A Day in the life of a Diversity Manager
Fiona Triller is Equality and Diversity Manager at the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS). “The role of diversity manager is to integrate diversity into the larger organizational issues.” Fiona was recruited to develop a strategy and action plan to meet government legislation. This involved developing a thorough understanding of the organisation of the business. “Through inspection, verification and audit, the MHS is responsible for ensuring that Food Business Operators fulfill their legislative requirements. This work is carried out by our operational staff in approved meat establishments throughout GB, with support from our York HQ.”
Fiona’s objectives are to create awareness of diversity throughout the organisation, amongst new members of staff and those already embedded within the business. All staff are required to go through a basic overview of the legal issues surrounding diversity, illustrated by a variety of scenarios, including recruitment and harassment in the workplace.
Cabinet Office targets to increase the percentage of disabled, female and minority staff within the workplace are an important aspect of the role. “It is not always possible to just recruit more staff to reach government targets”, Fiona comments. “Through raising awareness and encouraging people to declare when they have a disability for example, we have significantly increased our disability targets. To do this, I created a diversity intranet site with links to relevant organisations such as the RNID, relevant articles, and our diversity action plans.”
“Diversity isn’t a stand alone issue. It should be embedded within the whole organisation”, she adds. “In the past, managing diversity has involved organising diversity forums and specific events which is not always practical. I add diversity onto the agenda of existing meetings and events across the business, and make sure I pipe up when a diversity issue is raised- not just waiting for my slot in the meeting. Diversity is also now part of our induction programme and is raised in team briefings.”
Fiona concludes, “The role of a diversity manager is about moving the diversity issue away from an ‘HR initiative’ and making an impact upon the whole business. For example, we recently issued a pre-qualification questionnaire to contractors which included a requirement for diversity statistics and their approach to diversity. I work closely with our procurement team to make sure diversity is part of all procurement processes.”
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