Insolvency Service

Diversity for Managers

The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. They deal with insolvency matters in England & Wales, administering and investigating the affairs of bankrupts and companies that have gone into compulsory liquidation.

Objective

The Insolvency Service is a committed equal opportunities employer and has a workforce whose diversity reflects this commitment. The Service recognised that the challenges and opportunities of a diverse workforce demands more than just the right policies. Rather, it demands an actively inclusive culture, one in which everyone is able and expected to perform their best. The Service wanted a solution that would support managers to develop the confidence, behaviours and skills needed to manage diverse teams.

Solution

Impact’s solution was based on our innovative approach to diversity as a performance issue. Impact believes diverse teams are the key to successful 21st century organisations. For organisations to recruit and retain the most talented people they need to have management structures and a culture that values and embraces diversity.

However, working in diverse teams is not simple. Impact UK and the Service’s Learning and Development department worked closely to create a bespoke solution. The result was a two-day programme that allowed participants to examine the challenges and opportunities of managing and working in, diverse teams.

Participants explored equal opportunities legislation, how to create an inclusive culture in the workplace and how to deal with problematic behaviour and performance management issues, all within the context of managing diversity. Impact brought the learning to life using a variety of methodologies including experiential projects, forum theatre and facilitated discussions.

Result

Impact has now delivered this programme to nearly 100 managers within the Service, and the programme will be rolled out across the entire business. The programme has been universally well received, giving participants the confidence to manage all their staff and to deal with challenging issues that arise.

What the participants thought:
"The programme has given me the confidence to tackle problems I had been ignoring because I wasn’t sure how to approach them."

"The programme improved my confidence in tackling performance issues and reinforced the desirable aspects of performance management."

Further Information

Read more about Impact's approach to Diversity and Inclusion