Diversity and Inclusivity Award

About the award

This Award is for the company or operating unit that can best demonstrate that it embraces the principals of diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of its business. This Award is designed to promote good practice in diversity and inclusivity and recognise the business benefits of having a diverse and inclusive workforce.

The breadth of the SLR DE&I programme combined with the link to business strategy, measurement systems and early success impressed the judges. Particular highlights were the ‘working adjustment passport’, the link to wellbeing and the range of awareness training sessions including topics like domestic abuse.

In the span of just two years, SLR Consulting has made fantastic progress across Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I), which is already having a positive impact on employees. Having collected good quality data on the diversity of their employees, SLR has been able to develop a thorough and focused action plan to support employees who need it most.

SLR has made significant changes in their recruitment process to ensure they are attracting diverse talent. The Talent Acquisition Team collaborates with managers to create attractive, compliant job vacancies promoting flexible and remote working, family-friendly policies, and job-sharing opportunities. To ensure they are limiting any bias in the recruitment lifecycle, SLR has introduced standardised interview assessment forms and delivers regular training to the recruitment team. SLR’s data collection also helps to identify areas within the recruitment process where talent may be lost, enabling the team to target their actions.

Having committed to improving the experiences and opportunities for under-represented groups, SLR has launched eight employee networks, which provide a safe space and networking opportunities for like-minded people. These networks include Gender Inclusion, Race & Ethnicity, Pride, Disability, Parents & Carers, Neurodiversity, Early Careers, and Wellbeing. Additionally, SLR has delivered global and regional leadership programmes for women to help address the gender balance in senior grades, and they launched targeted mentoring programmes for groups such as ethnic minorities and returning parents. Complementing these initiatives, SLR has offered development opportunities for DE&I and Employee Network champions.

The company has also created a straightforward, easy-to-navigate process to provide reasonable adjustments for employees who need it, including neurodiverse and disabled employees, which has impacted many employees significantly and greatly improved their working experience. SLR has also reviewed the physical accessibility of their offices and has taken action to ensure the office environment is suitable for all, such as introducing gender-neutral facilities, creating wellness spaces, and providing fridges for parents who express milk.

In order to embed and improve their inclusive culture, SLR has delivered DE&I and Wellbeing training to managers and to all employees and has delivered multiple lunch and learn webinars on a range of topics from wellbeing for carers to men’s health. SLR works with external partners, such as BITC and WISE, to embed best practices in their policies and procedures, as well as using their employee listening forums (survey, employee networks, etc.) to ensure what they do is best for their employees.

To empower individuals and encourage all voices to be heard, SLR has delivered psychological safety training to their leadership and management teams and created a hub for all employees to speak up and raise questions, concerns, ideas, and issues through the right routes.

They have also introduced policies to support those most in need, such as transgender employees, with SLR’s Transitioning at Work Policy, and Domestic Abuse Policy for those affected. And for employees such as those who celebrate different religious holidays, SLR has also offered flexible public holidays for those who may wish to take leave outside of the typical UK bank holidays.

SLR knows people are their biggest asset and is committed to ensuring that colleagues from all backgrounds and cultures have a place to thrive and grow.