‘It’s important for colleagues to keep prompting conversations and be curious’

At Changeworks we are proud of our commitment to a supportive, diverse and inclusive workplace. One of our great colleagues has described their experiences of what it’s like to work at Changeworks…

New to Changeworks

When I started the organisation was gearing up for some changes in our strategic planning, with the launch of a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) group helping Changeworks to gain the accreditation with the National Centre for Diversity, and with our move to a new office in  Edinburgh. So, stepping into what was initially a part-time role with a well-established team was a bit daunting. I knew I would learn new things and have valuable experiences, including getting to know my co-workers.

Happy to chat

In the spirit of change, over the first few months working in my new team I quickly became familiar with the Changeworks brand of acceptance and inclusion. In short order, I was pulled into the structure of my team, became friends with others within my directorate, and friendly with colleagues across the rest of Scotland.

This is a commonality across Changeworks, no matter what role you are hired for, part-time, full-time, permanent or temporary – everyone is happy to have a chat and cup of tea. That was something immensely valuable to me in my first few months.

Inclusive and accessible

Remember those changes that I mentioned? Since the start of the EDI group, as an organisation we have been looking into how our practices could be modified to be more inclusive and accessible, and how things like equal access and staff utilisation of our Learning & Development content could be encouraged.

But most importantly for me, I noticed that it started more discussions between colleagues on how equality, diversity and inclusion could be addressed within Changeworks and in the work we do.

It was wonderful to hear more perspectives about how Changeworks’ five values (collaboration, innovation, integrity, passion and empowerment) already impacted our work, projects, project management guidelines and ethics with an EDI lens.

Going forward, I really think that it is important to keep prompting these kinds of conversations, encouraging staff to stay curious, stay aware, and be allies in EDI and the LGBTQ+ community.