{"id":43488,"date":"2022-04-11T15:21:44","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T14:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk\/?p=43488"},"modified":"2022-09-13T11:42:30","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T10:42:30","slug":"top-tips-from-staff-network-leads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inclusiveemployers.co.uk\/blog\/top-tips-from-staff-network-leads\/","title":{"rendered":"Top tips from staff network leads"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staff networks can add great value to workplaces and create brilliant platforms to empower your people and progress inclusion. The organisations sharing their top tips in this article are all accredited in the Inclusive Employer’s Standard<\/a> (IES), our evidence-based workplace accreditation tool. <\/p>\n

They have all demonstrated excellence in the empower category, one of the six pillars of inclusion<\/a> that are used to measure I&D in the IES. This pillar is about how effectively an organisation empowers its employees, with staff networks being one way to do this. They are a way for employees to feel valued in an organisation, at the same time as adding value to it.<\/p>\n

Read on for the top tips from our IES accredited organisations.<\/p>\n

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Optivo – Women@Work Network<\/h2>\n
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Jen Wickert, (above left) Communications Manager and Saalene Sivaprasad, (above right) Communications Officer, are Co-chairs of Optivo\u2019s Women@Work Network Group.<\/p>\n

Saalene joined the Women@Work Network and stepped up to Co-Chair after seeing how the work that the group does is a real and tangible way to uplift the voices of women. She see’s the power of working together to address the issues that come out of gender inequality, and build a community along the way.<\/p>\n

Jen became Co-Chair of Optivo\u2019s Women@Work Network in 2017 with the aim of supporting women to progress in their careers. She\u2019s particularly passionate about supporting working mothers and addressing the imbalances that can prevent mothers returning to the workplace.<\/p>\n

Read on for Jen and Saalene’s top tips for staff networks:<\/p>\n

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Remain flexible<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Each year we work with our network to agree objectives for the coming year. We\u2019ve set priorities around supporting working mothers, improving menopause understanding<\/a> and support, and raising awareness around breast and cervical cancer, among many other things. <\/p>\n

Sometimes events and other issues can occur and it\u2019s important to respond at the time. In fact, that can be more powerful than anything. <\/p>\n

The murder of Sarah Everard, and in particular the safety of women, had a huge impact on our members. It was important for us to reach out and take time to discuss how we were feeling. We also looked at what support measures could be put in place in our own organisation. <\/p>\n

By amplifying the voices of our members we made them feel heard at an extremely difficult time.<\/p>\n

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A voice at the top<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Each of our network groups has an Executive Team sponsor, and this ensures our objectives have support at the top of the organisation. <\/p>\n

Our Executive Team Sponsor, Sarah Smith is also the organisation\u2019s Chief Financial Officer. Having Sarah on board gives us the influence for change that is sometimes needed. She\u2019s also a great sounding board for ideas and initiatives.<\/p>\n

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Welcome allies to your network<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As the Women@Work Network the perception could be that our membership excludes men. But this isn\u2019t the case. We\u2019re welcoming of all colleagues and encourage male membership.  <\/p>\n

Quite often the issues that impact our members can be positively influenced by allies. This is true for all networks. By raising awareness of biases and unfair practices that negatively impact on minority groups we stand more chance of making the changes we all want to see.<\/p>\n

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Teach First – LGBTQ+ Affinity Network<\/h2>\n
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Ben Leitch is the Multi Programme Manager and Co-Chair of Teach First’s LGBTQ+ Affinity Network. He has been the chair and subsequent Co-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Affinity Network at Teach First for over 3 years having taken on the role voluntarily after his predecessor left the charity. <\/p>\n

He has played a prominent role in Teach First’s LGBTQ+ staff inclusion strategy as part of their D&I roadmap. He’s led their work with Stonewall UK, leading the charity to rank 33 in this year\u2019s Workplace Equality Index.<\/p>\n

As Co-Chair, Ben co-lead’s a fantastic working group of about 14 members and together they ensure that Teach First is a great place to work for all LGBTQ+ people and their allies.<\/p>\n

Here are Ben’s top tips for developing a successful staff nework:<\/p>\n

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Plan your focus annually<\/h3>\n

We know that staff networks can not only be used to support colleagues, strengthen allyship and raise awareness of important issues, but also influence policy changes that can make structures and systems within your organisation more inclusive. <\/p>\n

This is a lot to tackle for even the most experienced groups. Make sure you sit down with your team to plan out where your focuses will lie. Effective planning around key annual events will not only ensure what you want to do is achievable, but it will also reduce stress for when you have to deliver them.<\/p>\n

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Work intersectionally<\/h3>\n

To really ensure you\u2019re addressing workplace issues that can impact people with multiple intersectional identities, it\u2019s so important to make sure you\u2019re constantly working with other networks (if they exist in your organisation) or a cross-organisation D&I forum. <\/p>\n

This approach will ensure you\u2019re representing audiences that may sometimes (or frequently) be overlooked in the workplace. It also allows for new ideas and ways to approach D&I. I meet monthly with our other network chairs and it’s one of the most productive and rewarding sessions I have at work.<\/p>\n

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Make your working group feel valued<\/h3>\n

Leading a network isn\u2019t and should never be a one-person show. That\u2019s why the best networks have a diverse and enthusiastic working group behind them, supporting the direction of where to go next. <\/p>\n

Make each member of the working group feel valued by giving them a role to play, whether that\u2019s to represent a specific group of colleagues (which may or may not be intersectional), or to lead on a work-stream area like communications or HR. <\/p>\n

Meet regularly and get updates. Feel like a community of people doing great things outside of the day job. Most networks have people who are really willing to get stuck in but it\u2019s up to good inclusive leadership to know how best to do that.<\/p>\n

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Hogan Lovells – Level Up <\/h2>\n
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Lauren Bruce, Associate at Hogan Lovells, is Chair of their Level Up network group, which is designed to support the needs and interests of the company’s junior employees.<\/p>\n

Lauren was originally appointed as a group ambassador, essentially representing the network in their In Infrastructure and Projects team. When the network was refreshed Lauren was promoted to a committee position and shortly afterwards became the chair. <\/p>\n

The goals of LevelUp are to:<\/p>\n