Evidence your inclusive culture. Demonstrate impact. Drive progress.

The Inclusive Employers Standard is a professionally assessed accreditation that helps you understand how mature your inclusive culture is, how effectively it is embedded across your organisation and what difference it is making.

Through rigorous assessment, annual benchmarking insights and expert recommendations, you can demonstrate your achievements, gain credible recognition and identify where to focus next to strengthen inclusive culture and its organisational impact.

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Explore the Inclusive Employers Assessment

What you get from the Inclusive Employers Standard

A rigorous, evidence-based assessment that recognises your achievements and provides insight to strengthen inclusive culture.

Format: Online evidence submission, professionally assessed by inclusion experts

Framework: Four pillars: Ownership, Systems, Enablement and Impact

Assessment: Expert scoring against best-practice criteria

Insight: Detailed report, recommendations and the annual benchmarking report.

Support: One-hour expert feedback session

Employee voice: IES pulse survey to add employee experience insight

Recognition: Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation

Cost: £3,950 + VAT; members receive a 10% discount


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You are investing in inclusion. But can you demonstrate the difference it is making?

Your organisation may have an inclusion strategy, policies, learning programmes and employee networks in place. But how do you know whether this activity is creating meaningful, sustained change?

With budgets under pressure and expectations increasing, leaders need clearer evidence of how inclusive culture is embedded, how it is experienced and where it can contribute to wider people and organisational priorities.

They need to understand whether accountability extends beyond HR, whether systems support inclusive practice, whether people are equipped to act and whether progress can be measured.

The Inclusive Employers Standard provides a professionally assessed view of your inclusion maturity and impact, helping you understand what is working, where gaps remain and what to prioritise next.

Use the Standard to:

  • Understand how effectively inclusive culture is embedded across your organisation.
  • Gain external assessment of your inclusion maturity and achievements.
  • Identify where leadership, systems and capability need strengthening.
  • Understand your performance in the context of relevant comparison groups.
  • Inform conversations about engagement, performance and risk.
  • Prioritise action and future investment using credible evidence.

Enquire about accreditation

An evidence-based accreditation for inclusive culture progress

The Inclusive Employers Standard is a professionally assessed workplace inclusion accreditation. It provides an external, expert-led review of the evidence your organisation submits, giving you a credible view of where practice is strong, where it needs to develop and what to do next.

You will submit evidence across Ownership, Systems, Enablement and Impact. Our inclusion experts assess your responses against best-practice criteria and your results can be understood in context through our annual benchmarking report.

You receive detailed feedback, practical recommendations and a Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation outcome. The Standard is more than an award: it provides a framework for understanding maturity, evidencing progress and informing your next stage of work.

Four pillars.
A comprehensive view of inclusive culture.

Building inclusive culture depends on clear accountability, effective systems, people equipped to act and the ability to understand progress and impact. The Standard assesses these interconnected areas through four practical pillars.

Ownership

How accountability, responsibility and strategy are owned across your organisation, including the role of leaders in making inclusion part of everyday business.

Systems

How inclusion is embedded into policies, processes and ways of working, shaping people’s experience across the organisation.

Enablement

How leaders, managers and teams are equipped with the knowledge, guidance, tools and capability to put inclusion into practice.

Impact

How your organisation measures progress, evaluates outcomes and understands whether its inclusion work is creating meaningful, sustained change.

Together, these pillars provide a structured view of how inclusive culture is led, embedded, enabled and measured.

How the Standard works

Step 1

Register and plan your submission

Register at any time of year and agree a start date for your assessment. Our team can help you plan the process around your organisation’s needs.

Step 2

Complete your evidence submission

Access the online portal and answer the assessment questions across the four pillars, providing evidence of your organisation’s inclusion practice. An extensive guide is provided to help you understand the requirements and select relevant evidence.

Step 3

Receive an expert assessment

Inclusive Employers’ inclusion experts review and score your evidence against best-practice criteria. You’ll receive our annual benchmarking report, compiled in September, allowing you to understand your performance in the context of relevant comparison groups.

Step 4

Receive your report and accreditation

Receive detailed feedback on strengths, gaps and opportunities for improvement, together with your Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation outcome.

Step 5

Plan your next stage of progress

Use your one-hour feedback session with an inclusion expert to discuss the findings, explore recommendations and begin identifying priorities for future action.

Enquire about accreditation

More than an award. A clearer route to progress.

Your Standard assessment provides formal recognition alongside the evidence and expert insight you need to understand your performance and focus your next steps.

Expert-assessed results

A professionally assessed view of your organisation’s inclusion maturity across the four pillars.

Detailed feedback report

Tailored insight into strengths, gaps and opportunities, with practical recommendations for improving your approach.

Annual benchmarking report

Use the annual benchmarking report to understand your performance in the context of relevant industry, organisation-size and wider comparison groups.

Formal accreditation

A Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation outcome recognising your assessed achievements.

Expert feedback session

A one-hour discussion with an inclusion expert to interpret your findings and begin shaping a progression plan.

Enquire about accreditation

Build a stronger case for the value of inclusive culture

Inclusive culture is connected to the people and organisational priorities senior leaders care about: engagement and retention, performance and risk management. Demonstrating that value requires more than reporting the number of activities delivered.

The Inclusive Employers Standard provides an expert-assessed view of maturity and impact, supported by the annual benchmarking report and practical recommendations. Use the findings to identify where your organisation’s approach could be strengthened and make better informed decisions about time, budget and effort.

Engagement and retention

Explore the inclusion practices and employee perspectives relevant to trust, belonging and retention, and identify areas that may need further attention.

Performance

Assess how inclusion is embedded into leadership, systems and ways of working, and identify opportunities to strengthen the conditions for collaboration and effective performance.

Risk management

Identify potential gaps in accountability, governance, processes and employee experience that may call for further investigation or action.

Use your results to support credible conversations with leaders, boards and stakeholders about achievements, gaps, accountability and future priorities. The Standard contributes an evidence base for those conversations; it does not independently establish financial ROI or prove direct changes in business outcomes.

Enquire about accreditation

Gain recognition for your inclusion achievements

Following professional assessment of your evidence, your organisation will receive one of four accreditation outcomes: Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold.

Committed

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Your accreditation provides external recognition of your assessed inclusion practice that you can share with employees, leaders and stakeholders. Alongside that recognition, the assessment report helps you understand what to build on and what to improve. Whether this is your first submission or you are returning to assess progress, the Standard recognises where you are now while helping you identify what comes next.

Bring employee voice into your assessment

Understanding how inclusion is embedded in policies and practice is important.
Understanding how it is experienced by your people adds another valuable perspective.

The Inclusive Employers Standard includes an employee pulse survey at no extra cost. It gives you the opportunity to bring employee voice alongside the organisational evidence you submit, adding insight into day-to-day experiences and helping make your assessment findings and recommendations more relevant.

The survey can help you:

  • Gather additional insight into employees’ experiences of inclusion.
  • Consider organisational evidence alongside employee perspectives.
  • Explore how inclusive practices are experienced in everyday work.
  • Enrich your assessment findings and identify opportunities for further action.

Two people conducting a survey

Your organisation will receive a link and QR code to share with employees or a representative sample. Survey results are incorporated into your Standard report.

If the survey is not appropriate for your organisation, you can choose not to use it, but it is required for Gold accreditation.

Ask us about the Standard

Two ways to understand your inclusive culture. One goal: measurable progress.

The Inclusive Employers Assessment and the Inclusive Employers Standard use the same four-pillar framework, but offer different depths of insight, evidence review and recognition.

The Assessment is a quick self-assessment that helps you understand your maturity and prioritise next steps. The Standard is a more detailed, professionally assessed accreditation for organisations ready to submit evidence, understand performance in context and gain formal recognition. You can move from the Assessment to the Standard or enter the Standard directly.

Help me decide which framework is right for me

Your organisation needs to… Inclusive Employers Assessment Inclusive Employers Standard
Understand its maturity 12-question self-assessment across four pillars. Deeper assessment of evidence across the same four pillars.
Decide what to prioritise Tailored results, recommended actions and a draft action plan. Expert feedback, benchmarking and a progression plan.
Evidence inclusion practice Does not require evidence submission. Requires evidence assessed by inclusion experts.
Benchmark performance Indicative view of inclusion maturity. Annual benchmarking report provides context against relevant comparison groups
Include employee voice Self-reported organisational answers. IES pulse survey included at no extra cost
Receive expert support Senior inclusion professional debrief. Detailed report and one-hour expert feedback session.
Gain accreditation Not an accreditation or award. Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold.
Cost Free for eligible members;
£495 + VAT for non-members and Aspire members.		 £3,950 + VAT; members receive 10% discount.

Want a practical starting point?

Explore the Inclusive Employers Assessment for a focused diagnostic, clear recommendations and action plan.

Explore the Assessment

Ready for deeper assessment and recognition?

Enquire about the Standard to explore evidence-based accreditation and annual benchmarking insights. You do not need to complete the Assessment first.

Enquire about accreditation

Not sure which route is right?

Tell us about your goals and our team can help you decide.

Find out which framework is right for you

Accreditation is a milestone. Progress is the goal.

Your Standard results give you a clearer picture of where inclusive culture is embedded, where practice needs strengthening and what to prioritise next. Making sustained progress depends on turning those insights into action.

Inclusive Employers can help you act on your findings through our connected services:

Inclusion Partnerships

Structured expert support to help clarify priorities, maintain momentum and track progress over time.

Explore Inclusion Partnerships

Learning and Development

Practical capability-building for leaders, managers and teams, helping turn inclusion expectations into everyday behaviours.

Explore Learning and Development

Transformation and Change Consultancy

Specialist support to translate findings into changes to strategy, leadership, systems, processes and organisational culture.

Explore Transformation and Change Consultancy

Together, these routes can help organisations act on evidence and build inclusive culture that is more practical, measurable and sustainable.

These services are additional to the Standard and are not included in its accreditation fee.

Discuss accreditation and next steps

Invest in credible accreditation and measurable progress

The Inclusive Employers Standard combines professional assessment, the annual benchmarking report, formal recognition, practical guidance and an IES pulse survey to help you understand your inclusion maturity and strengthen your approach.

Inclusive Employers can help you act on your findings through our connected services:

Cost: £3,950 + VAT. Inclusive Employers members receive a 10% discount.

Enquire about accreditation

Looking for a shorter starting point? The Inclusive Employers Assessment is free for eligible members or £495 + VAT for non-members and Aspire members.

Explore the Assessment

Enquire about accreditation and your next steps

Whether you are considering the Inclusive Employers Standard for the first time, returning for reassessment or progressing from the Inclusive Employers Assessment, our team can help you plan your next step.

Tell us a little about your organisation and what you want to achieve. We will be in touch to discuss the Standard, answer your questions and help you understand the process.

Not sure whether the Assessment or Standard is right for you? We can help you explore both options.

Complete the short form and our team will get in touch to discuss your goals, the accreditation process and next steps. You do not need to know whether the Assessment or Standard is right for you before enquiring.


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Frequently asked questions about the Inclusive Employers Standard

The Inclusive Employers Standard is a professionally assessed inclusion accreditation. It reviews evidence across four pillars to help you understand maturity, embedded practice and impact. You receive expert feedback,annual bench marking insights and a Committed, Bronze, Silver or Gold accreditation outcome.

The Assessment is a short self-assessment that provides an indicative view of inclusion maturity, recommendations, a draft action plan and an expert debrief. It is not an accreditation and does not require evidence submission. The Standard involves professional evidence review,expert scoring, annual benchmarking insights and formal accreditation.

No. You can participate in the Standard directly. The Assessment offers a practical starting point if you want an initial diagnostic before a more detailed accreditation process.

The Standard now uses four pillars rather than six, has a question set approximately 20% shorter and places greater emphasis on maturity and impact.The refreshed Standard also includes an employee pulse survey at no extra cost. Organisations can choose not to use it. The expert-assessed accreditation and award categories remain.

Ownership, Systems, Enablement and Impact provide a clearer structure reflecting accountability, organisational systems, capability, employee experience and measurable outcomes. The change is designed to make the Standard easier to navigate while retaining assessment rigour.

No. Your existing strategy and work remain valuable. You can map evidence from the six Es across to the four new pillars and consider changing your strategy structure at a future review if it would be useful.

You submit evidence of your organisation’s inclusion practice across the four pillars. Guidance in the online portal helps you interpret questions and select appropriate evidence.

Inclusion experts review and score your evidence against best-practice criteria. You’ll also receive our annual benchmarking report, compiled in September, allowing you to understand your performance in the context of relevant comparison groups.

Committed, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Your accreditation outcome is determined by the expert assessment of your submission.

You can register year-round and agree a start date. You then complete your evidence submission within the assessment window, after which your submission is reviewed and your results are released. Our team can explain current deadlines and help plan your participation.

You receive detailed assessment feedback, recommendations, your accreditation outcome and a one-hour expert feedback session to explore next steps. You’ll also receive our annual benchmarking report, compiled in September, allowing you to understand your performance in the context of relevant comparison groups.

The Inclusive Employers Standard includes an employee pulse survey at no extra cost. You will receive a link and QR code to share with your organisation or a representative sample. The survey brings employee voice into the assessment, adding perspective on how inclusion is experienced in practice. The results are incorporated into your Standard report.

No. It’s recommended, but not mandatory. Those organisations going for Gold accreditation must do the pulse survey as part of their submission. Speak to our team if you would like to discuss the best approach.

Yes. Reassessment provides an opportunity to review changes in practice and performance.

The Inclusive Employers Standard costs £3,950 + VAT. Inclusive Employers members receive a 10% discount. The employee pulse survey is included within this price at no extra cost.

It provides an expert-assessed view of maturity and impact, annual benchmarking insights and practical recommendations that can support conversations about accountability, priorities and investment. Specific commercial outcomes require their own supporting evidence.

Yes. Both members and non-members can participate; members receive a 10% discount.

Your report and feedback session help identify priorities. If you need additional implementation support, Inclusive Employers also offers Inclusion Partnerships, Learning and Development, and Transformation and Change Consultancy. These are separate services.