As part of our effort to highlight the remarkable accomplishments of the award winners, BW People congratulates Colt on winning the award and wishes to highlight their impactful accumen behind winning this prestigious awards. Therefore, Vineet Aswani (Global Head of Talent, Performance & Early Careers), Colt expresses the company ethos in form of a detailed interview.
1. What has been your company's vision and mission behind the diversity and inclusion initiatives?
At Colt, our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goal is to build an innovative, great, and inclusive place to work. We recognize that our business is enriched by a diversity of perspectives and building a genuine sense of belonging for our employees. It’s this foundation that empowers everyone to thrive and make their mark. Our DEI strategy is built on four main pillars:
1. Leadership & Culture: Developing leaders as inclusive role models and fostering a culture that values diverse perspectives.
2. Governance & Impact: Implementing governance to measure success and maximize impact through industry collaboration.
3. Diverse Representation: Ensuring the workplace reflects the diversity of their customers and communities.
4. Equitable Business Practices: Promoting equitable practices to enhance the employee experience and drive positive change globally.
2. What challenges have you faced in promoting diversity and inclusion, and how did you overcome them?
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the tech industry comes with several challenges, but we've taken proactive steps to address them.
Ours is a traditionally male-dominated industry and in particular we have lower female representation in technical roles. We have tackled this by setting clear targets including for leadership positions.
Our goal has been to build an inclusive culture where everyone can contribute to our success. Along with our comprehensive DEI training programmes, we have five very active employee network groups, that lead initiatives to drive awareness and inclusion. They feed into our DEI programmes and we consult with them on many things which impact our people.
Fostering open dialogue about inclusion and equity is key to bringing inclusive behaviours to life. Everyone in Colt completes an e-learning on Conscious Inclusion which is designed to raise awareness of bias. It covers respect at work and then focuses on inclusive behaviours with tips to deliver these. Our Allies in Action programme is another vehicles for embedding inclusive behaviours. It saw us agree an allyship guide. We then asked people to choose an allyship behaviour and take our allyship pledge.
Everything we do needs to be underpinned by inclusive leadership behaviours and so one of our focus areas is our delivery of inclusive leadership programme, which has been incredibly impactful.
Quantifying the impact of DEI initiatives can be complex. We use data-driven approaches to track our progress, conduct regular audits, and adjust our strategies based on feedback and measurable outcomes.
By addressing challenges head-on, we continue to make strides in creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
3. What are some key strategies and practices your organization has implemented to promote diversity and inclusion?
Our organisation has implemented several key strategies and practices to promote diversity and inclusion:
1. Inclusive Recruitment: We use competency-based questions and mandate panel interviews to ensure fair and objective hiring processes. We also partner with specialist job boards and organizations to widen our talent pool. We provide a hiring manager guide and a de-bias checklist to assist recruiters and hiring managers in reinforcing inclusive behaviors throughout the hiring process.
2. Training and Development: We provide regular DEI training for all employees, including workshops and e-learning modules. Our DEI Learning Community houses a variety of e-learning resources that focus on all diversity segments, ensuring comprehensive coverage of DEI topics. These e-learnings are actively promoted as part of our awareness initiatives, helping to foster a culture of continuous learning and inclusivity within our organization.
3. Employee Network Groups: We support employee network groups that focus on various aspects of diversity, such as gender, disability inclusion, cross-culture, ethnicity, multi-generations and LGBTQ+ communities. These groups provide a platform for employees to connect, share experiences, and drive initiatives.
4. Leadership Commitment: Our leadership team is actively involved in DEI efforts, setting clear diversity targets and participating in training programs. This commitment from the top helps to embed DEI into our organizational culture. Leaders are taking allyship pledges, demonstrating their commitment to supporting underrepresented groups. They also sponsor and mentor individuals from these groups, providing guidance and opportunities for growth. By actively engaging in these initiatives, our leadership team sets a powerful example and reinforces the importance of DEI throughout the organisation.
5. Transparent Policies: We have clear policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are communicated to all employees. These policies include guidelines for inclusive language, accessibility, and equitable treatment.
6. Accessibility Roadmap: We launched Optimizing Accessibility – this is a multi-year journey for our business as we take steps to build accessibility into everything we do. Our goal is to embed into every project & initiative from the outset. Our roadmap has five areas strategy and governance, employee experience, awareness and skills, brand and reputation & customer experience.
Our approach is data-driven. We regularly track and analyse diversity metrics to measure our progress and identify areas for improvement. This data-driven approach ensures that our DEI initiatives are effective and aligned with our goals.
By implementing these strategies, we aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and included.
4. What has been the hiring technique and initiatives of having a diversified workforce in your organisation? How do you ensure equivalent gender workforce across all segments?
We aim to attract and hire great people, making us an inclusive employer of choice. Our commitment is highlighted in our Global Inclusive Recruitment and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion policies. Our Inclusive Recruitment Program is now in the embedding phase. We’ve looked at four areas:
- Employee value proposition (EVP): We have built an attractive and inclusive proposition which we are embedding through our employer brand and recruitment approach
- Process: Ensuring objective, fair, and transparent recruitment with competency-based questions and manager guidance.
- Upskilling: Training hiring managers through workshops and e-learning modules to be able recruit inclusively.
- Partnering: Expanding our talent pool via specialist job boards and collaborations with external specialists
We have also implemented a tool that enables gender-neutral job adverts, and introduced the Recite Me toolbar for accessible applications.
Additionally, we use social media to highlight women in tech, sharing their stories and achievements to inspire others and showcase our commitment to gender diversity. This campaign is part of our broader effort to create an inclusive and supportive environment for all employees.
5. How do you see the future of diversity and inclusion evolving in your industry, and what steps is your organisation taking to stay ahead?
The future of diversity and inclusion in our industry is poised for significant evolution, driven by a growing recognition of its importance in fostering innovation and resilience. Our organisation is committed to staying ahead by implementing comprehensive strategies that promote an inclusive culture. We also look at different stages of the employee journey. By integrating a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) lens into these processes, our goal is to increase equitable business processes.
Additionally, we are dedicated to enhancing accessibility for both our customers and employees, ensuring that our services and workplace are inclusive and accommodating for everyone. One of the things we’re doing is seeing how AI tools can help us to drive success. For instance how AI can support those who are neurodivergent to thrive at work.
To ensure the sustainability of these efforts, we have established long-term goals that will guide our progress and help us create a more equitable and accessible workplace for everyone. Furthermore, we are closely monitoring industry trends and continuously reviewing our policies and processes to ensure they remain inclusive and effective.
