What have we learnt from RADAR?
Launched 18 months ago, RADAR (Reporting All Diversity Activities Regionally) does exactly what it says on the tin. It allows Enterprise to track the diversity events in the business, find out how many people attended, what was covered, and what was achieved. And the results are in!
So, what’s been going on this year?
Well, since the start of fiscal year 2018, there have been 136 events attended by nearly 5,000 employees. Events have been hosted all over the UK and covered topics from gender, to sexual orientation, age, disability and religion. Each event raises the profile of diversity issues, and opens up opportunities for conversations that may not have existed before.
We also host events for non-employees. Over half of the events this year – 68 of them – have been opened up externally, like the U2 Plus 1 networking event in September. This was aimed at Management Trainees from U2 and their female plus ones, and took the form of an interactive workshop, a Q&A panel with female managers, and networking. As a result, four of the attendees applied for roles with the company.
Enterprising Women and the Enterprise Diversity Committee have held an annual ‘In Pursuit Of’ event for the last three years. This year the theme was ‘In Pursuit of Everyday Inclusion: Our Shared Opportunity’. Approximately 250 people attended, including customers and business partners from over 100 different organisations. This demonstrates to the wider community the importance that Enterprise places on being an inclusive and diverse employer. Recently there have also been events focusing on LGBT History Month, Disability and Race Equality – covering the topics which affect our employees as well as those beyond our organisation.
But why is all this so important? Enterprise is committed to being more diverse and improving awareness of diversity is one way we achieve this. Having a diverse workforce benefits the company and its employees. Enterprise customers are diverse, and as a diverse workforce we can meet their needs in the best way.
Careers at Enterprise are diverse. Although most people start in a branch, no two Enterprise journeys are the same. This means it is important to ensure that we host events and activities which cover all the different strands of diversity and are available for all of our employees to attend.
This commitment to diversity is a key reason why Enterprise has been named on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women since the list was launched. Thanks to RADAR, we know that 45% of diversity activity in FY18 have related to gender, including Women in Rental and Women in Leadership events. This supports our reputation as a top employer and helps us attract top talent to the company.
Enterprise believes that diversity is about understanding each other’s unique characteristics and embracing these differences in order to make our company a place that is welcoming to all. RADAR helps us keep track of what we are doing to achieve this and ensures that we know which diversity strands are most covered, and which need more attention.
