Our greatest asset is the people who work for us which is why we’re committed to making Medway a more compassionate and inclusive place to work.
Last year we commissioned independent experts Absolute Diversity to review our culture, so that we could better understand the experiences of our staff, and change our culture.
Earlier this year staff shared their experiences with Absolute Diversity in a range of ways, and they have collated this feedback in a report which includes five recommendations that we fully accept.
Changing our culture for the better means that we start by being open about what Absolute Diversity found by sharing their report.
Key findings
While the report contains moments of pride and positivity, it also details unacceptable behaviours that some staff have endured, for which we are deeply sorry.
The findings reflect uncomfortable truths about how some staff are feeling and what they are experiencing. Facing these realities is necessary if we’re serious about improving our culture.
The report includes feedback about bullying, discrimination, racism and other toxic behaviours, and of some staff not feeling safe to raise their concerns, or confident that it would make a difference.
It points to inconsistent leadership behaviours, a lack of fairness and accountability, and barriers to career progression, particularly for colleagues from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic backgrounds.
These behaviours will no longer be tolerated. We are determined to do better.
The report also shows this is not everyone’s experience. Many staff expressed pride in their teams and the care they deliver. Some pointed to where the organisation is making genuine progress and staff feeling more confident to speak up.
What comes through loud and clear is that our staff want to be treated fairly, respected for the work they do, given the tools they need to do their job well, and supported by leaders who listen and act.
Recommendations
Absolute Diversity’s report includes five actions that we are committed to taking which include:
- rebuilding trust by making it safe for people to speak up and to showing when action has been taken
- reviewing our staffs’ experiences of our human resources (HR) processes and improving the HR services we offer
- creating a work safety plan to help make us a safer, fairer, and more inclusive organisation for staff, patients, and visitors
- implementing a programme to ensure leaders take ownership and deliver on their commitments, and
- rolling out a programme for middle managers to help build fair and more confident teams.
Work to address gender inequality will also be taken forward, so too a recommendation that we refresh our staff networks so they become a more active part of how we listen, learn, and lead change.
Taking action
We’ve already taken steps to tackle some of the concerns raised, including:
- launching an independent Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) service
- creating Dignity at Work Advisors
- rolling out sexual safety e-learning and Inclusion by Design training
- signing the NHS Sexual Safety in Healthcare Charter, and
- focussed work to reduce incivility.
The Board has also agreed actions that will ensure it keeps learning, listening and acting before issues become patterns. These include creating Executive Inclusion Champions to support the Board to lead fairly and reflect the people it serves, developing an Inclusive Leadership Toolkit to help teams know what good looks like, coaching and regular progress reviews.
Next steps
Our focus now is on working with our staff to make the changes needed to build a better, safer, and fairer place to work. While some of this work is already underway, many of the changes needed will take time for staff to feel the difference.
We are determined to make changes needed to ensure that our staff are treated with dignity, and feel safe and supported, so that they can thrive at work.
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