Core, Ireland’s largest marketing communications company has picked up a Silver in the ‘Investors in Diversity’ awards in recognition of its diversity and inclusion programme and ongoing self-evaluation and improvement procedures.
The award was made by the Irish Centre for Diversity (ICD), which is supported by Ibec and the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion, which aims to transform businesses’ diversity practices and culture. The silver award focuses on employees’ sense of fairness and belonging to the business and provides an overview of key strengths and areas for development.
As part of its application for the award, Core aimed to evaluate how it could improve existing practices by seeking out detailed feedback from team members across the business, and benchmark itself against other leading businesses.
According to Jill Downey, lead for Diversity & Inclusion at Core: “We’re delighted to have received this award in recognition of our efforts to date, and are looking forward to improving further.
“Designing and implementing a diversity and inclusion programme is a challenge for businesses of any size. But, as the saying goes, ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure.’ Engaging with Investors in Diversity was a natural step for us to take in our journey, so that we could accurately capture what people in our business felt across the entire diversity and inclusion spectrum and continue to improve.”
Caroline Tyler, Irish Centre for Diversity adds: “Research shows that inclusive and diverse organisations are successful. As a trailblazer for its sector, Core recognises the importance of celebrating the diversity of its staff and being an inclusive organisation, both for itself as a company but also the communities and organisations within which it works. Working with the Irish Centre for Diversity and achieving Investors in Diversity Silver sends a clear message to everyone of how seriously Core takes its commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, now and as part of its ongoing journey towards excellence.”
As part of its feedback following the award, Core identified additional training needs to challenge unconscious biases in the workplace. Going forward, Core plans to provide all staff with training in this area, and has already held a number of talks and workshops this year.
As well as offering a range of training, Core also has a dedicated team who have celebrated International Women’s Day, Africa Day and most recently Pride month. In addition, Core has hosted a ‘Lean In’ event with Sheryl Sandberg, the 30% Club Council and just recently held a workshop with BeLonG To exploring inclusivity of and allyship with LGBTQi.
