‘I feel that my voice is being heard’: how one corporation responded to 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests

When a shocking video emerged of George Floyd, a Black man, being killed by a white police officer in the US last May, it sparked a racial reckoning. The global Black Lives Matter protests forced companies to not just speak out against systemic racism, but do more to tackle racial inequalities in their own institutions.

Among the corporations delivering messages of solidarity was Capita, the digital services firm. Jonathan Lewis, chief executive, signed an open letter to corporate Britain, which did not mince words: “The sad truth is that organisations have not been ready to have a challenging and frank conversation about systemic racism within the four walls of their own offices.”

Jonathan pledged to set targets to boost racial diversity at all levels of the organisation: “Now is the time to act,” the letter stated.

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A year after George Floyd’s death, is Capita living up to its promises? Interviews with black employees reveal the company is turning its rhetoric into action, with Floyd’s murder triggering a push on diversity, equity and inclusion. The company is making strides in several key areas, but on some measures the business acknowledges there is more to be done.

“Most people are happy with the progress the company is making with diversity and inclusion,” says Adebimpe Makinde, principal consultant and co-founder of Capita’s Black Employee Network. “And they have also been empowered to drive change. That is the key thing.”

In the wake of the protests, Capita hatched a three-stage plan to create an inclusive workplace. The first step was to take a public stand against racism via the open letter and a statement on its website.

The second stage was to listen to employees. Capita launched a consultation with more than 2,500 staff, to understand their concerns and views on racist behaviour, so the company can take the right actions to change behaviours and support a cultural shift.

The conversations were emotional and sometimes uncomfortable, with one flashpoint being the lack of diversity among senior leadership. “Our current representation looks healthy at the lower levels, but it’s the senior management and leadership roles where we are behind the curve,” says Kelly Vuta, programme manager for the Black Lives Matter project at Capita.

Other themes to emerge from the discussions were that racism is not confined to any one country or group, and that it intersects with other types of discrimination and disadvantage.

The insights were fed into an advisory group that made three proposals to improve ethnic diversity and tackle racism, which were unanimously approved by the company’s top executives. Stage three of the plan is to take action and deliver on these commitments.

The first of which is to create an inclusive culture with zero tolerance to racism. Capita defined “zero tolerance” and reflected this in its code of conduct, values and behaviours.

It also reviewed its employee life cycle processes, to remove bias and ensure equal opportunities, and launched diversity training aimed at hiring managers. About 3,000 people have completed the training and the company is aiming for 5,500 enrolments, says Kelly. “We’re going in the right direction and making good progress on inclusivity.”

The second pledge was to ensure sustainable ethnic diversity across all levels of the company. Capita promised a 15% Black, Asian or mixed ethnic workforce, and 5% Black employees at every level. The company is now working on setting realistic timelines.

It’s also reporting against this target to be transparent and to measure and monitor progress: 15% of the UK workforce overall was Black, Asian or mixed ethnic in 2020, with 3% of employees being Black.

The company used this data to change how it recruits, promotes and develops staff. Rather than relying on interviews, it’s leveraging behavioural assessments in the hiring process to reduce bias. Capita also committed to targets for diverse candidate slates for every job vacancy, says Kelly, and is investigating the benefits of implementing diverse hiring panels.

In addition, the company launched a “mutual mentoring” programme that pairs staff from ethnic minority backgrounds with managers who want to understand the issues faced by diverse colleagues. Both parties act as mentor and mentee, so the programme nurtures the next generation of leaders.

Eileen Lewis, a performance and development manager at Capita, forms half of one of 188 pairs of mutual mentors. She says the sessions have bolstered her confidence and knowledge, so she feels more prepared to apply for higher-level roles in the future. “I feel so empowered now, and I feel that my voice is being heard,” she says.

“We can challenge the managers if something is going wrong, which is really powerful,” she adds. “It’s not just a tick-box exercise. We can hold them accountable.”

Capita’s third commitment was to educate and raise awareness of racism in the workplace, through mandatory inclusion training. Since the beginning of May, more than 18,000 employees have completed a new anti-racism training programme, underscoring the progress the firm is making, says Kelly.

Capita’s long-established seven employee network groups were given renewed backing from executives last March, with more than 10,000 members supporting one another and sharing ideas, helping to drive culture change and providing valuable feedback to leadership. This includes the Embrace network for race and ethnicity.

Given such efforts, employees are optimistic for the future, especially with executives monitoring monthly progress reports and Capita reporting the actions it is taking in its annual reports, ensuring accountability.

Overall, commitments one (inclusive culture) and three (awareness and training) are being met, but it’s the second (representation, especially at the top) where more work needs to be done.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s a sustainable plan,” says Eileen. “I’m thinking about the next generation, and the one after that. I honestly believe we will get to a place where there’s no under-represented people, just people.”

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