Diversity Diva

kindness matters

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 11:53:17 GMT

This week sherpa has joined the #BeTheRipple2020 movement.

We have long been supporters of Good Work and Fair Work, and the intention to make work better, more meaningful and workplaces more diverse and truly inclusive.

We still have such a long way to go. #BlackLivesMatters shows the inequalities that persist and the impact of lockdown is felt most keenly by those furthest from the decision making. It is fair to say that in all areas attempts to ‘level up’ are at best moving at a glacial pace.

Change can happen where there is a will, and sometimes when the right chord is struck at the right time. The simple, polite, kind and determined resolve of a talented young footballer has prevented the political elite from scoring a huge own goal.

What if we built kindness into our policy thinking rather than be embarrassed into making change? This is as much for policy makers at government level as it is for employers. The #BeTheRipple movement is bringing together hearts as well as minds to help us all focus on making our worlds kinder. Better.

If you want to find out more please visit https://www.betheripple.co.uk/

after furlough

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:31:41 GMT

The Chancellor of the UK has announced that the Government’s flagship Covid-19 policy: The Job Retention Scheme, must like all good things, come to an end. We have been given notice. The Government highlights that this level of unprecedented generosity will stop; the focus now is on gathering, rather than spending the UK Tax revenue.

In my first blog as Director of SHERPA I welcomed the bold move of the Chancellor and his team for the introduction of the Job Retention Scheme. I also argued for the introduction of Universal Basic Income as the sustainable solution to transition too. It was clear from the outset that the Job Retention Scheme could not carry on indefinitely, but what is also clear is that business, and society, needs some sort of transition. Simply pulling up the drawbridge will leave many stranded, with little hope of a positive future.

In setting out the plan to end the Job Retention Scheme, the Chancellor talked about Britain ‘returning to work’. However, for many, work has continued or adapted to the new Covid context. This has not stopped many companies who have been able to continue to operate having to make decisions to furlough staff. In other situations, for example in hospitality, whole workforces have been furloughed and for some employers, choices have already been made to let staff go.

Complex decisions now loom large for employers.

If the Job Retention Scheme is set to end in October for all, without any leeway for regions affected by a second peak of the virus, or industries not able to operate safely in a covid-19 context, then employers will need to think how they weather the continuing storm.

On top of this, we know that employees with caring responsibilities will still struggle to commit to pre-pandemic productivity levels simply because schools are not able to operate as they did before.

And of course, if we can get, or keep people working, employers need to recognise the mental toll lockdown and the threat of the virus have taken. In addition, many of our colleagues will be returning to work having experienced loss and experiencing profound grief in isolation.

Solid steps in uncertain times.

Step 1- Solidarity . First, and foremost, we would urge employers to make sure that they are maintaining meaningful engagement with staff who are on furlough.

Regular keeping in touch days, by zoom, by phone or even a card to say hello will make a positive difference.

Those employers that have stood by their employees, shared the pain, supported staff, and made up the shortfall in salaries will have positively reinforced their brand well into the future.

Step 2 – Skills . Do you know what skills you will need going forward? Do you know what skills your people have? Can you support your people to gain new skills? Are you having conversations to help employees understand that not every job can be protected but every employee can be assisted to retrain for your business or somebody else’s?

Step 3 - Support . Signposting and authentic support is important, now, not when furlough finishes. Do you know where to access advice and guidance and how best to support you staff? Statutory redundancy pay might be seen as compensation for loss of work but investing in an ‘elegant exit’ that enables people to move on with dignity and practical support is the possible and positive alternative if reskilling is not realistic.

In my experience where you involve people in the decisions that affect them directly, you almost always get a better outcome. If you simply take something away before the alternative is in place then you create worry, anxiety, fear and you are likely to lose all the ground gained and the value of all the pervious investment. All the goodwill garnered will evaporate and no guarantee that the economic equilibrium will cover the cost.

Reputations – hard gained, easy lost

While I would rather Rishi Sunak did not set a deadline or a target which then becomes part of the daily joust with journalists, politics is politics and this narrative of ‘final’ is intentional. I would hope though that if further lockdowns (local or national) become required, that some wriggle room could be found for the temporary furlough box to be opened, rather than locked forever, undoing all the gains made with this approach. Language is important. Trust is important. It is so easy for the one to undermine the other. A new narrative based on hope, not empty rhetoric, on action not short-term financial pressure. There is a real opportunity for furlough to be remembered for the right reasons. What actions we take now - as government, as employers, as citizens will shape our society for generations.

The Chancellor tells us that Business is supportive of this decision, and I have no doubt that some will want to see the Scheme go, but not necessarily for benign reasons. At SHERPA we support businesses that want to do the right thing by their employees, whether that is supporting the elegant exit during redundancies or keeping people engaged in challenging times. We can help with your route map. We can do the heavy lifting if you need it.

a new timetable for school

Fri, 29 May 2020 10:38:56 GMT

re-imagining education for a post covid future

The Scottish Government has announced its route map out of lockdown. A welcome signal that there is indeed light at the end of this tunnel we find ourselves in.

A key announcement within this route map is that schools will physically re-open at the start of next summer term in August 2020. The caveat is that when they do, they will do so on a part-time basis:- half-time in school, half-time try and do schoolwork at home.

This news is welcome, but it does leave workers and employers with something of a long-term headache.

A ‘blended’ return to school is unlikely to be with us just for a few weeks or months, but rather years or at least until such time as a vaccine is available and then we return to pre-covid normal….

But what if we don’t? What if we take this time to design our education system to fit the needs of parents, employers, and our young people?

Parents who work need an education system that allows them to make the most of employment opportunities. The current 9-3.30 school day and 8week summer holiday proves problematic for many.

Employers need to be able to plan, to understand the productivity they can expect from parents managing the care/work juggle. In addition, employers need a pipeline of talent that is ready for a post pandemic workplace.

Many of our young people suffer greatly by the extended absence during the summer recess. Families find it difficult to balance work commitments and extended childcare needs. Families struggle with additional cost of feeding children during the holiday periods and some children are placed at increased risk in the absence of the structure and the many support systems provided through the education system.

The idea for a new future is simple. The caveat is that it requires a willingness for change and an ability to see change and difference as a positive opportunity. It will require politicians to be brave. And it is dependent on teachers and their unions embracing a different world of work. A world where society values their profession more highly than it currently does.

The proposition is this.

We forget about the 5-day week. We forget about it for kids, and for teachers, and hopefully we can forget about it for other workers too.

We forget about the current term time structures. We flex the holidays. School is provided for fewer days per week, but for more weeks of the year.

In the immediate post-lockdown part time in, part time out structure, perhaps schooling is provided for longer days? Could children be on campus 2 days per week, but for the equivalent of a working day? It is, of course, ridiculous to expect children to focus on the three R’s for 8 hours. So, we should think about the happy, confident, resilient children we want to come out of the education system.

The at home learning would be ‘home-work’, supported by the online resources we have grown used to over the first 2 months of lockdown. For parents able to access a four-day week and the luxury of homeworking, this spreads the pressure of the home/school juggle.

For our younger primary age children, a focus on the formal in the morning, and a focus on the fun in the afternoon.

For our senior school pupils, more collaboration with businesses and more connection with communities; local and global. Let us broaden horizons, focus on confidence and life skills. Our aim should be to produce curious, confident lifelong learners able to thrive in the workplace or in FE/HE. A narrow focus on A*’s isn’t good for our student’s wellbeing and really doesn’t translate into real life success.

On a practical level government must give thought to creating additional space for teaching, if we can create Louisa Jordan at breakneck speed, is it beyond the realms of possibility to access teaching space. Can we think creatively about the empty office space available as many migrate to home working? Or is there scope to utilise space with our FE and HE institutions as they plan for a remote return? Many institutions already have connections with primary and secondary schools and more should be done to break down institutional walls.

Of course, it is one thing to have the space to deliver the lessons, quite another to split the current workforce in two. It is impossible to double the qualified workforce of teaching staff within the space of 3 months. But is there scope to upskill teaching assistants so that they can provide more support to teachers and students. Para-teachers perhaps? Is there the possibility to train furloughed workers with practical skills that would benefit our young people? Twitter and Linkedin are awash with the self-employed and others who have lost their income streams, graduates who have seen their hopes and dreams of their chosen careers taken away. In short individuals with talents that could inspire and support our young people as we make our way out of physical distant schooling.

I appreciate many would consider this a middle-class manifesto. A solution that works well for parents who can work from home and have access to the tech and infrastructure that supports school at home when required. So, is it possible to offer a solution which offers 4 or 5 day schooling to the children of key workers and those eligible for (but not necessarily in receipt of) free school meals and those who don’t have the luxury of working at home?

So that is why real, meaningful involvement with parents, employers and young people needs to take place.

And in finding solutions there needs to be a move from workforce modelling and fire fighting in the here and now, to effective workforce planning that is underpinned by the ability to scenario plan, and identify and imagine the future skills need, not just for those delivering the education system, but those who will be the product of it.

Whatever the solution it needs new thinking and real involvement. Together, can we create a vision that gets us through this transition phase and to new and better future?

one key move to #buildbackbetter

Thu, 14 May 2020 16:37:35 GMT

Right now, we are at an inflection point. A point where we could find ways back to the way things were or an opportunity to think about a different future, a better future. Listening to the rhetoric and reading the headlines it seems that only a slow return is on offer. The reported focus is ending the lockdown, to get back to how we were.

But the question hanging in the air is, “Should we really go back to how it was?”

@likeengineer drew ‘a thing’. Here at SHERPA we think that the thing they drew (above and below) summed up, for many, the things we have realised that are important and are necessary. Clean air, better balance, thinking local and acting global. For those of us who can work from home, can afford to buy from specialist independent local retailers it will be hard to go back to the way things were and probably quite easy to live a new, and better, normal. However, to get to a different, better, future for all in our very unequal society will involve trialling big new ideas. If we had to pick one big idea, one that might make the most difference then it would be to introduce a Universal Basic Income model.

Beyond the Furlough Phenomenon

One of the most important measures to coincide with Lockdown was the introduction of the Job Retention Scheme (aka Furlough), protecting people and jobs – providing a much-needed breathing space financially for those whose world changed overnight. This week the Chancellor has helpfully extended the scheme, in a more flexible form, until October 2020. While this is very welcome, it sets us up to hope that that everything will revert to how it was. However, the unspoken reality is that, for many, the extension of furlough is simply delaying the inevitable.

The change in the way services operate and the decrease in demand for others will lead to thousands of redundancies. Mass, sudden redundancies will create a significant welfare bill, compounded with worsening health (mental and physical) of the population. This does not sound like a positive ‘new normal’ or the wellbeing economy that some are beginning to talk about now.

In the absence of a plan for the ‘new normal’, and without a clear idea of the skills needed to deliver a positive and bright new post-lockdown future we should use the extended period of furlough to form a bridge to Universal Basic Income(UBI). We believe that UBI will provide recipients with dignity, opportunity, and choice.

UBI is a safety net that provides every workless citizen with a minimum income – not means tested, not classist, not conditional. It is progressive, sustainable and will fit with our dynamic ‘new normal’. Proponents argue that it is simple to understand and administer, but importantly reduces income and health inequalities in support of a fairer society. Detractors point out the cost and that it is a ‘freeloaders charter’.

Perceptions are important. In extraordinary times, a right-leaning government has introduced a furlough scheme that is almost universally supported, what better time to migrate to a UBI model. Other countries, like Finland have trialled UBI with positive impacts for employment and wellbeing. So while there is a desire by some to be ‘lockstep in Lockdown’, there is also a recognition of regional. and national differences within the UK. The First Minister has signalled her growing interest in the idea, but to trial such a scheme is not the gift of a devolved parliament. However, perhaps it is time to test out a new big idea, after all there is precedence (the less welcome #polltax trial springs to mind)

The proposition is simple and urgent.

· Pick an area - a country e.g Scotland, or a city eg Dundee or a neighbourhood eg. Wester Hailes (Edinburgh)

· Transition on a financial sliding scale to introduce a new UBI from the end of Furlough. Eg. Introduce a taper that takes the current ceiling of £2500 pm to a floor of c £1000- £1200 pm with a corresponding removal of other welfare payments. (We are not pitching the precise amounts here but there are clearly those in HM Treasury or Scottish Government analysts that could model the numbers)

· Allow recipients to work, to study, to recuperate, to volunteer, to access business start-up help.

· Motivate recipients to work, to study, volunteer and start-up in skills gap areas (for example care, nursing, tech)

· Rather than signing on and sanctions. Provide access to coaching and support.

· Baseline employment, employability, welfare cost and health status and review in 2023.

This pandemic has brought to the fore what we value in society. If we bounce back to what we knew, based on the existing economic paradigm we are headed for a car crash and a consequential welfare epidemic at huge cost to the taxpayer. Before the pandemic we were heading into a significant skills gap challenge, all that has happened is that this has slowed down for now. We know that if people have time to reskill, do something different with the time available – knowing what work is likely to be there – old work in new ways as well as new work, then we keep the economy growing in the right way and the wellbeing of people at the centre of this.

We know because we in SHERPA have been there and done this sort of work before, through the establishment of the much lauded healthcare academy models across NHSScotland; a route for those furthest away from education and employment into jobs and successful careers with benefits for them and their families but also for the wider economy in reskilling people, reducing welfare reliance and corresponding improvements in health and wellbeing – limiting the drain on the NHS. These were models that we helped to pioneer in our previous day jobs. The academies go from strength to strength and continue to be a key part of the workforce supply for health and social care.

Let’s step up, not bounce back

There will be many that will want to disagree, so let them offer different or better solutions. This is a chance for us to try something new, something better.

We’d love to talk more, whether to bounce ideas about the ‘new normal’ or have a chat about our approach to workforce planning, we can’t wait to hear from you and organise a virtual coffee and a very real discussion.

Alex Killick is Director of SHERPA. He was until earlier this year Director of People at Glasgow Caledonian University and member of the Scottish Living Wage Leadership Group.

Equality begins at home

lynnkillick@outlook.com (Lynn Killick) — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 13:40:23 GMT

Big corporate or little start up

SHERPA was born in 2007. Before that, I had worked for a large public sector employer in Scotland. I managed a multi-disciplinary team on 12 staff and a budget of circa £6m. I loved my job, but the time came where I realised I didn't have the inclination to keep chipping away at the glass walls around me or the ceilings above me.

By 2007 I had worked full time for nearly 20 years. Most of that time in the private sector. In my early career, I didn't have much in the way of employment benefits, so when the eldest came along I had 6 weeks off on maternity leave, and I was back at my desk when he was four weeks old. At the time I did not feel short-changed by this, it was just the way it was. In fact, the conversation with my boss when I explained I was expecting was along the lines of 'I could sack you, but as long as you find a replacement and come back quickly you can keep your job'.

So I found my replacement, and I got back to my desk as quickly as I could. I worked hard, broadened my experience and moved on to more prominent firms and eventually different sectors.

Working full time and moving up the career ladder was a big part of my life. In fact, I would go as far to say that my status as a full-time worker was a massive part of my identity. I was (in my mind) the ultimate independent women, having it all. Except I wasn't. I relied on outsourced childcare (grandparents - lost without them). I was lucky if I could fit in school drop off and a bedtime story every day of the week.

Things changed when I moved to the public sector. For a start, I had access to excellent flexible working practices, but by that time bedtime stories were no longer required and I began to realise on a personal level that I had lost balance. Added to this the focus of my role was diversity & inclusion. I started to look at the positive numbers on our gender score sheet realising that although there were plenty of women in top jobs, the only women in the top positions were childless. Women with families seemed stuck at Director level. I am not good at being stuck, so I left, and SHERPA came to life. (We've had a little hibernation between 2013 and 2018 while I tackled a PhD)

I am not alone in opting out, a great blog by Becky Lewis at the Insight Fountain highlights the numbers of working mothers entering self-employment.

The reasons women get stuck or opt out are varied, some institutional, others personal or societal. I have contributed a light hearted blog to Universities Human Resources for International Women's Day that gives one perspective on why women opt out #IWD2018 - I hope you like it.

International Women's Day

lynnkillick@outlook.com (Lynn Killick) — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 12:35:12 GMT

Change silly

Today is International Women's Day. I explained to my daughter on the way to school that today is a day to celebrate women; An opportunity to remember the struggles of women who have come before us and to recognise the ongoing work to make sure that she can achieve whatever she wants in life.

Now my little one is only seven years old, so I probably shouldn't have been too surprised when she said that my monologue on the way to school was a 'bit much'. However, she proceeded to tell me that lots of people seem to forget that 'girls are people too'. She went on to tell me about Trudy Ederle and Mary Anning and how silly people thought that Trudy could not swim the English Channel and that Mary could not possibly know exciting things about fossils simply because they were women. She concluded by saying there were a lot of silly people a long time ago but if she knows that women are equal people and she is only seven, then surely everyone else knows that women are equal people too?

Unfortunately outdated stereotypes and working practices prevail. These prevent people achieving their full potential, and it seems in some places women are not always 'equal people'. To borrow from my daughter; In 2018 this seems rather 'silly'.

#IWD2018 heralds a new start for SHERPA. We are focussing on activities that will support individuals and organisations grow in confidence. By doing so, we aim to help individuals and organisations challenge 'silly' people and practices out there, the ones that limit the performance of talented people in the workplace.

Seeing Red

lynnkillick@outlook.com (Lynn Killick) — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 13:19:06 GMT

New ways to say no, or better ways to show we listen?

There has been an absolute outpouring of outrage following the revelations from the now infamous Presidents Club dinner. One response that caught my attention is a blog post by Susan Chambers, an HR Director in the FE sector . She refers to her assumption that based on her own experience such practices in the workplace were a thing of the past, however the #metoo movement , the necessity for the Angela scheme and of course the furore surrounding the Presidents Club lead her to question if there is a better way to call out unwanted behaviour. She suggests that ‘no’ isn’t working and a red card initiative may be more effective. Now, I understand her sentiment, however, in a way it suggests that responsibility for change lies primarily with the individual on the receiving end of unwanted and inappropriate behaviour; is it really up to women to educate those who exhibit bad behaviours and abuse positions of power, in the moment of the abuse?

Blogs like Susan's, the Time's Up campaign and #metoo provide helpful (and necessary) platforms for challenging conversations. Such conversations will hopefully give confidence and courage to anyone subjected to unwanted attention so that they can say 'no' in the moment. However, I think it is naïve to assume those who abuse power will change their behaviours at the sight of a red card. Harvey Weinstein didn’t behave the way he did because he thought it was acceptable, he acted the way he did because he knew he could ; the evidence suggests that he was routinely called out by women, their partners and their agents, he knew he was doing wrong, he just thought he was untouchable.

Regarding the Presidents Club and the message in Susan’s blog, I would argue that we should not be placing the emphasis on the hostesses to challenge the behaviour of well-heeled drunken louts. We should be turning our attention to the employment practices of the agency supply the staff and the trustees responsible for the organising and commissioning of the event. Just as employers should ensure that their procurement practices ensure staff providing services on their behalf receive fair compensation, they should also ensure that all staff, regardless of contract type, are provided with a safe working environment, and this must extend to protection against harassment in the workplace, from colleagues or customers. As such, the spotlight at this time must be on the Presidents Club trustees and the agency who supplied staff time and time again for this event.

However more generally, Susan is right to be angry at the situation we find ourselves in. We need workplace cultures (and a society) where individuals know that inappropriate behaviour is not accepted and that there will be complete support available to a complainer should a situation arise that necessitates ‘an ask for Angela’ moment or the showing of a red card. The easy thing is to put up the posters or to print the red cards. The difficult thing is to create the conditions that not only allow complaints to be heard but also allows complaints to be dealt with transparently. I would argue that to do so goes way beyond new ways to convey old messages, the development of perfectly formed policies or sheep dip training.

Leadership teams and colleagues in human resources need to reflect on how often bad behaviour (sexual harassment or harassment in any other form) is in fact tolerated or quietly managed out rather than publicly booted out of the organisation. If leadership teams are not brave enough to call out the bad behaviour, name it and show that it is toxic, why on earth would anyone on the receiving end of the behaviour believe that their back is covered if they show the red card?
So, red cards? Ok, give it a go, but they must be used visibly by those at the top; otherwise, those with the inclination to abuse power will continue to believe that they are untouchable.

Getting started

lynnkillick@outlook.com (Lynn Killick) — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 12:19:15 GMT

All tech'd up and raring to go

SHERPA is officially launching on International Women's Day 2018. We are going to blog as often as we can, sharing our thoughts on topical news stories as well as the trials and tribulations of setting up a new business. #iwd2018 #newbusiness #startup #workingmums

My First Blog Post

lynnkillick@outlook.com (Lynn Killick) — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 12:01:00 GMT

It's official, I have a blog and I know how to use it.

We have finally decided to take the plunge and add a blog to the Sherpa site. Our blog is an easy way to share information with you and we are excited to start this journey. Keep coming back to the Sherpa site and check for updates right here on the blog.