The Clear Company have been named best HR/L&D consultancy at this year’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CiPD) Awards for their work with leading international infrastructure group, Balfour Beatty. Success of the initiative has been measured in several ways including Balfour Beatty’s annual employee engagement survey which has shown positive changes in engagement across the business as the programme has progressed. Engagement amongst women had risen by 15%, ethnic minorities by 14% and disabled employees by 14%.
Working with Balfour Beatty’s leadership team, the Clear Company ran an audit to identify key areas of focus, particularly looking at the importance of leaders in building an inclusive culture. Using the results of the audit to set the specific context at Balfour Beatty and tailor the content they delivered their leadership coaching programme that helps leaders to understand the strategic value and importance of inclusive leadership; explore equality, diversity, and inclusion topics in a challenging and thought-provoking way; understand how to remove barriers to under-represented groups and build confidence to enable leaders to talk about ED&I.
Jenny Hinde, Executive Director at the Clear Company said: “It’s fantastic to be recognised as a leader in HR and learning and development, and we’re really proud to have won this award. We strive to disrupt and innovate, creating an inclusive world of work. To be recognised for a D&I project within a HR category is amazing and a huge step in the right direction.
“Balfour Beatty is a giant in its industry and when it approached us to deliver their leading inclusively programme, it demonstrated innovate thinking with regards to D&I. We worked collaboratively, creating a partnership that delivered a scalable, impactful solution to deliver an Inclusive Leadership programme.”
Gill Thomas MCIPD, Diversity & Inclusion Partner at Balfour Beatty added: “At Balfour Beatty, we are committed to creating a diverse workplace and strive for an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.
“Our work with the Clear Company over the past three years has propelled us further and faster than before; helping us to put in place meaningful, sustainable tools and solutions to educate our people, including our mandatory diversity and inclusion e-learning module and our award-winning ‘Leading Inclusively’ programme.”
When D&I becomes an integral part of HR strategy and embedded across HR operations, the subsequent engagement and impact that Balfour Beatty saw is the result. 84% of leaders were confident they would change their behaviour as a result of the programme and 90% agreed the facilitators created a safe and trusted environment.
