Striving for inclusion gold standard
The diversity and inclusion (D&I) debate can sometimes appear one high on rhetoric and box-ticking but somewhat wonton when it comes to actions and results. For Weightmans, though, its D&I strategy has total buy-in across the firm and is a top-down driven success. Centrum editor David Leck spoke to Sarah-Jane Howitt to discover what the rest of us might learn.
Q. I’m often not popular for viewing the debate around diversity as being a “talking shop” with an endless procession of ambitions and targets but, while all the talking abounds, action can appear thin on the ground? Is that a harsh view or do you feel it has some validity?
A. It's not our experience at Weightmans, but I can see some organisations may think they can talk about things and tick some boxes and that does the job. We think it has to be much more embedded in the day-to-day than that if you’re really going to effect change. We also think it’s vital to ensure it’s a two-way conversation with our people which is why we continually encourage staff to give feedback. Our D&I champions are from all areas and levels of the firm and act as a great barometer of staff engagement. They don’t hold back.
Q. D&I is, of course, a complex issue and I think we all agree cultures and attitudes will take time to change. How did Weightmans begin its work in this area?
A. We have always taken a very practical approach, aiming to address specific issues and delivering things that actually change and improve inclusivity. For several years we have had a D&I steering group chaired by our managing partner and including two other board members as well as other more junior staff members. This group is supported by four strand leads for BAME, LGBTQ+, Gender, and Disability and Mental Wellbeing and coordinated by a dedicated D&I lead. We also have more than 40 D&I champions who work in all areas of the firm acting as allies and role models on the ground to support events and awareness raising. We consider ourselves to be on a journey with our D&I approach with plenty still to do and work in each strand has developed at a different rate.
Q. What were the initial challenges and how did the firm go about addressing them?
A. We are very lucky Weightmans has an open and supportive culture, so when our HR team started the initial conversations about developing a more structured approach to D&I they didn’t meet resistance. Of course, we had some people who were sceptical or didn’t think we needed to do anything in particular because we have an open culture, but when presented with some practical examples of where we thought we could improve and why it would benefit us all they were soon on board. Providing some research examples and statistics around the benefits to a successful business also helped convince any doubters.
Q. Tell me a little about the ‘journey’ you went on and how that was driven from partner-level?
A. As I’ve said, we wanted to embed D&I considerations in the day-to-day life of the firm, so it becomes the norm and we create a truly inclusive culture. We knew for that to happen we had to get buy-in from our most senior people. Our managing partner, John Schorah, has always been hugely supportive, but more importantly, he really wanted to be involved. Our senior partner, David Lewis, also sits on the D&I steering group and we have a number of other partners and board directors who are strand leads or champions. Having so much senior level support has really helped drive everything we’ve done. I think it would be fair to say our first 12 months focused on putting D&I on the agenda internally. Starting the conversation and making it acceptable to talk about things openly. So, we started small and built on that over time with the help of the champions and strand leads. We also had some partners who identified with each of our D&I strands share their stories with the wider firm and that was really powerful in terms of generating positive discussion and feedback from our people.
“The challenge for us is to make sure we get comfortable with the uncomfortable if we are to effect real change.”
Q. So give me a couple of examples of how – on a day-to-day level – D&I looks on the ‘shop floor’ at Weightmans?
A. There are numerous examples. A few things that spring to mind would be: Delivery of training programmes for all staff including our main board, team managers and champions. Sessions have included things like trans and non-binary training from Global Butterflies (globalbutterflies.com). From a mental health and wellbeing perspective, we have signed up to the Mindful Business Charter (mindfulbusinesscharter.com), have fully trained mental health first aiders - and disconnect time where no internal emails are sent after 7.00 pm or over the weekend, something supported and respected by people at the most senior level in the firm. And we have an open-door policy where anyone can approach any of our D&I champions, including steering group members up to board level, about any D&I related concerns they may have. This encourages openness and inclusivity and allows us another opportunity to have a two-way conversation.
Q. Are there any areas in which you’ve met resistance - or which have been especially hard to address?
A. Not resistance as such, but some situations where we have had to balance differing views. We’ve made a conscious effort to listen to them all as that has improved awareness and education. Our aim is always to find a balance between our strands and make Weightmans an inclusive environment in which to work. We’ve also had to acknowledge there are areas that can be ‘uncomfortable’ to discuss. The challenge for us is to make sure we get comfortable with the uncomfortable if we are to effect real change.
Q. Are there pitfalls with D&I? For example, are there any instances in which it can be in danger of becoming counter-productive?
A. We have had to acknowledge people can make mistakes and that making a mistake is fine if we all learn something. If you’re not careful, people can be afraid to engage for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and that would be counter-productive - and not very inclusive! We’re also conscious the D&I conversation must feel like a normal part of life at Weightmans and just the way we are rather than something constantly pushed at everyone. It’s a balance that we work hard to strike.
Q. What, so far, do you consider the firm’s biggest successes in the area of diversity and inclusion?
A. We’re delighted with the improvements we’ve made in capturing D&I related data across the firm. In the last 12 months, we’ve increased response rates from less than 60% to 70% which is fantastic - and we think shows us people are more comfortable in having that open conversation. There’s also our new networks – Northern Lights (LGBTQ+), with a BAME network and a Disability network in the process of being set up. All will allow people to share ideas and thoughts and support each other, as well as making the conversation more visible. And last, but definitely not least, our approach to Black History Month this year. We had some very frank feedback from our staff and champions last year and we hope we’ve learnt from our mistakes and now collectively understand much better how to share what we do now and in the future. We know we still have work to do and are at an earlier stage in our journey with this strand.
Q. And what are the ambitions going forward?
A. To be a firm that others look at as the gold standard for inclusion and to have greater diversity in our senior partnership, with representation that reflects the communities where our offices are based. Alongside that, we will continue to improve and develop our D&I approach. We feel we’ve come a long way and made positive progress, but we’re not done yet! There’s always more work to do and more things we would like to improve upon. There are some great ideas that our strand leads and champions have that we’ll be pursuing in the next 12 months.
Q. If you had to offer advice to other firms who may not have made quite as much progress as they’d like, what would that be?
A. Persevere but keep things practical. Focus on the things that will make a difference to your people on a day-to-day level; you’ll learn what those things are by having a two-way conversation with them about D&I issues. Be brave when making decisions; think about the reasons why you can do something, and you should do something before you focus on the reasons you can’t.