Having worked closely with the Epilepsy Society for the past few months, we’re delighted to announce the launch of unFlash, an AI-powered tool that detects and helps prevent the spread of flashing images on social media that in turn could trigger seizures.
The first-of-its-kind plug-in allows specific users to report examples of flashing images that appear on their Twitter feed, which are then captured as part of a dataset used to train a Machine Learning model.
unFlash’s aim is to eventually teach the AI how to effectively detect and block media that falls within the photosensitive range. This would prevent harmful imagery with the potential of triggering a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy from being shared online.
“Social media is a global platform, and the only true way to protect people from seizure-triggering content is to turn off the tap at its source. That’s why we are so grateful to the team at Gravitywell for their commitment to developing unFlash. We are hopeful for what the AI can contribute to the protection of people with epilepsy online.
However, small companies such as Gravitywell who have donated their time to protect people should not burden the responsibility of protecting Twitter’s users; the social media giants must be held accountable for protecting vulnerable people with disabilities on their platforms.” — Epilepsy Society
What’s the purpose?
It can be hard to find meaning in what you do.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a digital strategist, a dog walker, a traffic warden, or a chef. If you don’t feel connected to your work – if you don’t feel a sense of purpose – it can be hard to stay engaged or committed.
Purpose is a big deal right now. The advertising and marketing industries have been accused of reckless greenwashing, in a bid for products and services to appear more appealing. They’ve been accused of promoting overconsumption and wastefulness. It’s even been said that we’re driving the climate crisis.
And at Proctors, we’re not blind to those concerns. (It’s why we’re so selective with our own campaigns, clients and partners.)
But we’re also firm believers in the merit of our own, ‘personal’ purpose. A purpose which is as simple as helping others, by using our time, talent and resources wherever possible to create a better world.
So we do this by giving back to our communities: whether local, global or simply like-minded. From sponsoring the local Easton women’s football team, to running the annual South West Design + Digital Student Awards, to ensuring our office is eco-friendly and self-sustainable, and by fundraising for chosen local charities.
Because for us, our Corporate Social Responsibility is just another part of our work. And we treat it with the seriousness and dedication it deserves.
Raising money for cancer research, Business Beats Cancer West of England
Our Founder and Chairman, Roger Proctor MBE, is passionate about ensuring Proctor + Stevenson do our part.
As a board member for Business Beats Cancer West of England (BBCWoE) – Cancer Research UK’s Business-facing arm in the region – Roger offers both our services and the personal commitment of Proctors employees to their cause.
Throughout our partnership with BBCWoE, we’ve created awareness campaigns complete with copy, design and marketing support, and assisted with event promotions year-round. And, of course, we got stuck in to raise some of those all-important funds ourselves.
Firstly, we took part in ‘The Big Hike,’ where a group of brave Proctorians hiked 26.5 miles through the Brecon Beacons on a beautiful, brisk Saturday, raising an impressive £1,832 for cancer research.
As if that wasn’t enough, even more Proctorians then took on ‘The Big Ride Cycle Challenge’ – a 79.2-mile loop starting from our offices in Easton and continuing through Cheddar Gorge, Wells, and the surrounding areas. With thighs of steel, our amazing team raised another £815 – a storming success.
If you’re a friend of Proctors, you’ll know every Christmas we create a ‘Christmas Card video’, treating our clients, friends, and family to a behind-the-scenes look at our team which will lift spirits and spread a little hilarity, too.
But when the COVID-19 saw us all locked down last year, the team agreed we should do something different.
We took a step away from the dressing up and hijinks, and instead approached a local charity to offer some help instead.
Caring in Bristol are a local charity working towards an incredible goal: to end homelessness in Bristol, for good. But during the pandemic homelessness tripled in Bristol, reflecting a nationwide trend. And it left the team with an even bigger task ahead.
So, our incredibly talented team of animators, copywriters and our marketing team got to work to produce a video which would get Bristolians digging deep for the cause.
The result? More than £20,000 of donations in just under two weeks, absolutely crashing through the Caring in Bristol team’s targets – and deservedly so.
It goes without saying, but the entire Proctors team was so proud of what we achieved for such a brilliant cause. So much so, you may want to watch this space…
If you’re an aspiring Philanthropist, looking for a cause to get stuck into, or are a charitable cause looking for support, Quartet Community Foundation are your answer.
They bring people together who want to work on community projects in the west of England, supporting hundreds of thousands of people through local frontline charities and voluntary groups.
We’ve been working with the team at Quartet for years, and have developed real, personal friendships with them. So when we heard they had begun a Coronavirus 2020 relief fund, we wanted to help in any way we could – which, as it turns out, meant hosting a virtual ‘Quarantine Quiz’!
We used the quiz to raise money for the foundation – and along the way, we experienced a real boost to our own morale too.
Babbasa are a Bristol-based organisation who work with young people, businesses, and the local community to address inequality in all its forms, and produce a fairer city. They offer advice on recruitment policies, and work with organisations to explain how they can diversify their workforce, as well as providing potential candidates.
So we partnered with them to get their advice on our own recruitment policy, to ensure we’re doing everything we can to create an inclusive culture – and actively work towards creating a fairer city.
Purpose is what you make it
Whoever you are, and wherever you work, it’s important to feel you’re doing the things that align with your values.
And at Proctors, we do that by ‘doing good’ and giving back wherever we can.
As you’ll see, it’s not all about big, transformative gestures. But about the things we can all do as a team to make the world just a little bit brighter.
So we’ll carry on doing what we can by working closely alongside charities and organisations to help those in need – both locally and further afield. We’ll continue to ensure we’re cultivating a sustainable office environment, and remain a place where employees feel valued and appreciated for their hard work.
To see more of what Proctor + Stevenson are involved in, have a look at our CSR page on our website. Or if you’d like to do some good of your own, contact us at [email protected].
Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of brands demonstrating their social stance. And today, these brands are choosing to buy their media from a diverse range of creators and ethical sources.
However, businesses are under pressure to show they are a brand of integrity and fear their advertisements might feature next to other content that could be detrimental to their reputation.
Brand integrity is of the utmost importance. 54% of consumers said they would think negatively of a brand that runs ads alongside content designed by others whose morals don’t align with theirs.
You can see why brand safety is such a hot topic in marketing, and this is especially apparent in the programmatic world.
If you’re unsure of what brand safety includes, it essentially encompasses all the measures advertisers implement to protect their brand from the potential backlash they could face by running ads next to harmful content.
Over-blocking content can actually be doing more harm than good. A vast majority of businesses still adopt a cut-throat approach when it comes to protecting their brand’s reputation.
However, this overprotective approach has led to a great proportion of content being excluded, even when it’s safe and suitable for your brand. We’ve seen this happen in many negative keyword lists and blocklists.
Industry-standard blocklists contain a vast array of terms related to race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. So, it’s clear to see that…
“Industry standard advertising practices [are] unfairly penalizing content creators within various groups, including the LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and API communities, as well as content relating to important aspects of the human experience, including social issues, mental health and wellness, and identity.”
[Taken from Channel Factory, Conscious Project, 2021]
In 2019, CHEQ’s ‘How Keyword Blacklists are Killing Reach and Monetization’ report looked at what type of content has been excluded from an industry-standard blacklist of 2000 keywords.
The report found that 57% of articles that were safe, were incorrectly flagged and blocked from serving ads. This was taking place because brands had been using overprotective negative keyword lists and blocklists.
These lists are incredibly harmful to creators and publishers, as they are unable to monetise their own content.
Other statistics the CHEQ study uncovered included:
Most companies do not update blocklists regularly, which is why a great deal of suitable content is deemed harmful.
Times are changing and have been changing quite drastically over the past few years. Our lists of negative keywords may have been necessary in 2017, but today they could be absolutely pointless.
Unfortunately, these outdated blocklists are harming marginalised communities across the globe, which is unfair, to say the least.
And this is a problem that needs urgent attention from our industry.
This overwhelming fear has led brands into the trap of unethical exclusion. What we mean by this is that brands and agencies are blocking all content related to marginalised groups and communities.
Therefore, content related to gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, social issues, identity (to name a few) should be monetised.
Positioning yourself in the market as a diverse and inclusive business has never been more important. Today, 60% of consumers prefer to associate themselves with companies that actively show they are committed to creating an online experience that is inclusive for all.
Of course, it’s important to focus our attention on brand safety. But as an industry, we need to think of new ways to implement brand safety without excluding creators based on their sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity.
This new approach needs to be one that can monetise positive content, which will, in turn, benefit the wider society.
Your blocklists and negative keywords need to be tailored to your brand and checked frequently. Don’t just keep adding new words, remove the unnecessary ones.
It’s always worth checking over your brand safety processes. You can then remodel a new brand strategy that encourages inclusivity.
You should always search for and connect with brands and creators that share your values. Once you have added them to your whitelist, they can assist in the monetisation of positive and inclusive content.
Working with a third-party brand safety and brand suitability partner can help with your brand safety measures. These third-party partners usually opt for human input, which ensures content is categorised with diversity in mind.
As an industry, we need to get embrace the needed changes to brand safety measures to ensure we are not excluding words, phrases, or languages that could exclude minority groups.
All voices should be represented in your content, not just a select few. By monetising your content, you can create new and improved content, which highlights diverse and marginalised communities.
It’s time you move forward with your approaches to brand safety because when you do, you will be actively creating an online world that promotes positivity and inclusivity.
The Social Mobility Commission (SEC) has launched a new sector-specific toolkit to encourage socio-economic diversity and inclusion in the creative sector workforce.
It aims to widen access to the creative industries for people from working class backgrounds in an attempt to tackle a “class crisis” in the sector.
The socio-economic diversity and inclusion: toolkit for the creative industries, developed by the Social Mobility Commission in partnership with creative industries businesses, offers practical support and guidance to creative employers on how to identify and remove invisible barriers that arise at every stage of the employee journey.
According to new research, just 27% of the creative industries workforce comes from a working class background, compared with 39% of the wider UK workforce. For the advertising and marketing and music and performing arts sub-sectors, the percentage of the workforce from a working class background falls to just 23%.
The SEC said that “the unique structures of the creative industries workforce are driving this imbalance, with factors including the high numbers of ‘professional’ jobs within the sector, an entrenched reliance on freelance workers as well as an abundance of unpaid internships creating additional barriers to entry for those from low socio-economic backgrounds.
“Disproportionate numbers of those in senior roles who attended private school or Oxbridge may also have served to perpetuate understandings of cultural ‘fit’ and accepted behavioural codes within the creative industries, presenting an additional barrier to those from low socio-economic backgrounds.”
Those who have contributed or endorsed the toolkit include the BBC, BFI, UK Screen Alliance, Youth Music British Fashion Council, Museums Association, British Institute of Interior Design and the Publishers Association.
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said:
“A working class background should never be a barrier to a successful career in the creative Industries. We want to increase access to opportunities across the board as part of our plan to level up. This new toolkit will help support creative firms become more inclusive and give people the chance to forge a successful career in these exciting sectors.”
Caroline Norbury, CEO at Creative Industries Federation, said:
“If creativity is to shape a better future for all, then it has to reflect the diversity and breadth of experience found across the country. Ensuring opportunities exist for creative individuals to thrive, no matter their background, is an important step towards achieving this. The Social Mobility Commission’s toolkit is a critical resource for addressing the unacceptable imbalance of socio-economic backgrounds found in the UK’s creative industries.”
Farrah Storr, social mobility commissioner and editor-in-chief at Elle UK, said:
“It’s been great to see so many within the industry collaborate on the development of this toolkit. For the whole creative sector to remain vibrant, it is vital that we tap into the full potential of the whole population, not just a privileged few.
“The creative industries create the culture of the nation, which in turn necessitates full participation from the entire nation. As organisations adopt the actions set out within this toolkit to make socio-economic inclusion a reality, we will become an industry that is both rich in diverse viewpoints, experiences and stories as well as an industry that is built to last.”
Heather Carey from the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Work Advance said:
“As we rebuild following the Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital that we widen access to opportunities created in high-growth, high-skill parts of the UK economy, like the Creative Industries. Our research provides definitive evidence on the causes of class imbalances and sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of change to enhance social mobility into the Creative Economy. Government and Industry must seize this moment, as we emerge from an unprecedented crisis, to address the long-standing inequalities in the Creative sector and to grasp the potential offered by diverse talent in the UK to cement our creative excellence and competitive advantage, globally.”
The Social Mobility Commission is hosting a public launch event on Monday 11 October, chaired by Farrah Storr, SMC commissioner and editor-in-chief of Elle, and featuring a discussion with industry insiders: Jamie Gill, CEO of ROKSANDA and executive board, British Fashion Council; Della Hill, creative lead at Literature Wales and Emily Jones, senior producer at Sage Gateshead. Register for the event at SocialMobilityWorks.org
Heather Carey will present the findings of PEC’s new research report: Social mobility in the creative economy: Rebuilding and levelling up?
Bristol Technology Festival (BTF) has unveiled a packed schedule for its tech showcase event, taking place during the week of October 11-15.
Now into its third edition, BTF is an annual celebration designed to bring together events, people and communities to share, learn and explore technology developments in the southwest region. Events will encompass a range of sectors from green and sustainable technology to legal and finance.
This year’s schedule includes a number of highly anticipated events, of which there are more than 50 spread across five packed days.
The theme which wraps around many of the events through the week is ‘changing the face of tech’, with the emphasis on taking tangible action beyond simply talking about a lack of diversity and inclusion. As well as demonstrating the best of what the area’s tech space has to offer, BTF 2021 aims to bring together like-minded organisations ready to inspire wide-reaching change.
It is not too late to get involved. For individuals and organisations interested in attending or hosting an event, there is still time to book tickets and submit proposals.
Softcat headlines busy BTF 2021
BTF 2021 would like to thank Headline Partner Softcat for its indispensable support of BTF 2021.
Looking ahead to the event, Rob Parkinson, CIO at Softcat, commented: “We are delighted to be involved in the 2021 Bristol Technology Festival. Bringing together local technology communities and shining a light on all the innovation the region has to showcase is an important way to drive collaboration and industry growth.
“The last 18 months have been tough for many industries, but technology has come through as an enabler and has made many re-think how they interact and do business. As the impact of technology continues to grow, forums like the Bristol Technology Festival have never been more important and we are pleased to be supporting it.”
Event organisers are also grateful to Deloitte for sponsoring the Bristol Technology Festival Launch Event, on Thursday October 7 which will be held at Engine Shed.
Here, the exclusive launch evening will be a chance for senior leaders and technology influencers from across the region to network, share ideas and see each other in person, with speaker contributions coming from the likes of Moneyhub, Deloitte and Softcat.
Changing the face of tech
Among the many highlights of this year’s festival is a fireside keynote chat with Antonia Forster.
Antonia is a Unity/C# games and software developer, specialising in immersive experiences such as AR, VR and XR. In 2017, her record-breaking TEDxBristol talk was delivered to a live audience of 2,000 people and has since gained over 92,000 views online.
A year later, Antonia was nominated and shortlisted for Nature’s John Maddox Prize, in recognition of her work as an LGBTQ+ speaker and activist. She has also been named one of Bristol’s Top Nine “Women to Watch” in STEM, and has appeared in numerous magazine, radio and television features.
The talk with Antonia is scheduled for Monday October 11th, 12:00-14:00, at Engine Shed.
It is expected to be one of many events held throughout the week that inspire both more women to pursue careers in the tech sector, and organisations to provide greater opportunities and promote diversity.
What else to expect at BTF 2021
Diversity is the name of the game when it comes to the group of volunteers helping to coordinate the festival.
Among them are representatives from Hargreaves Lansdown, Newicon, TechSPARK, and Engine Shed, with events throughout BTF being crowdsourced from organisations across the city of Bristol.
These include tech companies, public bodies, schools, community interest groups and charities, with events open to a huge variety of guests – from tech professionals and businesses to individuals wanting to know more about the area’s digital industries.
Between them, a huge variety of discussions and other activities will be open to attendees:
This year’s Bristol Technology Festival will also witness the launch of the Festival Community Partner initiative. Here, businesses have the opportunity to become one of 50 community partners, with all funds invested helping to secure the long-term future of the festival.
For more information and to view the schedule for BTF 2021, visit www.bristoltechfest.org
To submit an event proposal, complete the form here.
Workforces in the creative industries are at risk of becoming more unequal unless efforts are made to improve diversity and inclusion.
That’s the warning by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity following an 18-month research project with King’s College London and the University of Edinburgh.
The resulting report, Creative Majority, publishes a framework of five guiding principles which it says will lead to immediate and long-lasting change. It also makes a series of recommendations to the government and businesses.
The UK’s creative industries remain unrepresentative of the population as a whole, the report says.
Straight, able-bodied, white men living in London are only 3.5% of the UK population, it highlights, but “this small minority still dominates the creative sector, and in particular occupy a vast number of the most senior creative roles”.
Chi Onwurah MP, co-chair of the APPG for Creative Diversity, said the coronavirus pandemic has deepened this issue with fewer creative organisations and job opportunities for diverse talent.
Disabled people, younger workers, those not engaged in higher education and mothers are among the employees hardest hit by the pandemic. Individuals from a minoritised racial group have also been hit hard. Employment in the arts and entertainment sectors for women in those groups has fallen by 44%, more than any other group in any industry.
“Without action, we risk exacerbating inequalities further in the creative industries and an entire generation of talent – the future of the sector – could be lost,” Onwurah warned.
As part of the research, roundtables were conducted to gather evidence about diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. Among those participating were Sam Friedman, associate professor of sociology at London School of Economics and commissioner at the Social Mobility Commission, who said:
“In most of these industries there’s a kind of historical legacy of who’s done this kind of work in the past and how they’ve been able to embed, even institutionalise, their own ways of being that still, in the present, are able to shape taken-for-granted ideas about who is appropriate to promote and progress, and that’s basically the legacy of white, privileged men in this country in almost every elite industry.
“What’s being valued is a misrecognition of merit that tilts in favour of behavioural codes and forms of self-presentation that dominant groups and yes, people from privileged backgrounds but also this is hugely racialised and gendered, around acceptable ways of being in the workplace.”
Robert Adediran, EDI consultant and former executive director at London Music Masters, said:
“There’s a strong sense that everyone who is at the top is there because they are the best people for the role and that’s very damaging because it prevents us from looking for talent elsewhere.
“In music, particularly classical, there’s a sense that the art form has reached a pinnacle, that it could not possibly get any better than it already is. Again, that is very dangerous because it robs one of the key drivers for diversity and inclusion, which is to make the art form better. There isn’t the drive to bring new people in to change things and to push a more creative output or a better creative output.”
Miranda Wayland, BBC head of creative diversity, said:
“We can’t really be effective until we tackle the question of what ‘good’ really looks like. I can sit here and come up with different metrics about how diversity of thought and diversity of inclusion in our recruitment practices are really at the heart of it, but if those people who are making decisions aren’t really thinking about what good looks like, no initiative, no scheme, no target that we’ve all been imbedded in supporting over the last 10, 15, 30 years, is going to make a difference.
“We need to break the illusion that ‘good’ only comes in a certain package, from a certain background, with a certain title and a certain destination.”
The report said the creative industries have many lessons to learn from how society has adapted to big changes in the way people work.
Working from home, collaborating remotely and new safety measures show that “change, on a massive scale, is possible in a short time frame”, the report said. “The same momentum now needs to be applied to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).”
The report publishes five principles as a framework for good and effective practice that it says should act as benchmarks for anyone wanting to see results in EDI.
The five principles are:
Read more detail about the framework in the full report.
The report also makes a series of recommendations to policymakers and creative organisations.
It says: “This report represents a challenge and represents a demand. It offers a chance for policymakers, along with organisations and businesses, to step up and to lead.
“We need bold and visionary leadership to support diversity in the creative economy. As our report shows, the challenges are great. Yet, bold and visionary leadership will reap the rewards of a diverse workforce and audience. It is a challenge to which we need policymakers to rise.”
The recommendations to government include:
The recommendations to creative industry businesses and organisations include:
This event is a practical series of five virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion (D&I) efforts. It will help you make sense of what D&I means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. You’ll get insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan.
The first session has already taken place but book the remaining four sessions by 9.30am on 6 October and you’ll be sent a recording of the first session along with the presentation slides.
Sign up here. Bristol Creative Industries members get £75 off the ticket price.
What is inclusive marketing?
Inclusive marketing happens when companies represent the diverse communities they’re serving. It’s simple, really. When you speak to all your target audience, you aren’t just “doing your bit,” you’re boosting your business. Extending your reach and more customers will buy. And your ROI? You better believe that’s going right up.
Not convinced?
Here are just a few stats that show why inclusive marketing deserves your attention:
Remember that all-important Millennial market? 77 per cent of them favour brands that are inclusive
The LGBTQIA market spends £6 billion a year and are willing to switch to more inclusive brands
Consumers from ethnically diverse communities in the UK have £300 billion a year to spend and rising.
Find out more about inclusive marketing on our blog
Atomic Smash is pleased to announce the sponsorship of a desk space at Spike Island Workspace – the same co-working space where Piers Tincknell and David Darke, co-founders of Atomic Smash, first set up shop as WordPress and WooCommerce specialists over a decade ago.
Atomic Smash will cover the full desk space costs for 12 months so that the recipients can concentrate on developing their business, with the option – but no obligation – to continue as users in Spike Island Workspace after the sponsorship ends.
Spike Island Workspace is the perfect location for emerging or micro-businesses who are ready to develop and establish themselves further. Working from the space expands your connections and opportunities for growth, as you join a dynamic and diverse community of artists and creative businesses.
This sponsorship is aimed at:
The sponsorship is open to all creatives who would benefit from the opportunity and we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.
Through your application, you will be able to tell us how this opportunity could make a significant difference to your future. Please also describe any access requirements you may have within your application.
Recently refurbished, Spike Island Workspace is located close to Bristol harbourside and in a busy building offering art exhibitions, artists’ studios, offices, production facilities and a café. Find out more about the space.
Monday 18th October 2021: Application closing date
Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th October 2021: Interview dates
Friday 29th October 2021: Spike Island Workspace visit
Monday 8th November 2021: Sponsorship start date
Friday 4th November 2022: Sponsorship end date
Would you benefit from this opportunity? Apply here!
I’m really chuffed to announce the launch of “The Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I”, a practical series of five bite-sized virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion efforts, starting on 22nd September. I’ve teamed up with barrister Morag Ofili, who launched Kiltered in 2020 as a forward-thinking diversity and inclusion consultancy with a mission to take the fear out of building more inclusive workspaces. Using data analytics and organisational psychology, Kiltered helps businesses develop cohesive and achievable strategies for change and empowers businesses to put plans into action in a meaningful way.
In this 5-part series, we’ll help you make sense of what Diversity & Inclusion means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. We’ll share insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any D&I fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan. Our goal is to help you create a more inclusive workplace that will lead to increased diversity, improved team motivation and better business performance.
Who is it for?
Anyone looking to embed D&I into their business in a way that’s about more than talking and quotas. You might already be doing something D&I related, you might not. You might have taken the first step but are not sure what to focus on next. Or you might be finding it difficult to get buy-in or investment for your efforts. We’re here to help you take that next step, whatever it might be, and turn conversations into meaningful and positive action for your business.
Find out more and book your place here.
The Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I is a practical series of five bite-sized virtual sessions to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion efforts. We’ll help you make sense of what Diversity & Inclusion means for your business, why it matters, and how to turn the conversation into action. We’ll share insights, tools and techniques to help you overcome any D&I fears and obstacles, before starting to develop a plan. Our goal is to help you create a more inclusive workplace that will lead to increased diversity, improved team motivation and better business performance.
Anyone looking to embed D&I into their business in a way that’s about more than talking and quotas. You might already be doing something D&I related, you might not. You might have taken the first step but are not sure what to focus on next. Or you might be finding it difficult to get buy-in or investment for your efforts. We’re here to help you take that next step, whatever it might be, and turn conversations into meaningful action for your business.
This series of 5 workshops will run fortnightly on a Wednesday morning starting on Wednesday 22nd September.
** NB the first session had already taken place but if you’d like to book on the remaining 4 sessions, we will send you a recording of the first session along with slides so that you can catch up.
Part 1 – 22nd September, 9-10.30am
Setting the Scene – The business case for Diversity & Inclusion
Part 2 – 6th October, 9.30-10.30am
Making Space for Inclusion – Where do I start?
Part 3 – 20th October, 9.30-10.30am
Embedding Inclusion into your Culture through your Vision, Mission, Values and Strategy
Part 4 – 3rd November, 9.30-10.30am
The Perception Gap – Using data and analytics to increase your chances of success
Part 5 – 17th November, 9.30-10.30am
Writing your plan and putting it into action
Barrister Morag Ofili started Kiltered in 2020, a forward-thinking diversity and inclusion consultancy with a mission to take the fear out of building more inclusive workspaces. Using data analytics and organisational psychology, Kiltered helps businesses develop cohesive and achievable strategies for change and empowers businesses to put plans into action in a meaningful way. Where needed, Morag can tap into her network of lawyers, HR specialists and trainers to offer additional support. Kiltered is a resource for companies and leaders who are ready to do things differently. Morag is also a director at Broadminded, a community for curious and ambitious women, running events to inspire, educate & support women across all industries.
With a career spanning 20+ years in the creative and tech industry, Mette Davis has co-founded start-ups, and held leadership positions for global networks, boutique creative agencies and a digital transformation consultancy. Her former clients include British Airways, Mars and McLaren Automotive to name a few. Mette set up her own business in 2016, partnering with businesses and individuals to help them navigate through change and unleash their full potential. She works closely with companies to develop robust business strategies that stand the test of time, helping them activate their plans across multiple areas with a suite of practical tools and techniques, including workshop design and facilitation. Mette has also previously delivered several hugely popular training workshops for Bristol Creative Industries.
Diversity & Inclusion is a topic that’s rarely out of the news. But it’s also a topic that makes us feel uncomfortable, unsure of how to approach it and where to start. And once we have started, what we should be focusing on and prioritising in our strategic plans.
This first virtual session will help to set you on the right track with your diversity & inclusion efforts, make sense of what it means for businesses and the creative industries specifically, why it matters, and where to start. We’ll share a balanced perspective on some of the latest research and benefits of writing a business case, and explore different approaches to D&I, including metrics you can use to drive your efforts, all with the goal of creating a more inclusive workplace that will lead to increased diversity, improved team motivation and better business performance.
Whilst many understand the importance of inclusive workspaces and have heard the stats that diversity and inclusion is good for business, a large number of businesses have no idea how to get from where they are now to where they ought to be.
There are many reasons not to change – you lack the expertise, it takes up too much time, you don’t have the money or perhaps you simply do not want to compromise the positive elements of the existing culture? This session will tackle all of these common concerns and equip you with the tools to embark on your inclusion journey with a positive mindset.
Over the course of the session, we will explore why change is hard and what we can do to embrace it to create a better workplace environment for everyone.
The 3rd session in the Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I focuses on embedding inclusion into your culture through your vision, mission, values and ultimately your strategy.
We’ll talk about inclusive leadership, what it means and why it’s important for companies who want to achieve genuine inclusion, starting with the definition of your vision, mission and values. And once created, how it weaves into every element of your strategy and creates value for your business.
We’ll talk about different approaches companies take, with real life examples who have achieved varying levels of success through their efforts, including a deeper dive into the London 2012 Olympics and what we can learn from their approach to D&I.
We’ll also provide some practical guidance to help you on your way.
So you have examined your culture and examined your values but do you actually know how your employees feel about working in your organisation?
Are you surprised that anyone would ever want to leave?
The perception gap is the distance between how you want to come across and how you are ultimately perceived.
In this session, we will look at how data helps businesses close the gap and develop solutions that are responsive to the needs of their people.
As part of the Kiltered Guide to Effective D&I series, this final virtual session focuses on putting your plan into action. We’ll provide some practical steps you can take depending on where you are on your journey, as well as a couple of useful tools that will help you on your way to developing an inclusive culture that creates value for the business and motivates your team.
We’ll also help you understand what to expect, things to look out for, and how to approach some of the trickier situations that might arise. We’ll also share examples to bring it all to life.
The Kiltered Guide to D&I is sold as a block of 5 workshops as the learning builds throughout the series. Places are £225+VAT for BCI members and £295+VAT for non-members.
Book your place(s) here.
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