Contents
- Workstream 1: Improve colleagues’ experience with obtaining Reasonable Adjustments
- Workstream 2a: Improve accessibility (ways of working and awareness)
- Workstream 2b: Improve accessibility (digital processes)
- Workstream 3: Reduce the likelihood of bullying and harassment
- Workstream 4: Develop our disabled colleagues and empower their career ambitions
- Workstream 5: Improve line managers’ support and understanding
- Workstream 6: Improve colleagues’ experience with HR policies
- Workstream 7: Ensure our recruitment process is fair, open and transparent
- Workstream 8: Attract and encourage disabled colleagues / talent to apply for roles at CQC
- Workstream 9: Improve self-reporting figure in ESR
Workstream 1: Improve colleagues’ experience with obtaining Reasonable Adjustments
HR and the WDES project group are updating our Reasonable Adjustment (RA) Policy. The group will look at the reasonable adjustments process and how we track reasonable adjustments.
OD and DEN will promote examples of good practice at events. They will share examples of successful reasonable adjustments.
We will bring in a way for colleagues to feedback on the RA process.
HR and DEN will keep making sure that new starters receive specialist equipment. This will be in place for immediate use.
We will look at how we can improve the Access to Work scheme. HR and DEN will work on this. We will see how we can support colleagues who rely on the scheme. We will look to improve efficiency and reduce delays. DEN will form an Access to Work sub-group.
WDES Metric: 8
Timescale
Q1 2022
Finalise and publish RA policy.
Form new Access to Work sub-group.
Q2 2022
Promote the new policy.
Leads
- DEN
- DEN sub-group
- HR Advice and Guidance
- Health and Safety
- OD
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to ensure all colleagues have the right support to enable them to carry out their role. This also links to our work around wellbeing and having ‘a good day at work’. When individuals and teams feel valued, they are more productive and innovative. Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Culture and Inclusive Engagement.
Workstream 2a: Improve accessibility (ways of working and awareness)
A project will raise awareness of accessibility barriers in the workplace. This project will aim to reduce the barriers that disabled colleagues may face.
WDES Metrics: 1, 7, 8, 9
Timescale
Q1 2022
Form working group.
Leads:
- DEN
- DEN sub-group
- OD
- Engagement
- Digital
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to ensure all colleagues have the right support to enable them to carry out their role. This also links to our work around wellbeing and having ‘a good day at work’. When individuals and teams feel valued, they are more productive and innovative. Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Culture and Inclusive Engagement.
Workstream 2b: Improve accessibility (digital processes)
Review the range of assistive technology (AT) we have. We will also review the IT equipment we have for reasonable adjustments. We will change where necessary, to make sure there is appropriate provision and personalisation.
Review our core business systems. We will change processes to make sure systems for colleagues are accessible.
Review our service process in technology. We will be proactive to identify and support colleagues who need help.
Bring in dedicated resource in the Technology team. They will lead on accessibility and AT.
Complete AT testing of our recruitment website. We will test the range of products we have. We will remedy where there is not suitable coverage.
Complete an accessibility review of the Cornerstone platform. This will cover Performance, and Development and Performance. We will produce a plan for improvement.
Work with Procurement and current partners to align our accessibility standards. We will look at Recruitment and Learning and Development.
WDES Metrics: 5, 7, 8, 9
Timescale
Q1 2022
Obtain a list of the Assistive Technology (AT) and Reasonable Adjustment products used at CQC.
Obtain a list of products and reasonable adjustments provided.
Review the guidance on accessibility and AT testing. We provide this to project, programme and business as usual (BAU) change teams. Identify updates needed.
Review the guidance on accessibility and AT testing. We provide this to project, programme and business as usual (BAU) change teams. Identify updates needed.
Review how the Littlefish Service Desk identifies those that need enhanced support.
Get approval for AT Lead in Technology.
Q2 2022
Update guidance on accessibility and AT testing. We provide this to project, programme and BAU change teams. We will complete a gap analysis exercise.
Littlefish will make changes to their service systems. This help to identify users who need specific support.
Appoint Assistive Technology Lead. Set their direction and aims.
Leads:
- DEN
- DEN sub-group
- OD
- Engagement
- Digital
- HR Advice and Guidance
- Internal Engagement
- Academy
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to ensure all colleagues have the right support to enable them to carry out their role. This also links to our work around wellbeing and having ‘a good day at work’. When individuals and teams feel valued, they are more productive and innovative. Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Culture and Inclusive Engagement.
Workstream 3: Reduce the likelihood of bullying and harassment
We will launch a zero-tolerance campaign on bullying and harassment. OD will work on this with the Equality Networks. The aim is for colleagues to feel they can report bullying and harassment.
New training will be mandatory from April 2022. This is the Anti-bias and fairness e-learning. The programme was created with the DEN Chair. It includes his own story of experiencing bias as he grew up, due to being deaf. Once users complete the module they are directed to the D&I Success Profiles in My Performance. Users will choose as one of their behaviours to exemplify and take forwards. The aim is for colleagues to think about their biases towards disabled colleagues.
Highlight the lived experiences of disabled colleagues. We will include as part of our Conference, Disability History Month and Let's Talk.
Create e-learning to improve awareness of bullying and harassment that disabled colleagues may face. Academy will develop with OD and DEN to adapt to CQC.
Identify trends and patterns of bullying and harassment of disabled colleagues. OD will work with DEN Chairs to look at in our teams and directorates.
Strengthen links between DEN and Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Guardians and Ambassadors. This will improve awareness of how to raise bullying and harassment. This will help DEN members and disabled colleagues to know what support exists. We will run a joint network event for Stand Up to Bullying Day in February. A FTSU Ambassador will chair the event, with Network Chairs on the panel.
We will look for more data on bullying and harassment in the People Survey results. This includes the type and origin reported.
WDES Metrics: 4, 6, 7, 9
Timescale
Q1 2022
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) Week in May.
Sign off e-learning launch. This involves the whistleblowing policy, peer support network and the role of FTSU.
Communicate mandatory e-learning to all colleagues.
Q2 2022
Disability Pride Month in July.
Create new bullying and harassment e-learning products.
Q4 2022
Disability History Month in Nov/Dec.
Connect and Share Conference in Nov/Dec.
Leads:
- FTSU Guardian
- DEN
- DEN sub-groups
- D&I Lead
- OD
- Academy
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to create an environment where people can be themselves at work and feel safe. We must reduce any disparity and address issues. We will offer senior leaders the opportunity to mentor disabled colleagues. There will also be the opportunity for disabled colleagues to shadow senior leaders. This will help disabled colleagues to progress in the organisation. It will also help senior leaders understand the bullying and harassment disabled colleagues may experience. This will help to address and reduce. Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Leadership, Engagement and Inclusive Culture.
Workstream 4: Develop our disabled colleagues and empower their career ambitions
The Reverse Mentoring Programme runs again in 2022. Academy and OD run the programme. It will include disabled colleagues and colleagues from ethnic minority groups. There will be a greater focus on intersectionality. Senior leaders will have the opportunity to mentor disabled colleagues. Disabled colleagues will have the opportunity to shadow senior leaders. This will help disabled colleagues progress within the organisation. OD and DEN will promote mentoring alongside the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). We will promote the importance of mentoring a diverse group, including disabled colleagues.
Talent will share upcoming programmes with DEN. These are the Shaping Our Future Leaders and Apprenticeship programmes.
We will find if there is a gap in candidates registering their interest and applications for apprenticeships. Talent will review.
WDES Metrics: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
Timescale
Q1 2022
Increase representation of disabled colleagues (and colleagues from ethnic minority groups) at higher grades. Done through the Inclusive Leadership Pathway (ILP) identifying learning objectives and solutions.
ILP present findings to People Committee - actioned December 2021.
ILP procurement process commenced - April 2022.
ILP Academy colleagues assigned to support learning design and solution.
ILP monthly meetings set up for collaboration with WDES / RES (Race Equality Standard) and key stakeholders.
ILP Eligibility criteria.
Reverse Mentoring Programme (RMP). Establish learning objectives and programme outcomes.
RMP Paper to People Committee June 2022 with programme proposals.
Academy’s mentoring programme. Academy to have conversations to ensure mentors who are disabled/from DEN.
Q2 2022
ILP established dates for launch, workshops, action learning sets, internal Q&A session with CEO and lived experience leaders.
ILP Appointment of external provider for workshops.
ILP Communications launched July 2022.
Q3 2022
Begin Reverse Mentoring Programme
Leads:
- Academy
- DEN
- DEN sub-group
- D&I Lead
- HR Data Analyst
- Recruitment
- Talent
- SLT
- Trade Unions
- Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
For CQC to achieve its strategic ambition, it is important that our colleagues are representative of the communities we serve. We will use the insights we gain to inform our actions in improving targets for other protected characteristics. This will allow the opportunity for senior leaders to mentor disabled colleagues, give opportunity for disabled colleagues to shadow senior leaders and help disabled colleagues to progress in the organisation. This will allow senior leaders to understand any bullying and harassment disabled colleagues may experience in the workplace, helping to address and reduce it throughout CQC. This fits into our Strategic Ambition: Inclusive Leadership & Engagement.
Workstream 5: Improve line managers’ support and understanding
We will introduce the “Inclusive Leadership Pathway” (ILP) this year. The ILP is a leadership development program for disabled and/or colleagues from ethnic minority groups. The ILP designed by Academy, Disability Equality Network and Race Equality Network Chairs. It includes stretch projects, funded learning, and coaches. We have identified disabled coaches from our trained coaches pool at CQC, who will pair up with disabled colleagues on the program. Thus, the colleagues will receive expert coaching from coaches who can relate to them the most. The ILP will build confidence in these colleagues and prepare them to apply and progress into leadership roles.
We will create a "Disability Confident Leader" playlist of learning and training to help colleagues and managers best support disabled colleagues, including awareness of language and different disabilities, and HR policies (such as understanding our reasonable adjustment policy). We believe this will be specifically useful for those who have find themselves line managing disabled colleagues for the first time.
We will review the possibility of introducing a “just-in-time” training approach or peer support for line managers dealing with specific issues.
WDES Metrics: 4, 9
Timescale
Q1 2022
Academy will conduct a learning needs analysis.
Q2 2022
Academy will create a playlist of learning and training.
Leads:
- Academy
- DEN
- DEN sub-group
- OD
- HR Advice and Guidance
- Recruitment
- Talent
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to ensure all colleagues have the right support to enable them to carry out their role. This also links to our work around wellbeing and having ‘a good day at work’. We know that when individuals and teams feel valued for their contribution, they are more productive and innovative. This fits into our Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Culture and Inclusive Engagement.
Workstream 6: Improve colleagues’ experience with HR policies
We will examine and consider how the use of the sickness absence, critical illness and disability leave policies inter-relate with each other in practice and where there are opportunities for improvement.
The HR policy team will also re-publish their policies in an accessible format.
WDES Metrics: 6, 8
Timescale
Q1 2022
Begin re-publishing People Policies (starting with new RA policy).
Leads:
- HR Advice and Guidance
- DEN
- DEN Subgroup
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
We want to ensure all colleagues have the right support to enable them to carry out their role. This also links to our work around wellbeing and having ‘a good day at work’. We know that when individuals and teams feel valued for their contribution, they are more productive and innovative. This fits into our Strategic Ambitions: Inclusive Culture and Inclusive Engagement.
Workstream 7: Ensure our recruitment process is fair, open and transparent
We will ensure our internal recruitment campaigns are inclusive and demonstrate our commitment to improving the representation of disabled colleagues at senior grades through encouraging statements on job advertisements.
We will evaluate the use of Independent Panel Members (IPMs), which currently are used for all Grade A, Executives and Expression of Interest (EOI) recruitment panels.
We are hoping to utilise IPMs in the shortlisting process for all recruitment panels at Grade A and above. This will help mitigate biases and hopefully increase the number of disabled colleagues being shortlisted to attend an interview.
We will increase the IPM pool we currently have. We will work with the Equality Networks, People Leads and Senior Leadership team to promote, hire and train new IPMs to increase the IPM pool to the threshold necessary to extend the IPMs to shortlisting.
We will continue the QI project (with the Action for Race Equality Group and Recruitment) examining our recruitment process and areas which need improving for greater fairness.
For all recruitment campaigns, we monitor adverse impacts for disabled applicants and applicants from ethnic minority groups. This involves a diversity review of the applicant pool at shortlisting stage. If an adverse impact is observed, we will ask hiring managers to further review those not shortlisted. We also monitor the diversity of initial applications and offers to ensure we are representative of the working population and again to identify any adverse impact within the process.
We will work with the Recruitment team to create guidance/FAQs to make it more explicit to disabled candidates that they can ask for reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process.
We will design an Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit with Recruitment and DEN to help hiring managers best support certain groups of disabled people through interviews.
We have worked with Digital to remove the option to upload a CV onto our recruitment site. This enables us to uphold anonymous shortlisting and reduces the likelihood of bias influencing selection outcomes.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) opportunities will be advertised through our recruitment site and not shared and hired locally. This enables a fairer and more transparent process for people to be aware of what EOI opportunities are available, allowing them to feel more confident to apply for EOIs, without fear of biases.
We will explore making the Recruitment for Leaders training (which we have transformed into an e-learning module) mandatory for all line managers/hiring managers, in order to help mitigate biases at interview.
We will mitigate accessibility barriers stopping external and internal candidates from applying for jobs/promotion at CQC (for example, increasing the accessibility of our internal recruitment site).
WDES Metrics: 1, 2, 5
Timescale
Q1 2022
March - start to evaluate and review IPMs.
Begin introducing IPMs into shortlisting process.
April - campaign to increase IPMs.
Project led by HR to review our offer to candidates and improve their experience of the recruitment process.
May - start building the Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit.
Leads:
- DEN
- Recruitment
- D&I lead
- OD
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
In order to meet our strategic aims of our D&I strategy it is important that our process and policies are inclusive and do not disadvantage any underrepresented groups. IPMs play an important role in ensuring the recruitment process is fair, open and transparent. This fits into our Strategic Ambition: Inclusive policies and practices.
Workstream 8: Attract and encourage disabled colleagues / talent to apply for roles at CQC
We will continue to build the CQC employer brand as a great place to work for disabled colleagues, to draw in a wider pool of disabled people shortlisted for our Grade A and Executive roles. We have begun advertising Executive and Grade A job roles onto both Vercida and Diversity Jobs.com. This year we will review how effective these diversity job websites have been to attract diverse talent at our Grade A and Executive advertised roles.
We will submit our Disability Confident Level 2 application and begin working on the Level 3 application with Recruitment this year.
We will ensure our external recruitment campaigns are inclusive and demonstrate our commitment to encouraging disabled potential applicants to apply for roles at senior grades through encouraging statements on job advertisements.
We will continue to work closely with the DHSC recruitment team to reinforce the organisation’s commitment to attract and recruit more disabled people at Board level and in the organisation.
WDES Metrics: 1, 2, 5, 10
Timescale
Q1 2022
April – start to evaluate the diversity recruitment websites and recruitment campaigns with quarterly reviews.
Submit our Disability Confident Level 2 application.
Ensure our internal and external recruitment campaigns and adverts are inclusive and demonstrate our commitment to improving the representation of disabled colleagues at senior grades through encouraging statements on job advertisements.
Q2 2022
Begin Disability Confident Level 3 application.
Leads:
- DEN
- D&I lead
- Recruitment
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
For CQC to achieve its strategic ambition, it is important that our people are representative of the communities we serve. We will use the insights we gain to inform our actions in improving targets for other protected characteristics. It is important we benchmark and showcase CQC’s progress in improving the experience of disabled colleagues at CQC through accreditations like the Disability Confident Scheme.
Workstream 9: Improve self-reporting figure in ESR
We will work with DEN to develop creative ways to encourage colleagues to declare their disability on ESR. Raising awareness through campaigns, articles and videos promoted to all colleagues throughout the year to highlight the importance of having accurate ESR data. Raise the awareness and the importance of self-reporting at events led by the Senior Leadership Team. Consider sending out direct emails to employees to encourage self-reporting if they have not done so already. Work with HR and DEN to capture certain disabilities/conditions (e.g. neurodiversity) which are not available as ESR options in meaningful ways.
We will reiterate the importance of decreasing the proportion of “not-stated” on ESR at our Executive levels to Senior Leadership Team and People Leads, as well as Board members.
We will continue supporting the Joint Network Voice to be at Board meetings throughout the year and build stronger relationships with the Board and the DEN Chair.
WDES Metrics: 1, 2 and 5
Timescale
Q2 2022
July 20th - DEN Chair is present at all day Board.
Leads:
- WDES Sponsor
- DEN
- D&I Lead
- HR Data Analyst
- ESR Lead
Why / link to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy aims
For CQC to achieve its strategic ambition, it is important that our colleagues are representative of the communities we serve. We will use the insights we gain to inform our actions in improving targets for other protected characteristics.