCA were listed as 25th.
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In 2022 we were listed 12th on the National Centre for Diversity’s Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index, as part of their FREDIE Awards. The FREDIE Awards recognise the top 100 organisations taking part in Leaders in Diversity, who showcase their commitment to FREDIE: Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement. We also won Transport Organisation of the Year.
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In 2020 we were awarded the status of Disability Confident Leader which recognises the work we do to make sure we are an inclusive employer, particularly for our disabled employees.
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In 2021 we obtained the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award, following our work towards being an Armed Forces friendly employer which includes initiatives such as advertising our job vacancies on Career Transition Partnership and Forces Families Jobs as well as having a guaranteed interview scheme for Veterans, Reservists and Cadet Adult Volunteers who meet the minimum job role criteria.
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Positive action statements are included in our adverts and we encourage positive action in recruitment where there is under- representation. We have amended our advertising templates to strongly highlight our commitment to equality whilst also encouraging under-represented groups to apply for roles and we have also included statements to highlight our position on flexible working. We have also reviewed job titles and role profiles to identify biases in the way they are worded and to ensure they are inclusive.
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We use qualifications under the apprenticeship levy to encourage people to apply, which we anticipate will have a positive impact on a number of groups, including mothers who had taken a career break due to caring responsibilities and may need some encouragement and support to get back to work. Our ‘Building our Future Workforce’ Strategy is designed to provide underrepresented groups with a range of
skills and opportunities. Since the scheme was launched, the proportion of employees who are apprentices has increased to 6%, well above the target for the public sector and exceeding best practice benchmarks. All posts under a certain salary scale are advertised as apprenticeships and we target under- represented groups (care leavers, NEETs etc.) in our recruitment to work experience and entry level jobs/apprenticeships. -
A key element of our approach is to build a coaching and mentoring culture. All staff have access to an external regional coaching and mentoring pool managed by West Midlands employers. Coaching is also an integral element of our management fundamentals programme. We have also introduced internal mentoring and reverse mentoring schemes for women and minority ethnic staff. A number of mentoring relationships have been established (many of which are live) and the programme is regularly re-advertised. There are currently 50 mentees benefiting from the scheme.
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We launched a “leadership apprenticeship” programme for minority ethnic women employees which supports their development and leadership aspirations. From September 2021, 4 women are working on an MBA and work on high profile projects with senior leaders
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As part of our commitment to being an inclusive employer, we offer a guaranteed interview for Disabled applicants as well as Veterans, Reservists and Cadet Volunteers who meet the minimum job role criteria
Recent wellbeing initiatives include
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We actively promote the health and wellbeing of our people and have a well-established programme of health and wellbeing activities promoting physical and mental health and wellbeing.
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Examples of current wellbeing provisions and benefits include our Employee Assistance Programme, Occupational Health provision, enhanced annual leave, work-life balance policies, free health checks and free flu jabs and discounted gym memberships
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We an advocate of flexible working arrangements as demonstrated by the Flexible Working Hours Scheme which seeks, as far
as is practicable, to balance the needs of the individual with the needs of the organisation and wellbeing of the wider team. -
In 2020, we introduced our Wellbeing Strategy, which was shaped by the principles outlined
in the Thrive at Work framework as well as key themes identified by staff engagement. It has a number of key focus areas: mental wellness; musculoskeletal; staying connected; healthy lifestyles and work-life balance -
Mental Health Buddies are trained to offer initial and confidential mental health support and signposting to appropriate help.
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Webinars and bite-size learning sessions are delivered on a regular basis covering a range of topics, with a strong focus on personal resilience; work-life balance; mindfulness, adapting to change, sleep and other topics linked with positive mental wellbeing.
A number of resources were developed in 2021/22 to support all different elements of wellbeing, with a particular focus on mental health and wellbeing.
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Stress and Resilience Toolkit
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Musculoskeletal health
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Prevalent health conditions – cancer, diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease
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Stress and poor mental health guide for managers
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Bereavement guide for managers
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Wellbeing has been embedded within 1-2-1s, IPMs and management fundamentals. Sessions such as “what makes a resilient manager”, “giving and receiving feedback” and “valuing our differences” help facilitate positive and fruitful conversations with staff
Building Competencies
Ensuring that all employees are conversant with equalities is of utmost importance and equality training forms an integral part of training and development. The following have been developed and delivered:
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Equality Packs have been distributed to all staff members raising awareness of key equality issues. As part of the induction process, staff receive an Equality Pack which outlines our expectations and approaches to equalities.
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Mandatory e-learning training was delivered in 2020 and was completed by all employees raising equality awareness across the organization. All new starters are also required to complete the e-learning at induction level.
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Face to face customer facing disability and equality awareness training is delivered on a regular basis.
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Regular themed events are organized, raising awareness of the wider inclusion agenda as well as themes covering individual protected characteristics whilst also exploring the impact of intersectionality.
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Unconscious bias training now forms part of the Management Fundamentals training programme, which is mandatory for all managers. Moreover, unconscious bias and micro aggressions training has been offered to all staff.
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Our mandatory recruitment training has a strong equality focus to help ensure our processes are fair
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Mental health awareness training has been delivered to all managers and personal resilience training has been offered to all staff
Development
The last 3 years has seen significant change in how we deliver learning and development in the Combined Authority. We have informally reviewed our learning and development strategy to establish whether the fundamentals of this strategy support new ways of working.
We will continue to offer a ‘blended’ approach to learning and development to continue to facilitate embedding a ‘learning’ culture. We work closely with the EDI team to ensure that equality is fundamental to learning and development interventions. Equality data has also helped to inform and target development activity.
The following activities are supporting our strategies and changing culture:
Informal learning: We launched an internal mentoring scheme in 2020, supported by our senior leadership team. This scheme continues to grow and we encourage staff from underrepresented groups to be part of the pool. We use our internal inclusion networks to promote the pool and encourage involvement.
We have invested in training a cohort of managers as coaches to support our strategies and embed a coaching/learning culture.
Management development: Our Management Fundamentals programme continues to grow and is continually reviewed to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The programme includes learning to support leadership development, people management and corporate responsibility.
We have launched a management induction programme and leadership sessions as a result of further engagement with managers.
Apprenticeship strategies and frameworks: We are refining our strategies for early careers and the future workforce in line with workforce planning. Our approach takes account of apprenticeships, graduates, interns and work experience. We have invested in supporting formal leadership development programmes, informed by equality data. We have a cohort of minority ethnic women who are completing a master’s in management and leadership to contribute to a level playing field and to encourage more applicants from underrepresented groups to apply for leadership roles. This supports our leaders like you initiative.
We continue to meet national targets for apprentices and have 44 members of staff working towards apprenticeship standards – this includes upskilling existing members of staff and bringing new staff into the organisation
Performance and talent management: Our PM framework has been in place for over 12 months, and this has been supported by an online system to gather key information to support performance improvement. Our approach supports our strategies and includes some core mechanisms
to give feedback and share learning. We are an organisation that wants to manage talent fairly and consistently; our IPM framework is supported by a ‘tool bag’ to manage aspirations and succession planning.
Engagement activity: Learning and development interventions are informed by engagement activity. This is facilitated through regular round tables and forums. An organisational wide temperature check was managed to further inform and focus learning and development activity.
Procurement
Our procurement process involves the following:
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Asking contractors a range of equality related questions at the pre-qualification stage about their policies and practices, the answers of which will be taken into account in the selection process.
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Including equality criteria when contract compliance indicators are drafted.
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Ensuring that the contractor is aware that they are responsible for meeting the Equality Act duties in their employment and delivery of services.
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Using our Social Value Policy to embed a consistent and collaborative approach to social value.
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In 2020, WMCA developed and implemented a Modern Slavery Policy which outlines the responsibilities of the procurement team when it comes to considering modern slavery risks across the WMCA supply chain. The WMCA Electronic Tendering System was updated to build into our Pre-Qualification questionnaire a section on the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Key Social Value Policy priorities include:
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Growth, Skills and Employment: We will promote growth and development where
we operate and ensure that our communities (including marginalized groups) develop new skills and gain meaningful employment. We will also encourage employers in the region to invest into new jobs and skills for everyone. -
Promoting Local Businesses: We are committed to ensuring local businesses are not only provided with the skills to compete but are also offered the opportunity to work within our supply chain.
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Creating Healthier, Stronger Communities:
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We will promote the use of the voluntary and social enterprise sector within our supply chain and help build local knowledge and resilience.
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Protecting and Improving our Environment: We will work hard with local businesses and communities to ensure the places where people live are cleaner and greener and we will continue to promote sustainable procurement that protects the long-term future of our planet for our children.
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Social Innovation: We will promote innovation amongst our suppliers and look to show case best practice where it works.
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Planning and Development: We will support and enable Constituent and Non-Constituent Authorities where they require assistance in the consideration of social value within the early stages of project planning and development.