Inclusive Companies have been working in the inclusion space for around 20 years, helping organisations create workplaces where people can genuinely thrive. This year they hosted the 15th National Diversity Awards in Liverpool, a celebration that recognises true change makers perhaps overlooked by other awards and accolades. We are so proud to have them as part of our Baltic Creative CIC community, and jumped at the chance to sit down with CEO Paul Sesay to find out about more about the impact of their work.
Paul said “The big thing for us is that everybody is inclusive, and all organisations are inclusive. Basically, inclusion is everybody.”
“We work with employers around work-based cultures, leadership training, and retaining diverse workforce as well as other things like that. We’re so passionate about what we do because we want to create change.”
Looking across 20 years, we were interested to know more about the legacy Inclusive Companies has created.
“One thing that I’m really proud of is that we built something here in Liverpool that has a national impact. We created platforms, including the National Diversity Awards and the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List. Working with some of the UK’s biggest and boldest employers and businesses and communities across the UK that wouldn’t otherwise have had a voice, which is which is what we do. We like to give people a voice. I think we’re the only company that works with big companies and communities right across the UK, so that organisations can connect with the communities that they serve, their consumers, and so on and so forth. And that’s really important.”
Having worked in the sector for so long, we were interested to find out what is changing for companies when it comes to thinking about diversity and inclusion. Paul reflected:
“I think it’s a really interesting point. Organisations are asking harder questions now. It’s no longer enough to say we’ve got a policy, we’ve done some training, and we’ve celebrated awareness days. That’s just not the case no more. The question should be: Are the people staying? You know, what is the culture like? Are they psychologically safe places for people to come into work and actually just be themselves and have a sense of belonging, so as a collective we can run this business the best that we can.”
Inclusive Companies work with organisations locally in Liverpool and nationally across the UK and “can help you create that culture, retain diverse talent, and actually just be an amazing organisation to work for.”
Inclusive Companies offer training, consultancy support and a membership scheme offering access to resources, training and support for organisations wanting to be the best they can be.
To find out more about their work visit www.inclusivecompanies.co.uk
