27 September 2022

But today as I write this, everything has opened up again and the restrictions are all but gone. So, everything should be fine now, surely?

Well … sadly for many of us it’s not been that simple. Research has shown that pandemic-related depression continued after lockdowns ended. There are some common factors that affect it – people on lower incomes, for example, are more likely to continue to experience mental ill-health and depression – but it continues to affect people across the board, in one way or another.

It isn’t surprising, really. Our social skills are called “skills” for a reason. They need to be learned and they need to be maintained: don’t do them for a long time and they get rusty.

Plus, I think, we’d all lived with the restrictions for so long, it was actually very hard to just “relax” when things opened up again. Simply put, we all became accustomed to communicating via screens and living within our virtual social bubbles.

The thought of meeting up in person was unsettling—overwhelming for some—and there was a realisation that holding ordinary face-to-face conversations was uncomfortable. Simple social cues such as maintaining eye contact or gestures used to express empathy and understanding were a source of anxiety. We had become masters at Zoom and MS Teams, and turned emails and texts into an artform, but that sense of removal brought about by our computer screens had caused us to retreat into smaller virtual worlds where we could avoid unpleasant or difficult social situations and choose how we were “seen” by those connecting with us.

Today, we’ve all had to re-adapt back into being present in-person. I’ve heard it expressed in terms of moving from a world of black and white, back into a full colour, HD existence with Dolby surround sound.

This readjustment, to regain the in-person contact we all lost, wasn’t and for some people still isn’t easy, so reaching out and communicating couldn’t be more important – as well as patience and understanding. Remember, some of us have found it easier than others to readjust, but we all experienced these changes and we will all have different preferences in how we like to communicate. The suggested activities for today give an idea of some of the ways we can try to form relationships and connections with each other. Try them. See how they make you, and the people around you, feel 😊

It’s funny to think that, as isolated and lonely as many of us have felt over these recent bizarre years—even if we didn’t live alone—we were all in it together, and we still are all in it together now, as we adjust to the new “normal”. If you feel a little adrift, or uncertain, or still worried, you may be surprised at how many other people feel the same, and how reassuring it is for all of us to know that we are all still in this together.

Reach out, form connections … and see where it takes you 🤗

Louise Owen-McGee

Head of Communications and Marketing

Gemma Bukel says thank you to Craig Brown

Thank you to Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes people

A very special thank you to Jennifer Kralj

A shout out to the North West from Sarah Bartlett

Warwickshire and Coventry show their appreciation

Thanks to all the operational Heads of Service

Thank you Warwickshire, from Henry Webster

Charlotte thanks the Development Team

Cheers, Buckinghamshire!

Melanie Leicester, you’re a star!

Thank you, Derbyshire

Click here for today’s Inclusion Week resources!

As a P3 newbie, I find P3 to be so people-driven that values of inclusivity, empathy and a voice for all are intrinsic within the organisation in a way that’s greater than I’ve ever come across before. That is only something to be admired.

Being such a people-oriented charity means that expanding your network, reaching out and talking to people from all different sorts of backgrounds, is both a great and natural thing to do. I think that when the recent lockdowns took away simple “people” moments, interactions with others, we got to realise how much we do take for granted the enrichment that people bring to us.

In the digital world, I think a common perception of IT Service teams is that they can appear to be work within themselves and don’t necessarily understand the technology barriers that end-users face. This isn’t aligned with my and my team’s values, as we feel it is important to understand our end users, be it one of our colleagues or the people we work alongside. These people are, effectively, our customers.

I’m keen and I push my team to meet and talk and understand as many people as possible. There are many barriers to technology, and we can help people overcome and get better at what we do if we can understand them better. We can do this by expanding our network, reaching out and speaking to people. Obviously, time and reach can be an obstacle. The good news is, we are looking to create a network of digital champions in the not too distant future, which will enable us to be even closer to a wider range of people.

I also think that, in the ever-changing digital sector, you always need to stay ahead of the game due to the nature of the beast. Expanding your network and working with a lot of different people can only help you both professionally and personally.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Click here for today’s Inclusion Week resources. 

Ben Hunter

Head of Digital and Data

We have had the support of more than 30 people we work alongside for the People Shaping P3 (PSP3) Customer Service training. They have shared their personal stories and experiences, positive and negative, and enabled us to design and build a training course that went on to be nominated for the Customer Service Satisfaction Awards. The information they have shared with us has been used to train over 300 colleagues and improve the experience of all people who access P3’s services.

We’re always looking at how we as a charity can be more inclusive, through methods such as having open conversations about language, pronouns, harmful trigger words and so on. The world is always changing, so it is up to colleagues to keep talking to the people we work alongside and never be afraid to learn.

There is a section of our Customer Service training called Mind Your Language. People we work alongside shared with us the words that are triggering, blur professional boundaries or are otherwise harmful. We should not use these words and we should always be open to changes in what constitutes acceptable language.

We also have a training course in which people we work alongside sit on interview panels to participate in recruiting P3 staff, both in asking questions and in the final deliberation.

We always work towards broadening our knowledge and sharing it across P3. We have a training course that allows people we work alongside to sit on interview panels and help us recruit P3 staff, by asking their own questions and helping us in the final deliberation. This is allowing us to fill gaps that hiring managers might miss, by having experts on our panels help us ask the right questions, such as “Does this person hold P3’s values?” “Are they kind?” “Would you be comfortable to come to them for support?”

Promoting the inclusion of people we work alongside on our recruitment panels can help us make the right decision in our employment choices.

Interview with John, a person we work alongside who is involved in PSP3’s training for customer service and recruitment and selection

How did you get involved in P3 involvement opportunities?

I first got involved when Rosie came over to Arbury Lodge to talk to us about Peer Reviewing and Recruitment and Selection training. She thoroughly explained what the involvement process included, such as training, where we’d go, what we’d do and what it’s about. After hearing about it, I was a bit nervous because it was something so different, travelling to different services and meeting new people. But then when I did my first peer review, the staff and people there were so lovely, and I really enjoyed it.

What does it mean to you to be involved in these activities? How do you feel when you sit on a recruitment panel and help us employ new staff? Do you feel that your voice is heard?

Being involved makes you understand that staff do want our input with who is hired in their services. I have a better understanding of what kind of skills P3 looks for when hiring staff. We get to choose the future for P3 people and employ people who actually want to help improve people’s lives. When I sat on my first panel, I was a bit nervous when it came to deliberating and deciding who to hire but I really felt like my voice was heard by the other staff members. We had a really in-depth discussion about what we all thought, and I felt very included.

Why is it important that people P3 works alongside are included in helping to shape the future of P3?

It’s important because in a way, we know more than the staff do because we are living in the services. We know what different tools to use in different situations. We’ve been through it and have lived it, so we understand more about the young people in service as their peers.

I think it’s important that we do peer reviews because people P3 works alongside will be more comfortable talking about how they feel to someone who also lives in a service and they won’t sugar coat anything. It’s also important that we help sit on panels because we get valuable first-hand experience in interviews, so we feel more comfortable doing our own interviews in the future and we have a choice with what staff come into our service. Peer reviewing has been amazing as I’ve been able to hear first-hand how P3 have changed people’s lives for the better, and it’s given me a whole different perspective of P3.

Can you describe your experiences of your involvement so far, in three words?

I’ve loved it.

How can P3 improve their inclusion of people we work alongside? Is there anything more we could be doing?

I think you should do more tasks and events in services to get people more involved and comfortable with socialising with others and get people feeling included.

Click here for today’s Inclusion Week activity resources. 

So, firstly, the definition of “allyship”:

‘A person who is a member of the dominant group who works to end mistreatment in his or her own personal or professional life by supporting and advocating with the oppressed population.’

There are two necessary elements to being an ally. The first one is support towards equality. The second is acceptance of someone for who they are.

But how?

One of the most debated areas of allyship is around the concept of privilege. There is often a misunderstanding that it negates the challenges or experiences of others or creates a hierarchy of exclusion. Neither is true. What it does mean is that, unfortunately, we have very biased systems and cultures. Within these, certain attributes such as gender, race, sexual orientation and physical abilities offer advantages, often at the expense of others. (On this note, it’s also important to mention intersectionality. We all have unique characteristics and it’s possible to be part of a majority group in one aspect of your identity and part of a minority group in another. For example, you could be male and white, but also have a disability.) It is helpful to reflect on your own identities and consider which ones have conferred advantages that others may not have been given. While this can be an uncomfortable process, use that new-found self-awareness to instigate meaningful action!

And just because you’re a member of one marginalised group, doesn’t mean you’re exempt from checking your privileges. For example, you may be part of the LGBTQI+ community but that doesn’t mean you’re incapable of holding certain biases, using microaggressions or making racist comments.

Diversiti UK has this to say:

If you are part of a non-minority group, your voice may be more likely to be heard. Use that to back up and support minority colleagues and take issues higher up when they may not be able to due to issues of safety.

Don’t speak over minority colleagues.

Although you want to use your voice to empower and raise up those who are discriminated against, be careful not to speak over them. If someone is asking you not to take an issue further, then listen to them. They will generally know better than you what is best for their situation. Offer aid, but don’t force it upon people.

Educate yourself.

The best thing you can do to support people is learn about the problem, where it stems from, and how to deal with it directly. It’s equally essential to take the responsibility of discovering this information for yourself – you shouldn’t expect a person from a marginalised group to educate you. If you have colleagues who are willing to discuss their experiences, that’s great, but the discussions should always be on their terms and never forced. Just because they engaged in one conversation doesn’t mean they want to do so time and again. Instead of asking personal questions, you could ask if they could recommend any good sources of information for you to learn more. It’s also important to acknowledge that the perspective of one person from within a community doesn’t necessarily represent the experiences and views of that whole community.

As you can see, being an ally is more than just being a caring person. It involves doing a lot of self-reflection and external work that can often take you outside of your comfort zone – not an easy thing for everyone to do. It’s also not something that you can just claim by saying, “I’m an ally for gender equality.” It’s about having an active role in helping to dismantle mistreatment and discouraging discrimination.

Are you up for the challenge?? Click here for today’s resources. 

Sarah Bartlett

Operations Manager

Grangeway Court

But we know that inclusion is not just for one week, it’s a continuous and developing journey and we all have a responsibility to ensure this happens.

Here at P3, we will always encourage colleagues and people who we work alongside to call out behaviour which is not in line with our values. We will continue to support staff to develop their own inclusion journey which will be supported by our package of training  and we will also be looking at developing an EDI champion role in the future.

We hope that you enjoyed the daily actions and many thanks to all of you who took part.

Please do take the time to reflect on the week’s resources below and let’s all champion inclusion in our workplace.

Thank you.

Wendy Heale
Assistant Director of HR

Day 1: The Power of Identity: Share who you are

Further resources

Day 2: The Power of Connection: Reach out

Day 3: The Power of Recognition: Empower your colleagues

Day 4: The Power of a Diverse Network: Expand your circle

Day 5: The Power of Knowledge: Take ownership of your learning

6: The Power of Partnership

7: The Power of Commitment: Pledge Your Action