What Ultima has done to make Workplace Diversity and Inclusion matter

The business world is constantly talking about the importance of diversity and inclusion. But what does that actually mean?

Diversity refers to the variety of people in a workplace, while inclusion means creating an atmosphere in which everyone feels welcome and respected. When these values are embraced, businesses see improved employee productivity, creativity, and innovation.
  
At Ultima we see workplace diversity and inclusion as essential for our business success. A team of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and skills can come up with better ideas and solutions than a homogeneous team can. A diverse workforce brings different perspectives and skills to the table. Inclusion ensures everyone has a voice. Together, we can all learn from each other and create better products and services. We want our team to be diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion, to encourage different perspectives and innovative ideas.

Since creating our ESG (Enviromental, Social, Governance) HIT (High Impact Team) one year ago, we’ve made great progress, but we know there is still more work to be done. 

Here are the campaigns we support to make our business better and encourage top talent.

Disability confident leader 
Disability Confident is creating a movement of change, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident is a unique opportunity to lead the way in our community to discover someone your business cannot do without. The scheme was developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives to make it rigorous but easily accessible, particularly for smaller businesses.

Access to work
When hiring someone with a disability that may need a support consultant, this scheme provides grants to the individual and business to have a buddy to help them, this may be a sign language interpreter or a guide if someone was blind. We will use the scheme once we have a candidate lined up that may have these needs.
 
Support U
Support U are a service to help those who need support with LGBTQ+ issues and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in Reading and Thames Valley. 
 
Race at work charter 
The Race at Work Charter, this is seven calls to action to ensure that ethnic minority employees are represented at all levels in an organisation.
 
1.    Appoint an Executive Sponsor for race.
2.    Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress.
3.    Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying.
4.    Make clear that supporting equality in the workplace is the responsibility of all leaders and managers.
5.    Take action that supports ethnic minority career progression.
6.    Support race inclusion allies in the workplace.
7.    Include Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse-led enterprise owners in supply chains.
 
Armed Forces Covenant 
The government is committed to supporting the armed forces community by working with a range of partners who have signed the covenant. The covenant is a national responsibility involving government, businesses, local authorities, charities, and the public.
 
Real Living Wage 
The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by over 10,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets everyday needs – like the weekly shop, or a surprise trip to the dentist. In addition to paying our staff these rates we also pay our contractors these rates.

We believe that workplace diversity and inclusion are essential for every company, and at Ultima we will continue to advocate for these values.