Written by Phil Arnold, Trustee of GMCVO, GM Chair of Proper Good and Director of the Great Northern Impact Hub (November 2023).

“Employers know to surround themselves with good people”

We feel, act and do so much better when surrounded by good people. The fun and joy that comes from working with a group of dynamic and different people is just great. 

“The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter is driven to develop diverse, equal and truly inclusive working conditions across Greater Manchester”. Promoting the benefits of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace can be an easy statement to make, but it can take years of focus and adaptations to deliver real inclusive change in a business.

But when was the last time we, as employers, challenged ourselves to stop and think if we are indeed committed to long-term equality, diversity and inclusion in our own workplace, or do we just say we are?  How can our thinking, business model, choices and actions promote and deliver more inclusive opportunities for all within our workplaces and in turn to our customers across Greater Manchester?

Are there any easy opportunities to reposition and enhance the positive social impact of our business and build in even more inclusive approaches?   

DISC Case study

An opportunity to rethink, choose and act differently

This year, it has been my pleasure to work with the staff and Interns at DISC, a specialist digital and creative provision in the heart of the cooperative hub in Manchester City Centre. The growth of the numbers of neuro-diverse young people on Internships within DISC has been fivefold in the last 12 months. These young people want to work. They have built relationships and skills to play a full role in the development of creative and digital economy across the city region. They are now looking for Good Employers to work with, to help apply their skills and knowledge to real-life business opportunities. 

The quality and outcomes of the work produced by the Interns is impressive. They have a significant contribution to make to employers but sometimes employers find it tricky to give them an opportunity to shine just by themselves.

Empowering Interns and Employers

To help solve this, a two-way solution has been developed with these Interns. The Interns help support employers to better shape neuro-diverse workplaces and in return, they gain experience leading to employment opportunities from working with a network of good employers. They are looking for 10 Greater Manchester good employers, who want to start to review and co-develop workplaces and working practices that are supportive of real long-term equality, diversity and inclusion.

Working within an ‘Intern Agency’ established with employers, DISC, SENDCode CIC (the Digital Agency) and the charity Digital Advantage CIO, the Interns are looking for micro commissions of work or employee-sponsored Intern opportunities, to work with employers on ‘real’ creative and digital solutions. In return, the Interns will support these ten employers to think through and co-design elements of a positive modern neuro-diverse workplace. These changes often benefit all employers and help people feel they are surrounded by great people.   

This idea is to add value to the way employers commission some of their digital and creative work, to bake in positive social impact and enhance employer's capacity to recruit and retain good people. Manchester Council has been the first employer to commission a paid Intern, but other smaller employers, such as Think Musique, Claritas Wealth Management, GMCA and the National Autistic Society have commissioned individual paid pieces of work which the DIgital Agency service.

This directly helps and supports employers to work with experts and people with lived experiences of neuro-diversity to build better workplaces for everyone. The Good Employer network then acts to capture and share this learning, to build capacity to better meet the 77,000 current vacancies across this digital and creative sector across Greater Manchester.

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

In Greater Manchester, as Good Employers, the charter highlights a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Supporting this Intern Agency gives an opportunity for employers to rethink, remodel, act and do something differently. It is an easy option to explore how this approach could work in your business.

Chris Smallwood Charter Member from Britannia Anchor says, “If we can figure out low friction ways to commission opportunities as employers to be more inclusive. It makes sense to build these more inclusive approaches and new employment pathways together with the support of the Good Employers Charter Network. This way we can deliver even more social impact, better meet our business goals and also give opportunities to more people across Greater Manchester.

It would be great to share ideas together within the Good Employer Network around these issues and If you wish to explore to possibility of commissioning a piece of work with the Interns at DISC please just contact them directly on 0161 410 2040 or https://disc.ac.uk/

If you are interested in becoming one of the 10 GM Good Employers involved in this project, please also use the above contact details.