Coal Authority equality, diversity and inclusion strategy 2021-2024

Question 1

1. Chief Executive’s forward

Accepted Answer

I’m delighted to introduce our new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy ‘A Great Place to Work for Everyone’ which reaffirms our commitment to diversity and inclusion and shows how we will continue our journey over the next 3 years.

For me, to create a truly inclusive environment you need to be focused on people, their wellbeing a development and allow safe spaces for conversation where everyone feels they can be heard. Over the last 3 years we’ve done just that – increasingly empowering and supporting our colleagues to ensure they have the confidence and skills to do their jobs, to innovate and to collaborate internally to help us be the best organisation we can. We have shaped this strategy together. There is more to do but I am proud of the progress that we have made so far.

2020 and 2021 have been extraordinary years due to Covid-19. Our focus on people, their wellbeing and their support has never been more important. Our Staff Engagement Group and Diversity networks have played a key role in this and we have spoken a lot about being kind to ourselves and each other. This has taught us a lot about flexibility, better supporting carers and parents, using technology to ensure everyone can contribute equally wherever they are based and about remote working, line management and supportive recruitment and on-boarding. We will take this learning and compassion into our ‘new normal’ approach to work over the months and years ahead and will use greater flexibility to recruit more roles based across the coalfield areas of England, Scotland and Wales. Diversity and inclusion is increasingly informing all aspects of our thinking and the decisions we take across the business.

The Coal Authority exists to undertake key statutory work in the 3 nations that we serve and to ‘Make a Better Future for People and the Environment in Mining Areas’. Becoming more diverse and inclusive allows us to be more representative and understanding of the varied communities we serve which improves our frontline delivery with better community engagement, customer support and incident response.

Confident people who can think differently are key to us continuing to evolve as an organisation and being innovative in facing the opportunities and challenges ahead of us in both our core work and our aspirations for net zero carbon and nature resilience, adapting to climate change and enabling decarbonised heating from the warm mine water below much of Great Britain.

Following the murder of George Floyd in the US last year and the global anger and sadness that followed we developed an action plan to ensure we become more actively anti-racist. This includes education, policy and process (including recruitment) change and raising up a greater range of voices both within and outside of the organisation. This will remain a really important element of our new strategy.

Our focus on gender equality has seen a 5% reduction in our gender pay gap and an increase in women at more senior levels in the organisation. Our pay gap is still too high and we’ll continue to work on it as well as develop our report to include other characteristics.

We will make sustained progress against all other elements of the strategy and continue to celebrate and support those with protected characteristics within an inclusive approach that allows everyone bring their whole self to work and which recognises that people’s needs and priorities can change over their working lives. Working in partnership and learning from others is key to our approach and I’m grateful to so many organisations and individuals for their time and support in helping us make the progress we have to date. Thank you also to those we will work with in the future.

We will share information about our progress and challenges and, as always, we invite you to hold us to account as we move forwards.

Lisa Pinney, Chief Executive

Question 2

2. Our mission, purpose and values

Accepted Answer

2.1 Our mission - what we want to achieve

‘Making a better future for people and the environment in mining areas’

2.2 Our purpose – what we do

We:

keep people safe and provide peace of mind
protect and enhance the environment
use our information and expertise to help people make informed decisions
create value and minimise cost to the taxpayer

2.3 Our values – how we do it

Trusted

We act with integrity, we communicate clearly and we deliver on our commitments.

Inclusive

We promote a culture of mutual respect, we recognise that our differences make us stronger, and we listen and learn.

Progressive

We are open minded and innovative, we recognise the past can shape our future and we work with others to achieve our vision.

Question 3

3. Where are we now?

Accepted Answer

41% of our employees are female compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 54%
2% of our employees are LGBTQ+ compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 4.8%
1% of our employees are ethnically diverse compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 13%
Our median gender pay gap is 26.49% compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 11.1%
2% of our employees are disabled compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 12%
Our average age of employee is 44 compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 46
We have 9 staff and network groups
Our employee turnover is 11% compared to the Civil Service (2019) of 9%
Our employee engagement is 67% compared to the public sector of 68%

3.1 Our successes in the past 12 months

Women in Leadership series encouraging more women to apply for leadership roles
Ongoing Employee Assistance Programme
Development for all programme
Launch of our D&I Steering Group and 2 new staff networks (Race Equality Network & Accessibility Network)
Launch of D&I Calendar to promote events, raise awareness of religious festivals and help to demystify D&I language
5% reduction in the gender pay gap
Collective sense of fairness and flexibility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
5.9% increase of staff with formal flexible working arrangements
Commitment to be a more actively anti-racist organisation and developed an anti-racism action plan to focus our actions
Increased engagement during inclusive awareness and staff network events
Guest speaker events internally and externally with BEIS FAME network
Joint network sessions exploring men’s health, parental leave and male allies
Change to core hours to support a better work life balance
Prayer & wellbeing room created to give staff an accessible, private space for religious observance, meditation and reflection
Colleagues invited to use personal pronouns in their email signatures to avoid accidental misgendering and assumptions about gender identities

3.2 What our people have said

“If I had had an inkling of the impact of wearing the Rainbow lanyard, I definitely would have done”

“I’ve seen a huge shift in this organisation over the 6 years that I’ve worked here. It has gone from being a place I wouldn’t feel fully at ease to somewhere I feel I can be open; occasionally broaching some really difficult subjects along the way”

“I had voiced [my sexuality] for the first time in a working environment and that was because I felt that the openness of the networks in my first meeting meant this was a safe space. Thank you for that inclusivity”

“It makes me proud to work for an organisation that embraces diversity and allows us to bring our full selves to work”

“Such a small gesture, but it made me feel safer and like this organisation would be a welcoming environment”

Question 4

4. Where do we want to be?

Accepted Answer

Our aspiration is for equality, diversity and inclusion to be at the heart of everything we do and deliver.
We will attract more diverse talent and bring in a greater range of voices to inform our work by being a more flexible, tech-enabled, great place to work for all.
We will act when confronted with intolerance to help end systemic issues and address inequalities in the workplace.
We will continue to reduce the gender pay gap and commit to wider pay gap reporting to level the playing field and ensure our people are treated fairly.
By encouraging collaboration, understanding intersectionality and valuing the diverse range of skills, experiences and expertise within our organisation, we can be a truly innovative and inclusive employer.
We will be an accessible, customer orientated organisation that treats customers with respect and learns from feedback.

4.1 Diversity and inclusion is owed by everyone

At the centre of everything we do is our people. Through our staff networks, D&I strategy, D&I steering group and external influences, our people can discuss new ideas, guide our thinking and are empowered to influence our ways of working. These groups are supported by our executive leadership team (ELT) and board, our managers and our people and organisational development team. Our managers are responsible for delivery, inclusive leadership and have accountability. Our people and organisational development team are responsible for providing support and guidance, policy changes and our learning and development. Our ELT and board are responsible for corporate decision making, strategic reviews and will act as D&I sponsors.

Our staff networks work with our D&I steering groups and our executive leadership team and will take an intersectional approach to problem solving as most issues do not affect one group of people in isolation. Ideas and issues will be fed up to the steering group for peer review, and the ELT if there is a corporate decision to be made. Changes to our ways of working can also be fed down to the steering group to ensure we have considered the change from all angles, before utilising our staff networks to create working groups to ensure staff have the opportunity to be involved. This approach aims to make D&I core to everything we do and integrated as part of our culture.

Question 5

5. How will we achieve this?

Accepted Answer

We are committed to 4 core areas that describe what diversity, inclusion and equality mean to us as an organisation. We want to celebrate differences, create a culture of belonging, ensure everyone is treated equally and consider the needs of our customers.

Question 6

6. Celebrating difference

Accepted Answer

Diversity at the Coal Authority means embracing the full range of human differences and lived experiences within society. This includes everything from ‘protected characteristics’ to where someone lives or if they have caring responsibilities.

Different identities bring with them different perspectives and ways of thinking because of how we each individually experience the world.

Under this commitment, we have identified a number of actions that sit under attraction, recruitment, retention and progression.

6.1 Attraction

Opportunities will be promoted across diverse groups and communities from across the UK.
Our adverts will use inclusive language to attract as wide an audience as possible.
We will promote flexible roles that are open for remote and part time working.
Graduate and apprenticeship opportunities will bring in diverse thoughts and ideas.
A new Applicant Tracking System (ATS) will allow us to monitor progress and make informed decisions about how and where we advertise our roles.

6.2 Recruitment

All hiring managers will undergo recruitment training focussed on challenging unconscious bias.
Selection based on competencies, behaviours and potential.
Anonymous shortlisting will be used for a minimum of 70% of all recruitment campaigns to remove the opportunity for bias.
Interview panels will be diverse to reduce unconscious bias and provide representation for a wider range of candidates.

6.3 Retention

Inclusive on boarding will engage people as soon as the offer is made.
Our People Survey will give us an insight into what our people think and help inform our decisions.
Manager training will equip our leaders with the skills to lead inclusive teams.
Staff networks give our people peer support to share and learn about things that are important to them.
Our Flexible Working Policy will support different working patterns and create sustainable work-life balance for our people throughout their career.
Our people will be treated with respect at work.

6.4 Progression

Coaching and mentoring programmes (inc. external coaches and mentors) will support career development and empower our people.
A Competency Framework and Career Pathways will be developed to support knowledge transfer and help people build careers of their choice.
Our staff networks will inspire under-represented groups to pursue leadership roles to create more diversity at senior levels.
Feedback from staff will help us to address barriers to progression.

Question 7

7. Creating a culture of belonging

Accepted Answer

We believe in one Coal Authority where all our people feel included, valued and supported. With inclusion at the core of everything we do, we can benefit from the creativity, innovation and challenge that diversity brings.

For us, and the wider Public Sector, inclusion is encompassed in belonging, authenticity and voice. This commitment is broken down into 3 areas of focus – engagement, belonging and voice.

7.1 Engagement

Diverse and inclusive events will help raise awareness of different perspectives.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Calendar will promote key events, making sure they’re relevant and help to demystify D&I language.
We will hold working groups and listen to our remote workers to foster a culture of belonging for all, so that location is never a barrier for engagement.
Our all staff calls will give everyone the chance to engage and feel included.

7.2 Belonging

Visible representation of diverse groups will help create a sense of belonging for our people, interview candidates and visitors.
Adopting a collaborative approach to intersectionality and acting as one Coal Authority will improve shared understanding, help teams work together to solve problems and be more effective.
Promotion of the Recognition Policy will encourage people to recognise a job well done.
By creating a culture of belonging and trust we will increase diversity data disclosure rates.
Our networks will give staff a safe space to respectfully ask questions.

7.3 Voice

All staff calls give everyone the opportunity to share information and success.
Guest speakers will share and inspire.
Adopting inclusion moments in team meetings will encourage everyone to live and breath our values.
Encouraging staff to hold us to account will help us stay true to our D&I goals through our people survey, staff networks and SEG.
D&I Champions will help champion our differences and make sure there is a diverse set of perspectives at the forefront of our organisation.

Question 8

8. Ensuring everyone is treated equally

Accepted Answer

Equality at the Coal Authority means making sure that no one is disadvantaged because of part of their identity.

We can only be a great place to work and do our best to protect the public when we encourage diversity of thought and seek to further equality; at work and in wider society so people can bring their whole self to work. Under this commitment as have a further 3 areas of focus. These are ways of working, social impact and benchmarking.

8.1 Ways of working

We will endeavour to consult with impacted groups when changing working practices.
Staff networks will help us review policies as part of equality impact assessments.
Family friendly policies will be reviewed so we can best support and meet the changing needs of our people at different stages of their life.
Our working practices will allow people of all abilities to contribute to our success.
Guidance documents will be available to support managers and staff across all areas of inclusion.
Our D&I Steering group will review our Dignity at Work policy.

Having a diverse workforce will reflects the diverse range of customers we serve and the communities we work to protect.
We will work with our supply chain to make sure they share our D&I values.
Work experience and placement opportunities will support social mobility and provide the next generation with valuable skills and experience.
Our outreach to schools and colleges will promote opportunities for women in STEM.
Feedback will be reviewed and acted upon to ensure that our customers feel like they can trust us as an organisation.
By collecting information about the background of our people we can understand the impact of socio-economic diversity on our organisation.

8.3 Benchmarking

Developing and implementing a new Disability Confident framework will allow us to become more inclusive for current and future colleagues and better meet the needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities.
Our Anti-Racism Action Plan will address our lack of ethnic diversity and focus us on being an effective anti-racist organisation.
Biennial People Survey will tell us how our people feel.
Engaging with external benchmarking suppliers will push us to be an even better employer.
Making fair and unbiased pay decisions will help to reduce our gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps.

Question 9

9. Being a customer orientated organisation

Accepted Answer

Finally considering the needs of our customers is key to everything we do and deliver at the Coal Authority.

We’re committed to having a more diverse workforce to create a better, shared understanding of different cultures and communities so that we can continue to improve our knowledge on how to empathetically communicate with our diverse range of customers.

By making decisions informed by customer insight and feedback we can ensure that our customers are treated with respect, our services are accessible to everyone and our people have the knowledge and confidence to provide clear information and support for the people and communities we serve.

Question 10

10. Timeline

Accepted Answer

10.1 Year 1

In year one, our 6 core areas are recruitment, ways of working, staff retention, bench marking, social impact and training.

In the first quarter of 2021/22 (April to June) we will –

Recruit a dedicated EDI specialist
Review our family friendly policies
Implement an applicant tracking system
Creation of a diversity data dashboard
Review our EDI people survey questions
Create a new ‘positive inclusion’ programme

In the second quarter of 2021/22 (July to September) we will –

Review of end to end recruitment process
Consider us as a sponsor for non-UK applicants
Look at recruitment training
Review our Dignity at work and Equality & Diversity policies
Encourage staff to disclose their sensitive data to improve our reporting
Develop our race action plan
Issue media releases explaining how we are embedding EDI in everything we do
Talk to D&I consultants to bring in expertise to deliver strategic priorities, including support for our network chairs (this objective will carry on until March 2022)

In the third quarter of 2021/22 (October to December) we will –

Publish our ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
Develop our accessibility action plan
Work with our remote workers to promote inclusion

In the final quarter of 2021/22 (January 2022 to March) we will –

Undertake recruitment training
Review our EDI strategy
Submit our submission for Disability Confident employer
Issue media releases explaining how we are embedding EDI in everything we do
Run bullying and harassment training

10.2 Year 2

In year 2, our 5 core areas are progression, data reporting, bench marking, development for all and social impact.

In the first quarter of 2022/23 (April to June) we will –

Support our staff to pursue leadership roles, especially where there is under-representation
Run ‘Positive Inclusion’ training

In the second quarter of 2022/23 (July to September) we will –

Run recruitment training
Issue media releases explaining how we are embedding EDI in everything we do

In the third quarter of 2022/23 (October to December) we will –

Run a iTrent campaign to encourage staff to disclose their sensitive date to improve reporting
Choose a benchmarking supplier to engage with

In the final quarter of 2022/23 (January 2023 to March) we will –

Publish our annual gender pay gap
Review our EDI strategy
Run recruitment training
Issue media releases explaining how we are embedding EDI in everything we do

10.3 Year 3

In year 3, our 6 core areas are progression, attraction, bench marking, ways of working, social impact and development for all.

In the first quarter of 2023/24 (April to June) we will –

Engage with diverse communities/schools/colleges/universities and training providers
Enter relevant awards as an organisation, staff members and supply chain (this will run for the whole of year 3)
Self-assess policies to ensure these are in line with latest government guidance and advice; to embed within our culture and behaviours and ensure our tone and language is inclusive for all (this will run for the whole of year 3)
Review contracts with our supply chain to ensure they share our D&I values
Run ‘Positive Inclusion’ training