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Your Place Belonging Action Plan

The Your Place Belonging Action Plan outlines our EDI priority areas, our feedback and rationale for prioritisation, and our proposals and next steps.

Your Place Belonging Action Plan

  • Priority level one: Supporting Colleagues who are subject to discriminatory behaviour from residents.

This is our number one priority, we would like to create a clear “Your Place Way” of supporting colleagues who are subject to this, over and above our commitments in our “Unacceptable Behaviour Policy”

It is clear that our colleagues collectively see this as the number priority, and see both these topics as one. Most teams individually see this as a priority. We have continuing cases of colleagues being subject to discriminatory behaviour. We are based in the most diverse borough in the country, with an ethnically diverse staff team, and some emerging statistics that work is required in this area. This is a clear area of commitment from our CEO, and was also number one priority from Belonging Group.

Proposals and next steps: 

Anti-discrimination work to be the keynote project of Belonging Group. Scope, resource and communicate clearly defined project.

Adopt a high profile and SMART anti racism action plan that covers both colleagues and residents. It is made the centre piece and principal commitment of this phase of the Belonging Group.

It is proposed that SMT sponsor and resource a project, appointing an operational lead to be responsible for delivery, potentially requiring secondment or part reassignment.

At the least this should be a clearly prioritised part of people’s roles with time allowed and other parts of work reassigned. Administrative support may also be required.

The project should consider as an output building a playbook-incidents, including: What the range of support is available for staff, and what the response is with residents.

More than this reactive playbook, we should commit to ensuring behaviour change across our community, which will necessarily involve various key stakeholders.

 

  • Priority level one: Anti-racism action plan.

We will build an anti-racism action plan that focuses on the key changes we need to make to adopt a proactive position.

We are aware there is a potential overlap with the above action, but want to consider this challenge more broadly.

Proposals and next steps:

Please see above.

 

  • Low priority at this stage: Mental Health First Aiders

We are proposing to further embed our focus on wellbeing by training a select number of colleagues to become trained mental health first aiders, providing support to individuals as a ‘traditional’ first aider would, but in relation to mental health. This could include providing a safe space, and signposting people to services and resources.

At this point whilst there is understanding of the role of MHFA there is not a sufficient appetite for this.

Additionally, the organisation is already investing in wellbeing (see your place way training proposal) and has various resources and tools available.

No action at this time:

We should continue to take feedback, and to action the various parts of our wellbeing strategy, and be clear in our internal communications that Mental Health and Wellbeing continues to be a focus and underpins our People Strategy – we know from the People Survey this continues to be a specific issue.  In summary, right issue, wrong solution.

People team should consider a concerted campaign to promote the EAP and other wellbeing resources.

Check in with our MHFAs to understand how the role is being used currently and whether more can be done to provide support to the team.

 

  • Priority level three: LGBTQ+ Alliance community.

We are proposing to form an LGBTQ+ Alliance, to incorporate those who identify in this way, and others who are committed to ensuring that LGBTQ+ members of staff, and residents, feel supported and safe at work and home.

While this will include policy work and suggestions, there will also be a social element to this, such as group trips or reading groups.

There has been interest in this proposal from some teams and individuals.

There has been limited discussion around some LGBTQ colleagues not feeling included at the start of their journey.

It is also noted that it is not a topic touched in much of our organisational dialogues, which is perhaps a concern.

It potentially represents a broadening of the Belonging dialogue as a less visible form of diversity – thus supporting people who really need it.

Adopting this project could be a indicator of cultural change and challenger of the status quo and expectations around Belonging.

For these reasons, it’s recommended that forming an LGBTA+ alliance community is a proposal that is adopted.

Proposals and next steps:

Support Belonging Group Member with resources so they can set up a group.

 

  • Priority level three: Focus on neurodiversity

Firstly, we would like to raise awareness of what neurodiversity is and what it means in the workplace.  We’d like to consider a plan and some simple actions to make our workplace experience more inclusive, supportive for colleagues who are neurodivergent.

This has had similar level interest to the LGBTQ+ alliance community however its aims and methods less defined.

Given the other clear priorities, we will not adopt this proposal at current, but the Belonging Group should further engage as to where support is required to formulate a more specific suggestion. For example, should we purchase technology to support screen users.

Proposals and next steps:

Further engagement required to define requirement.

 

  • Priority level two: Manual of Me

We’d like to do something that includes everyone in the organisation and recognise everybody for who they are and what they bring – that is what belonging is all about.

Our idea is that we all complete a “manual of me” to share. Six simple questions about your preferences and workstyle that you share with everyone. We can decide what these questions are, click below to see an example.

There has been quite a lot of interest & enthusiasm form individuals and teams in this proposal.

It cuts across various types of diversity, raises awareness and includes everyone.

It’s fun (for most).

The People Team report that it aligns with their agenda.

Proposals and next steps:

We adopt this proposal and the People Team lead on its implementation,

It should fit with broader people team plans, likely to be discussed in team meetings, all staff meetings or away days.

Question to resolve how to engage with those who don’t want to do/share this.

 

  • Priority level two: NEW – Cross-Organisation Collaboration

Several teams have identified as part of their listening sessions that lack of collaboration between teams is a Belonging issue for them, including newer team members.

After anti-racism, this is the most presenting topic at team listening sessions along with “Manual of me”.

Themes include, flow of communication, respect between individuals and responsiveness.

Proposals and next steps:

Potential actions include a recommunication of the Belonging Framework with the “pledges” (around behaviours) for team members.

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List of actions committed to and already in progress

  • Ban the Box (Campaign encouraging employers to create fair opportunities for people with experience of the criminal justice system)

Increasing opportunities for individuals with convictions to compete for jobs with us.

Proposals and next steps:

We have committed to this as part of our recruitment review subject to any ‘safer recruitment’ requirements.

 

  • Psychological Safety

We will be discussing what this phrase means, and including questions in this year’s staff survey to measure this.

Proposals and next steps:

All team members have now completed the P&C opinion survey with the 7 statistically valid psychological safety questions.

Each team will receive feedback about this in the team plan following the survey, which will include what psychological safety is and what steps each team can take.

 

  • Training

We will be providing training for all staff on Belonging and will use the feedback we receive here to target this appropriately.

Proposals and next steps:

A proposal for training has been made in this quarter’s papers, to be delivered through 2025.

 

  • Diversity Calendar

We’ll be taking a more planned approach to celebrating specific days/months, for example International Women’s Day, Black History Month, Eid, Disability History Month.

We’ll use the feedback we get here to inform what is important to our team, and choose some days to celebrate based on this.

The idea is that this will be led by the comms and People teams, to celebrate with colleagues, residents and broader – involving people with a passion for that topic.

Proposals and next steps:

We will now work with the priority order above to plan events over the next year on themes that are important to us:

  • Anti-racism, ethnic diversity celebration, awareness
  • Topics that support self- awareness
  • Homelessness as an issue
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • LGBTQ+
  • Neurodiversity

The next steps are to agree these dates with the comms and resident engagement teams, there is already an events calendar, so this will be a good starting point.

As part of this it is proposed we include in our internal comms, ,more stories about staff and their backgrounds etc – profiling them, The format would have to be thought through

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