Checking inclusivity and embedding inclusive design

Covering Assessment Criterion 2.2 of 5CO03, this video addresses how HR professionals can verify that people practices are functioning inclusively in practice rather than simply in intention. It distinguishes between informal and formal feedback mechanisms, examining approaches such as walking the floor, monitoring internal communication channels, stay interviews, and exit interviews alongside structured employee surveys that break down responses by demographic group to reveal variation in experience across different groups.

The video covers equality impact assessments as a systematic method for evaluating how policies affect people with different protected characteristics, including how this framework, originally developed for the public sector, can be applied more broadly. It also examines complaints and grievance data as a source of evidence, and deliberate consultation through stakeholder panels drawn from diverse roles, locations, working patterns, and demographic groups. The specific role of employee network groups features here, with the video covering how to engage them through presenting proposals, written feedback, and dedicated consultation sessions.

A further focus falls on embedding inclusive design as a standard element of people practice development rather than an occasional check. The video covers design protocols that incorporate stakeholder engagement as a routine stage, inclusivity criteria placed alongside legal compliance, cost-effectiveness, and strategic alignment when assessing whether a practice should progress to implementation, and the integration of inclusivity assessment into annual review cycles with associated action planning. Developing facilitation skills, analytical capabilities, and cultural competence within the HR function is also addressed as part of sustaining this approach over time.