Inclusive Objectives
Helping to build a culture of inclusion and belonging through creating meaningful objectives
We know that building a culture of inclusion and belonging is something that our staff are passionate about. We want to create opportunities for all individuals across academic, professional and research services to contribute to a more inclusive environment for our students and staff.
This year we invite our staff to identify an ‘inclusive objective’ as part of their PDR conversation with their manager, i.e. an objective that helps build an environment which makes all our staff and students feel included.
This can be achieved in a variety of ways, from seeking feedback and using it to review the processes, resources or language that we use, with a view to make them more inclusive of a specific group; to contributing to network or equality charter work; to taking part in relevant training and implementing the learning. It can also be seeking feedback from others, and
You can find below examples of inclusive practice activity, which can help you come up with an objective that is most meaningful to you and your role. Best results are achieved when the objectives are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).
- Evaluate your written and verbal communication through the lens of inclusive language
- Review processes, practices and documents to establish where they could be made more inclusive of broader groups of staff / a specific group of staff. Consult People & Culture and Staff networks for further support.
- Identify ways in which you can be more inclusive of other departments/ areas of the university
- Pick an aspect of your work that is particularly linked to our EDI strategy, and/ or our quality mark work (REC, Stonewall, Universities Mental health charter). Identify how/ where you can develop this connection further
- Reflect on the level of your knowledge and understanding of the full range of inclusive practices in universities; identify an area where you could make tangible (however small) changes, which further promote inclusivity
- Engage with a Staff Network, support their inclusion work
- Consider shadowing or having a conversation with a colleague who is actively involved in EDI work
- Reflect on how inclusive your professional practice is;
- Reflect on how aware you are of own biases and how it may impact your interactions with others. Identify areas for improvement
- Engage in CPD to expand your knowledge and skills in the area of inclusive practice.
- Evaluate your written and verbal communication through the lens of inclusive language
- Review processes, practices and documents to establish where they could be made more inclusive of broader groups of staff / a specific group of staff. Consult People & Culture and Staff networks for further support.
- Identify ways in which you can be more inclusive of other departments/ areas of the university
- Pick an aspect of your work that is particularly linked to our EDI strategy, and/ or our quality mark work (REC, Stonewall, Universities Mental health charter). Identify how/ where you can develop this connection further
- Reflect on the level of your knowledge and understanding of the full range of inclusive practices in universities; identify an area where you could make tangible (however small) changes, which further promote inclusivity
- Engage with a Staff Network, support their inclusion work
- Consider shadowing or having a conversation with a colleague who is actively involved in EDI work
- Reflect on how inclusive your professional practice is;
- Reflect on how aware you are of own biases and how it may impact your interactions with others. Identify areas for improvement
- Engage in CPD to expand your knowledge and skills in the area of inclusive practice.
- Evaluate your departmental/ team plans from the inclusivity point of view: is the approach inclusive of all staff?
- Consider providing departmental inclusivity training for the whole team
- Identify ways in which you can role model inclusive language and inclusive approaches
- Identify how you can make recruitment, selection, induction and onboarding processes in your area more inclusive of prospective candidates and new employees
- Identify an area of own leadership / management approach, that can benefit from being more inclusive of certain groups of staff
- Evaluate the way meetings and team projects are run and chaired; consider how these can be made more inclusive
- Identify ways to include broader groups of your team members in decision making
- Identify and apply a way to strengthen culture of belonging and inclusion in your team / department
If you would like to seek further guidance on identifying an ‘inclusive objective’, or on anything related to the PDR process, please contact your HR Advisor.
The University provides a range of workshops and training available to managers and all staff:
- Managing Culturally and Ethnically Diverse Teams
- Inclusive Behaviours
- Inclusive recruitment: How do we overcome unconscious bias?
- Inclusive Recruitment Workshop
- Inclusive Interview Skills Workshop
- How to be a good Ally
- LGBT, History, Culture, Policy and Legislation
- Active Bystander
There may be other all-staff and bespoke training available in the upcoming year – please contact staff.development@beds.ac.uk for more information
