Virgin’s Collective effort
■ Keynote speech – Culture of Belonging: Jeff Dodds, chief operating officer, Virgin Media
A SENIOR Virgin Media executive has said the telecommunications company was committed to “accelerate change” to ensure there was representation at all employment levels.
During his keynote speech, Jeff Dodds also shared insights on ways that the organisation was attempting to promote an inclusive and welcoming working environment.
Although he acknowledged diversity was still falling short in senior levels, Dodds said Virgin was committed to “accelerating that change”.
“From a resourcing point of view, we want to change the make-up of both the shortlist of candidates for roles, and also the make-up of people interviewing those candidates,” he said.
“We know people tend to employ in their own image and therefore if we don’t have representative panels of people interviewing candidates, we could end up still not accelerating the change in profile at leadership level.”
Dodds spoke about initiatives recently implemented by the company to encourage equality and inclusivity. This included the Employee Voice Network, which aims to “give all employees a voice”. Launched last October, it is part of the ‘Belonging Collective’ – five employee networks representing under-represented ethnicities, gender, disability, neurodiversity, and LGBTQ+ communities, he said. These networks play a vital role in providing a safe space for employees to get involved in the Belonging movement, Dodds explained. The groups are open to all employees, so anyone can become an ally, as well as play an active role in the running of the network.
“The strategy is all about creating a culture where everyone can be their selves at work and people can achieve their potential,” Dodds said, adding: “Belonging and diversity of thought are drivers of commercial success.”
The organisation also aims to have a leadership team more representative of their customers.
“(We have) real people who can articulate the personal voice of ethnic minorities,” Dodds said.
Virgin is also using more people of minority ethnicity in its advertising campaigns, he said.
However, he admitted it was still an ongoing process of learning and recognising what needed to be done to create a safe, inclusive environment and eradicate discrimination.
“For us, every day is a school day so we recognise that we don’t know everything,” he said. “We encourage everyone in the company to take accountability for their own education. We do that by talking to each other in a safe environment to explore these issues, but we also work with a number of foundations, charities and experts to seek out the latest information.”