Within our Value Everyone Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, one of our strategic aims is to “Build a culture of equity and inclusive that prioritises psychological safety and wellbeing”. Our Right to Respect programme is a major element of how we are looking to achieve this.

Right to Respect was developed following both formal and informal feedback via our employee-led Affinity Networks, focus groups and at our Inspiring Women events.
Feedback showed that our culture wasn’t inclusive in all areas of the business and that inappropriate “banter” was an issue in some teams. Not everyone felt psychologically safe in their workplace. This resulted in people leaving the business, feeling unable to develop their careers.
We are also aware that stereotypical views of our industry fail to attract younger generations who expect to come to work in a place that is values driven and aligned with their personal values.
Initially the focus was on women working on our sites but this was quickly expanded to look at the experience of everyone working within our business, whether they were based on our sites or in our offices.

To develop the culture we wanted, we needed to design a culture change programme.

The programme was initially delivered by a group wide project team which has sponsorship from one of our Exec Committee members, harnessing the expertise and passion of representatives from Communications, HR, Procurement and Operations. The team developed a culture change strategy including workshops, branding, and communications to embed behaviour change within the business.

To help us, the project team engaged The Clear Company, who’d already collaborated with us to create our Inclusive Leadership programme, who understood our people and our aspirations.

To understand the day-to-day experience of our people and demonstrate the need for change, anonymous surveys on behaviours and language enabled the team to ensure real improvements could be made to how it feels to work in our business.

Working with The Clear Company, the project team designed the “Right to Respect” programme. The project team piloted the programme in five businesses across a variety of teams including site based, head office, joint venture and supply chain in 2022, to test our approach. Pre and post pilot surveys and focus groups were held to understand the effectiveness of the approach run by an independent consultancy, Ioda, on our behalf.

The Right to Respect programme design and pilot success was presented by the project team to the Executive Committee for ratification and the CEO of our largest business unit, sponsored the project and has been the overall business lead.

The sessions in Phase 1 were facilitated face-to-face exploring the themes of respectful behaviour and language, using models and signposting, building understanding and confidence to challenge what is not okay. These sessions explore delegates’ experiences of inappropriate behaviour, where people are comfortable to share, so everyone can really understand the impact of psychological safety.

Phase 2 – embedment, is being led by our Right to Respect Steerco which is chaired by our Group HR Director with members including our Company Secretary, Chief Procurement Officer, MD UK Buildings, MD Power T&D. The seniority of the members of the Steerco demonstrates the importance of the programme to the business as a whole.

To embed the programme, the principles are built into all leadership, personal effectiveness and health, safety and wellbeing training, and induction. Senior Leader communications, leadership tours, conferences, Town Halls, All Hands Calls and many more events now include to Right to Respect so it has become a BAU strategic initiative, ensuring everyone goes home safely.
Regular updates and additional toolbox talk training materials are shared with all line managers on a quarterly basis looking at specific topics eg Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment.

There is a continued focus on upskilling our supply chain so that everyone who is working on our sites and in our offices, understands the behaviours that are expected.

Our Board is encouraged to talk about it when visiting the workplace as part of their Employee Voice in the Boardroom conversations.

All new employees attend a Right to Respect webinar in the first 3 months of their employment so that they understand the behaviours that are expected of them in our business.

Each Business Unit has a senior leader who is the Right to Respect Business Lead. We have also appointed Ethics and Respect Champions whose role is to communicate and educate, support individuals, embed locally and tract and report on progress to the Business Lead.

We will continue to embed Right to Respect within the business until it is seen as part of the DNA of our business.