Inclusion accreditation awarded to ASDA, Sony and more

There are two rounds of the Inclusive Employers Standard every year and today we are recognising the inclusion achievements of the participants who began the submissions process with us in October 2021.

Achieving accredited inclusion status

Optivo, Serco, Asda, Sony, Bank of England, Hogan Lovells, Essex Fire and Leidos are just some of the organisations that are receiving their accreditation.

Accredited organisations are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation status. All three of these accreditation levels reflect the successful organisations commitment to embedding workplace inclusion and diversity. Rupert Moyne, MD – Corporate Services at Inclusive Employers, the organisers of the Inclusive Employers Standard says:

“Huge congratulations to all of the amazing organisations who took part in the latest round of the Inclusive Employers Standard. Participants were at all stages in their workplace inclusion journey from just starting out to those progressing to a higher accreditation level compared to their previous submission.”

Results highlight a renewed focus inclusion initiatives

This year we have seen returning organisations demonstrate excellent progress in their I&D work, alongside first-time participants who have impressed with advanced I&D practices.

The results have highlighted that organisations now have time to reinvigorate their focus on I&D as the impact of Covid-19 has settled. It’s great to see that participants have been re-engaging with programmes that had to be put on hold during the pandemic.

As always, we’ve seen some great commitment from organisations who are just beginning their I&D work – we look forward to seeing their progress in future IES rounds.

Rupert Moyne goes on to say:

“This round saw almost one third of participants coming from organisations that had taken part previously and wanting to measure the progress they have achieved since the last time (and looking to improve their accreditation level). The great thing about the Inclusive Employers Standard is that participation works for organisations at all stages of their journey to workplace inclusion.

As well as those at an early stage we saw some first-time submissions from organisations doing some really great work. Our aim is that regardless of where you are on your journey, participation will lead to insight into what is working well and ideas for where to focus. The report we provide identifies the priorities to unlock opportunities to accelerate progress.

It is clear that the experiences of the past two years have led to many changes within workplaces, particularly around more hybrid/flexible working. This has certainly accelerated some areas of inclusive practice and of course brought many challenges as well.

Now is definitely a good time to participate in the Inclusive Employers Standard and use the feedback to refresh your inclusion action plan.”

How to take part in the IES and become inclusion accredited

Find out more about how the Inclusive Employers Standard can measure and progress your inclusion work. The IES uses the six pillars of inclusion and diversity and is designed to support organisations wherever they are at on their inclusion journey.

The current round of the IES is open for submissions from 7 March-24 June 2022. Organisations must have expressed their interest and registered by 20 May 2022 to participate in this first round of 2022.