Support

Congratulations on your decision to work towards achieving the 'Investors in Diversity’ Standard. We feel sure that you will have a most beneficial and productive journey.

In order to make things as simple to follow as possible, this pack has been prepared to give you an outline of the standard and the different types of people that will be working with you to support you through, hopefully, to achievement of the standard.

As part of the package, you will receive at least two days structured support from a National Centre for Diversity trained, IiD Advisor. You will also receive two days support from one of our equally well trained IiD Assessors.

The information in this document provides you with an insight into the package of support that you can expect to receive from the National Centre for Diversity.

The people that we send to you will be carefully recruited, trained and developed. Our quality assurance systems are rigorous and should ensure that you will have a very positive journey. Should you have any worries at any time please do not hesitate to contact the National Centre for Diversity and we will be happy to try to help.

The Role of the IiD Advisor is to:		The Role of the IiD Assessor is to:
Provide you with advice, support and guidance Help you understand the benefits and the value of working towards and achieving the IiD standard Work with you on planning so you can get the most out of the process and the assessment Show you how you can continuously improve after the achievement of the IiD standard Assist you, if your organisation does not meet the standard first time, to take positive steps so you can move to a position to achieve the IiD standard		Assist you to plan for the assessment Carry out the formal assessment for your organisation Provide feedback for positive improvements Prepare a written assessment for you Make recommendations for positive steps so that you may achieve the award of the standard at a later stage, if you don't achieve it the first time

What you can expect from us

IiD Advisory support:

IiD Induction

Aim: To provide you with the knowledge you need to enable you to initiate and sustain the drive towards achieving formal accreditation as an IiD organisation upon successful IiD Assessment.

Duration - The duration of the IiD Induction will depend on the people involved but it will take a minimum of three hours.

The areas covered will include:-

History and development of the IiD Standard
Organisations involved in the development of IiD, partner organisations and their role in relation to Investors in Diversity
The definitions of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
Behaviours which promote inclusion in organisations
A detailed overview of the IiD standard

Strand - 1

Committing - How your organisation's commitment manifests itself.

Aims and objectives in relation to EDI and their links to organisational or business development. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
EDI value statements.
Appropriateness of incorporating EDI into the organisational mission statement. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Importance of leadership and management in relation to diversity management. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Selection of 'Diversity Champions' - role and responsibilities. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Creation of the IiD Steering Group - who should be on it? Wider stakeholder involvement, size, structure, roles, responsibilities and internal accountability.
Branding Guidelines and Publicity. How you can publicise your commitment and how you may and may not use the 'Working Towards' logo and the actual IiD logo.

The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.

Strand - 2

Learning - How you can learn about the diversity within your organisation.

Internal and external 360 degree consultation. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Organisational understanding and the business case for embracing diversity.
Self-assessment. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
The strategic approach to managing diversity.
Creating a widely owned IiD Action Plan with clear aims and objectives. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Incorporating all relevant activities within the IiD Action Plan to include diversity related activities that you do, as an organisation routinely during the course of your work, as well as new activities initiated because of the commitment to IiD.
Agree time table for implementation.

Strand - 3

Developing - How you can start to put into place changes, identified as necessary, during the initial learning process.

The effectiveness of how you co-ordinate your response to identified needs.
An outline of activities that generate communication, dialogue, discussion and awareness building. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Your organisation and the types of challenges you may wish to set yourself in relation to building a diverse workforce. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Development of policies, practices and changes in provision of services. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this.
Emerging organisational or business development opportunities related to IiD and how you respond to them.

Strand - 4

Improving - How you can record, monitor and evaluate your effectiveness in relation to IiD.

Sorts of evidence. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this
Monitoring and evaluation. The IiD Advisor will provide examples of how others have done this
Continuous improvement
On-going commitment
Outline of the IiD Assessment procedure and requirements

Next Steps

Support beyond the two days - The National Centre for Diversity can provide packages of bespoke consultancy support to organisations who require them. Please contact the National Centre for Diversity regarding this.

Day two support - Shared Review

Aims:

1. To carry out a shared review between the IiD Advisor and your organisation. (This relates to the journey column - of the IiD Standard document).

2. To provide you with further support enabling you to sustain the drive towards IiD formal accreditation.

3. To assess your organisation's level of preparedness in relation to a formal IiD Assessment.

Duration - The duration of Day 2 support will vary for organisations and in many cases, this will take more than one day. The same IiD Advisor who visited you on Day 1 will visit you on Day 2, where this is practicable.

We ask that you send, in advance, to the IiD Advisor, the name of your nominated Diversity Champion, a list of people on your IiD Steering group, policy documents, papers and a copy of the IiD Action Plan sothey are able to study this and are able to prepare for the Day 2 shared review. We would recommend that, where possible, you do this at least 1 week in advance.

The IiD Advisor will wish to speak to your nominated Diversity Champion prior to meeting with the Steering Group. The IiD Advisor will meet with your IiD Steering Group. The IiD Advisor will then go through the IiD Action plan in detail with the IiD Steering Group.

The IiD steering group will be able to:-

Feedback to the IiD Advisor and offer views
Ask any questions
Seek clarification
Highlight any difficulties
Raise and resolve any issues if possible
Talk about success stories

The IiD Advisor will want to know that your IiD Steering Group understands the business/organisational case for working towards the IiD Standard and that this message is being effectively cascaded through your organisation to all stake-holders.

The IiD Advisor will like to hear about and see activities which are on-going.

The IiD Advisor will check progress against the IiD Action Plan and against the standard.

The IiD Advisor will like to hear about the distance you feel you have travelled in relation to embracing diversity generally.

The IiD Advisor will want to know that you have publicised your commitment within the 'IiD branding guidelines' and they will want to know to what extent you have marketed your commitment to working towards becoming an IiD accredited organisation.

The IiD Advisor will then give you an indication of when they feel that you will be ready for formal assessment.

The IiD Advisor will also plot the next steps with the IiD Steering Group.

Support beyond the two days

The National Centre for Diversity can provide packages of bespoke consultancy support to you if you require them. Please contact the National Centre for Diversity regarding this.

Summary of the Process

Making the commitment to securing the 'Investors in Diversity' Standard couldn't be simpler.

While the time taken to secure accreditation will vary between organisations, we understand your concerns about over-complicated and unnecessary bureaucracy unrelated to your needs; therefore we have adopted a user friendly process.

What you need to do to get started and next steps.

1. For general information about the National Centre for Diversity or Investors in Diversity please browse this website.

2. For information about costed proposals please send an e-mail to: admin@nationalcentrefordiversity.com

Please do enclose your contact details and the number of staff that your organisation employs. We will then call you very shortly after.

3. Registration

Once you know the costs and your organisation has made a decision to 'Work Towards the Investors in Diversity Standard' please contact us so we can initiate the process by arranging a 'Day1 support' visit by one of our approved 'IiD Advisors'.

4. Day 1 Support - Initiation and induction.

This will last a minimum of one full day (please note that for large organisations you may need more than one induction day). The induction is the first visit in the package of support offered by the National Centre for Diversity.

This support will enable you to attain a detailed understanding of IiD and your next steps.

Following the first day of support, you will be given a mutually agreed time-scale to make progress against the requirements of the IiD standard. Your IiD Advisor will explain things and prepare you to plan and deliver against the requirements of the IiD standard. By this stage, you should be confident about what to do next. Your IiD Advisor will be able to assist you as you go.

5. Day 2 Support - the Shared Review.

This support comes in the shape of a Shared Review between you and the IiD Advisor. At the conclusion of the day, your IiD Advisor can give you an indication of how much progress you have made and when you may be ready to undertake the formal IiD assessment.

6. Formal IiD Assessment.

At this point you will be formally assessed by an independent National Centre for Diversity approved IiD Assessor. If you are successful you will assume the status of an 'Investors in Diversity' accredited organisation for a period of two years, after which you will be able to be re-assessed.

7. Leaders in Diversity. Once the impact of your work on diversity can be measured in the longer term, not less than two years, you may well be able to become accredited as a 'Leader in Diversity'.

We're here to help and will be happy to give advice and support at all stages throughout the process.