Case Study

WMEmployers Allyship programme

West Midland Employers (WME) is a not-for-profit public sector organisation collectively owned by 32 councils in the West Midlands.

Through our shared values of inclusive leadership skills for an innovative workforce, JGG and WME partnered to create the Accelerating Inclusion Through Allyship programme, which sought to help senior leaders in local government recognise behaviour that excludes, and become champions for inclusivity. Our pilot cohort consisted of 10 top senior leaders from eight local authorities, who committed to enacting change for internal colleagues, councillors, and communities. 
 
We were supported by Michelle O’Neill, principal consultant for Leadership & Organisational Development at WME, who said, “While local government as a whole has moved forward in addressing inclusion, we know that progress is too slow. This programme gets to the heart of public sector efforts to drive inclusion and create working environments that allow everyone to thrive so that we smash through the ceiling for disadvantaged groups and ensure councils are truly representative of the communities they serve. ‘Ultimately, it will help organisations to create more inclusive workplaces that attract and retain the best talent.”
“If I was telling colleagues about the allyship programme I would say go for it. Make it a priority. Whether you manage staff or work with people it’s really important to learn and open your mind to some of those changes, question your own practice and your own biases. It’s really important stuff.”

Feedback

“There are a number of tools that we developed as part of the programme which I’ll be able to take back into the workplace. Tools around building psychological safety within my team, improving that sense of belonging amongst the people I work with and also being able to call out or call-in unacceptable behaviour and really demonstrate that I’m acting as an ally to my colleagues.”

“It’s such a powerful tool to make a difference to people and understand there are so many different perspectives that influence people’s lives and that every day even just a few words to someone can have a really positive or negative effect. So to think about those perspectives and how we look at our own behaviours and culture, the way we do things and how inclusive we are within our organisations is absolutely critical because it means we value everybody around us.”

This solution was co-designed to meet this organisation’s unique challenges and goals. Is your team equipped to reach its full potential? Use our discovery tool to identify your specific needs in seconds.

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