As a Talent and Capabilities Manager, I wholeheartedly believe that talent is dispersed equally across populations, and I am passionate about creating opportunities for people to fulfil their potential, particularly where barriers exist that can prevent talented individuals from progressing.
Together with my colleague Alok Singh, the Bupa Rise programme is one of the initiatives we are most proud of because it moved beyond conversation to deliver a programme of activity with tangible actions to improve inclusion, representation and career development for colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds. We recognised a challenging reality: surveys showed us engagement from ethnic minority colleagues was high, however data showed that progression into leadership roles was not happening at the same pace and the levels below mid-management grade was where most people got ‘stuck’. With Alok’s lived experience and our combined expertise in inclusion, talent and career development, we wanted to better understand why talented individuals were not advancing and what practical support could help close that gap.
Building Rise was not straightforward. We had no existing programme, no blueprint and had to secure sponsorship, funding and organisational support in a challenging environment where resources were under pressure. Additionally, we found no external suppliers who specialised in this, so we built our own, based on my previous experience of delivering programmes which increased senior female representation. We worked across business units to build a compelling case for change, engaging our CEO and CFO as advocates and recruited senior mentors and sponsors, many of whom came from ethnic minority backgrounds. This wasn’t straight forward, as some had reservations about tokenism and being asked to be included purely because of their heritage. We had to be persuasive in outlining our intentions and impact goals, which helped us convert our mentors from apprehensive to fully committed. Our ambition was to create an impactful career accelerator that would give participants the confidence, exposure, skills and networks needed to reach their potential.
The response exceeded all expectations. We received 100 self-nominations for just 20 places, and HR leaders highlighted that many applicants had never previously put themselves forward for development opportunities. This demonstrated an unmet need and reinforced our belief that inclusive cultures are created when people feel seen, valued and encouraged to aspire.
Rise created a safe and supportive environment where colleagues could discuss experiences often left unspoken, including being the “first or only” person in a team, confidence challenges and impostor syndrome. They shared experienced, they would not have normally shared in an ‘all ethnicities’ talent accelerator. Additionally, we brought in an actor to deliver workshops on confidence and by connecting participants with senior ethnic minority leaders and role models, we demonstrated that progression was possible and that diverse talent belongs at every level of the organisation. On top of this, we instilled career skills such as networking, personal brand and profile raising, something many participants were shy about to begin with.
The impact has been significant. Participants reported an 80% increase in their ability to articulate their personal brand, a 73% increase in confidence approaching senior leaders and a 53% increase in confidence to apply for stretch assignments or promotions. More importantly, we have helped talented colleagues see themselves differently and equipped them with the confidence to pursue opportunities they may previously have ruled out. Now some have been promoted, we are delighted to see the impact outlast the duration of the programme. We are delighted to have secured CEO funding to run 4 additional cohorts. We are so, so proud.
For me, inclusion is about creating fairness of opportunity, not simply fairness of access and about being an advocate who why diverse teams deliver better business outcomes. Rise has shown what is possible when individuals are prepared to challenge the status quo, advocate for underrepresented talent and turn a shared vision into meaningful action. I believe this programme has helped make inclusion a lived reality and laid the foundations for a more diverse leadership pipeline for the future.
