Equality, diversity and inclusion
Building inclusion together
At VolkerWessels UK we are proud of our inclusive culture. We are determined that our business continues to be one where everyone feels included, valued and free to be their authentic selves – a sustainable business which is enriched by diversity, and is an attractive and comfortable workplace for our employees and stakeholders; one which can attract, and retain, the best people.
Everyone has a role to play to ensure we remain united in creating an inclusive environment and our new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy, taking us to 2025, sets out our plans to progress this through the introduction of a senior leadership steering group and eight EDI focus groups to help us deliver three objectives and achieve our strategic vision.
These objectives are:
1. To engage with our operational and office-based teams to ensure they are fully equipped to lead, manage and work inclusively.
- Operational Engagement - delivering a tailored approach for our operational teams to promote inclusive behaviours and raise awareness of all aspects of EDI.
- Education - providing opportunities for people at all levels in the organisation to enhance their EDI awareness, in both formal and informal settings. We will provide coaching and support to ensure our managers are equipped to lead consistently at all times.
- EDI Champions - a group of volunteers from across the business who actively promote the understanding of EDI principles with their colleagues through awareness and information sharing, and can act as a ‘safe person’ to support and guide everyone at VolkerWessels UK.
2. To create a fully embedded culture of inclusion throughout our business.
- Recruitment and retention - we will attract and retain a diverse range of individuals from a wide talent pool and create equal opportunities for all. This commitment relates to all positions, including our early careers such as apprentice and graduate programmes as well as those in more senior roles.
- Governance - being responsible for ensuring a clear strategic direction for EDI, through the development and adoption of effective policies and visible commitments alongside maintaining effective memberships and accreditations to appropriate and aligned partners.
- Communication - ensuring communication is engaging, two-way, effective and inclusive; sending strong, clear and consistent messages about our commitment to EDI. We will listen to our stakeholders about what is important to them, giving individuals a voice to share their experiences, so that we will all benefit from broadening our awareness, knowledge and understanding.
3. To engage and work collaboratively with all our stakeholders including our clients, supply chain, partners, local communities, and all those we work alongside and with, to mutual benefit.
- Supply chain - engage with our supply chain to share our EDI values, commitments, and expectations, and promote a collaborative working relationship to challenge and support each other on our EDI journeys.
- Stakeholder engagement - embed the principles of EDI into our wider community engagement activities, as outlined in our People-Planet-Purpose sustainability framework and continue to proactively engage with our clients and other stakeholder partners to mutual benefit. We will ensure we have a consistent approach to sharing our EDI work and activities, capturing and reporting associated social value.
To access our new EDI strategy, please click here.
The VolkerWesselsUK EDI video showcases our EDI values and ambition.
Our accreditations and memberships
We are proud to have Investors in Diversity accreditation and to be members and supporters of a wide and diverse range of schemes and organisations that promote inclusion and diversity.