Insights and Feedback on BLM Workshop: Steps for Council and BEA July 2020

BLM workshop feedback; further steps for the council and BEA July 2020

Key words of how attendees felt at the beginning of the workshop

Poll Results 1. Do you feel comfortable raising issues relating to equality and diversity in the council?

Poll Results Referring to BEA plans;

Poll Results

Poll Results

Themes (1) How are you feeling about your manager s response to BLM events so far? Directors and organisational communications Recognition of BLM came from Directors and Chief Exec Felt positive and surprised at the strong statement from the Leader of council and Chief Exec, however this message got more muddled as it travelled down the organisation and less emphasis on actions that would be taken Managers communication Quite a lot of emphasis that it depends on your line manager/department. Some have been much more responsive than others However, a lot of feedback suggested that direct line managers had not really recognised BLM events No empathy shown or acknowledgment of trauma and anxiety presentations of staff Should be on the agenda of team meetings to discuss Regular audits of the middle management team, to ensure equality of opportunity for all- may be external agency to ensure monitoring & scrutiny Speaking out Some felt as though they had to raise BLM as an issue themselves, otherwise it would not have been raised Some felt that its not black peoples responsibility to bring up BLM.

Themes (2) What are the strengths in the Council s EDI approach and what can be improved ? Strengths The work of BEA recently has produced a lot of positive response, with the sense being that this needs to continue and not become tokenistic. Resource sharing on yammer has been useful Impressed by events that are going on e.g. Black History Month. Social work teams- strength based practise. Asking individual about backgrounds, what they would like to have, what services they can use Improvements - understanding, leaders training and diversity Can seem tokenistic if not backed up with systemic change and diversity being reflected in senior management UNITAS and youth pages are diverse, although this not reflected in adult corporate web pages No tangible change since the Managers session in 2018. Leaders and councillors need training. Do they understand the issues or are they just being PC Idea floated to have a cultural calendar put diversity dates automatically onto outlook. Opportunities to get on Perception and stories being shared about recruitment and not getting equal opportunities at promotion. i.e. Interims who s jobs have not been open to other people to apply. Fixed term contracts and jobs not being advertised fairly.

Themes (3) How are you feeling about the Council s response to recent BLM events so far? Recognition of BLM by directors & managers Good and timely messages from the Chief Exec and Leader being delivered in May Good response from BEA Needs a lot of work doing to improve in the future The aforementioned response from direct line mangers needs to change Mixed positive and negative feelings, but a lot of focus on the next steps and if there will be tangible change in the council Mixed response at director level. i.e. one director has responded plus reached out and others have said nothing at all. Outward facing How can we be better at celebrating black and minority groups at Barnet? Acknowledge that the EDI steering group needs to be better at publishing/sharing notes. There's a need to get better at updating people what s going on. We need to capture residents responses to BLM & EDI Engage the councils many partners in this process they need to follow suit. Councillors need to be included and part of this training too. There are clear disparities no diversity across senior management and above. Action will be taken Need independent monitoring there are genuine prejudices constantly being overlooked for promotions and within recruitment. Structural changes need to place within the council Recruitment - do BAME feel comfortable in going for promotions? Conduct more workshops like this

Themes (3) How are you feeling about the Council s response to recent BLM events so far? We re not just asking us (BAME staff) to be the fixers. We can t fix this problem alone we welcome all members of BAME and non BAME to be a part of this I don t think there s been enough promotion of diversity awareness We don t want preferential treatment It feels like a struggle We re just asking for people to be treated fairly I m excited we ve all come together, never been a part of conversations like this before it s easy to arrange sessions like this but haven t seen any chances in 48 years. We had the unbiased training in 2018 with the Top 20 Managers, but has there been any change? Within my community, and the workplace things like BLM feel like a token gesture It has been too long nothing has changed It feels like a box ticking exercise when it should be embedded in everything we do .

Themes (4) What do you need to see change in the Council s EDI approach? Structural change Currently there is too much tokenism within the Council s treatment of equality and diversity. This needs to be addressed and tackled to achieve real change. Unconscious bias training to be mandatory and a review of HR policies There should be a greater sharing of useful resources Better data to track progress and regular training for all staff. Changes in HR policy required - interview panels need to be more diverse, exit interviews, more diverse grad schemes, breaking of the glass ceiling that BAME members of staff feel there is Being treated fairly and feeling supported Zero tolerance to racism whether it s overt racism or micro aggression. There is a feeling that people cannot advocate for positions without being labelled as aggressive. Need to look at ways in which people can anonymously raise incidents of microaggression/overt racism in the workplace and encouraging a culture of supporting/reporting incidents if witnessed. Open conversations needed (regular inclusion in team meetings), as well as safe forums for people to share their experiences. Diversity of senior leadership Representation in senior leadership; the lack of representation in SMT is demotivating and there is a belief that opportunities are not open to all

Recommendations from BEA about moving forwards as an organisation Aspirational targets Publicly available data Encourage employees to disclose information Mandatory unconscious bias training Unconscious bias workshops for executives and middle management teams Executive sponsorship: an SMT member accountable for delivery of aspirational targets Reverse mentoring Challenge school and university selection bias Use relevant and appropriate language in job specifications Diverse interview panels Transparent and fair reward and recognition Diversity in supply chains Diversity from work experience level Transparency on career pathways Explain how success has been achieved Establish networks and these networks to regularly meet with HR Provide mentoring and sponsorship What s on your mind regular listening circle for staff Include the equalities/diversity calendar events on all staff s calendars Ensuring psychologically safe routes for raising concerns (specifically by appointing Freedom to Speak Up Guardians) Exit interviews

BEA Next Steps

BEA next steps Summary overview of the actions and next steps for the BEA to tackling racial inequality, as part of Barnet's response to Black Lives Matter Liaising with HR Induction Event for New Recruits Setting up of Staff Networks Promoting Events (Black History Month) and Follow the Diversity Calendar BEA presentation at Policy and Resources Committee meeting in September In order to achieve these goals, BEA need more support, resources and funding as they are a voluntary group

BEA next steps Tackling racial inequality, as part of Barnet's response to Black Lives Matter Raise awareness of racial inequality and psychological impact Increase education in schools, How black history, history of slave trade is taught in Barnet schools More forums to support equalities formally and informally More targeted development/coaching Race audit and transparency of data Convene an online discussion where senior staff within each department respond/showcase ideas and thoughts about ways to support the equalities -leads within their department. Develop/link a short webinar to Members about racial discrimination/ unconscious bias and experiences of the black community within Barnet. Review PHE s disparities report and see how BAME staff on the front line can be supported by managers open door policy.

BEA next steps Liaising with HR Formalising our role with the EDI steering group BEA will take an ACTIVE role in leading on policy change conversations and HR policy review Unconscious bias training to be mandatory for the organisation for staff including CMT and SMT and/or in the induction programme. Action on racism complaints in the organisation. Launching a reverse mentoring plan Recruitment and employee development and promotion opportunities. Peer review of JDs and HR policies. Clearer roles and responsibilities between HR and BEA on who owns what. Opportunities to benchmark with other councils about how they are tackling inequality and which their audits.

BEA next steps Induction event for new BEA staff Increased interest in joining the BEA group. Planning the integration of new BEA members and potential new resource. Ownership of the BEA mailbox and who attends which meetings Promoting events and follow the diversity calendar Using the diversity calendar to plan events across the council, including lunch and learns, panels and film screenings. Strengthening our responsibilities either as networks or BEA to own these events Discuss setting up of staff networks Creation staff networks to be developed in collaboration with allies initially women, LGBT+ and BAME. Recruiting and reaching greater numbers of people to join these network Outlining roles and responsibilities of BEA and networks. BEA presentation at Policy and Resources Committee meeting in September