DBCT P/L participated in Career Revive to address internal barriers to female participation and progress diversity strategies highlighted in the businesses Culture Plan. An important factor for DBCT P/L, was ensuring that their executive committee actively sponsored and drove diversity and inclusion activities.
As part of the Career Revive initiative, DBCT P/L focussed on improving workplace flexibility and inclusive recruitment. To begin with, DBCT P/L conducted an end-to-end review of its recruitment approach. Focus areas included:
- Simplifying job criteria to diversify applicant pools
- Removing gendered language from advertisements
- Communicating DBCT P/L’s employee value proposition
- Highlighting the businesses commitment to diversity and
- Strengths-based interviews, rather than competency-based interviews.
DBCT P/L also considered whether specific roles in the business could be made more flexible.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these activities and led to rapid adoption of remote work.
DBCT is currently looking at improving their parental leave policies and the supports for employees returning to work following a period of leave.
Having focused on building business maturity, DBCT P/L believe they are well positioned to implement a Supported Returner Program, which is a key aim of the Career Revive initiative.
Outcomes
Participation in Career Revive has shifted attitudes and acceptance of flexible work and there is now a broad ownership and support among the leadership team.
The development of the Workplace Flexibility Manager Toolkit set clear expectations around the company’s approach to flexible work and ensured the policies could be implemented in a practical way.
Employee feedback following rollout of these initiatives was extremely positive; “this is too good to be true” and “this is excellent and gives us time to work and plan our future’’.
DBCT P/L has also refined and improved their recruitment and engagement process, with the aim to recruit the best talent, and also achieve greater diversity within their workforce.
Working simultaneously with the Career Revive initiative, DBCT P/L implemented the ‘Grow With Us’ program, which looks at expanding learning opportunities for students and community members through work experience, study placements or seeking entry level positions, as well as internally to assist their workers grow their careers. ‘Grow with Us’ provides a structured framework to support diverse members of the local community to expand and grow their skill sets.
