Kate Dodsworth ,
We live in a world which changes so fast ; predictions are becoming impossible . From the last global financial crisis to election polling ; the crystal balls are an increasingly useless tool . Stability is old school – disruption is at the gates .
Diversity Matters
Kate Dodsworth ,
Executive Director People and Communications Designate
We live in a world which changes so fast ; predictions are becoming impossible . From the last global financial crisis to election polling ; the crystal balls are an increasingly useless tool . Stability is old school – disruption is at the gates .
So how do we deal with this ? How do we make sure we thrive and remain relevant whilst staying focussed on our business objectives ? There ’ s plenty of research which reinforces how crucial diversity is to decision making . Group thinking at a strategic level can be dangerous . And at a time of constant change , businesses which are steered by a diverse group of minds and backgrounds is a positive bonus . It helps us see better around corners .
Good news then at Optivo . Shadow Board already recognise the importance of diversity and have just taken a major step to ensure it features at a strategic level .
For future Board and Committee vacancies we ’ ll use aspirational targets to ensure we recruit based on skills but also on balance around the table . In practice this will mean setting a target around the percentage of people we want to recruit from protected characteristics such as gender , ethnicity and disability .
Where we don ’ t manage to achieve our target we ’ ll need to report back to Board with our reasons .
Setting the direction at Board level means we can then look at the rest of the organisation . We need to make sure we ’ re making the very best of our talent – and that means progressing people effectively . The first step in this process is to measure how we ’ re doing through a diversity lens . The housing sector itself hasn ’ t been as successful as it might in progressing women and Black , Asian and Minority Ethnic ( BAME ) staff to leadership positions . We need to find solutions to that and our first Optivo Diversity Strategy will be a crucial marker in the sand .
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