Our commitment
Our commitment to action is outlined below, aligned to the People pillar of our global Responsible Business plans and our global Inclusion & Diversity Framework:
Attracting new talent
Creating new ways for talent to join Inchcape and broadening where we find new talent helps us to drive an inclusive culture and contributes towards closing our gap.
• We are actively involved in key forums which drive gender balance within the automotive industry, including The Automotive 30% Club and the Institute of The Motor Industry Diversity Task Force.
• To inspire interest in male dominated fields, we regularly showcase female role models through our networks and communications.
• We continue to be one of seven companies in the automotive and engineering industry participating in the ground-breaking internship programme, #10000 Black Interns.
• We assessed the salaries our apprentices receive and, regardless of location or role, increased to a level figure across the business.
• We increased the base annual leave entitlement for all our colleagues.
• The launch of our new, used car brand, bravoauto, delivers more flexibility for our customers but also provides an opportunity to trial and deliver alternative routes into the automotive industry.
• We review pay levels for our UK colleagues to ensure they meet the everyday needs of our people.
• We have started to build and track diversity metrics across our attraction and recruitment processes.
• In 2022 we completed a review and reset of our senior level recruitment partners to incorporate clear diversity considerations and requirements within our search and hiring process.
• Our attraction strategy is a key focus area for 2023, in particular how we communicate roles to reach more diverse talent across society.
Developing the best talent
Developing and creating a pipeline of diverse talent is a core part of our approach to talent development.
• Since the pilot programme in 2021, further female colleagues from the UK have participated in in our global Women into Leadership Programme that aims to accelerate high potential females through the organisation and into leadership roles.
• Female colleagues who have completed the Women into Leadership Programme have become mentors within the programme to enable greater networking and connections across the business.
• Our annual talent and leadership review strengthens diversity within the talent pipeline.
• We examine female progression within the business, putting in place development plans and fast-tracking progress as appropriate.
• We developed an internal jobs board to create further transparency and equal access to roles across the business.
• Our Management Essentials and Leadership Essentials Programmes focus on principles of good leadership and management.
Driving an inclusive culture
Our policies and education programmes help to reduce bias and drive more inclusive hiring, promotion, and reward decisions.
• We made significant improvements to our maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies to support parents across our UK Retail and Group business by enhancing paid leave entitlements. The policies have also been updated with inclusive language to ensure they are accessible to all our colleagues.
• The business has established a global gender metric of 30% female representation across our senior leadership roles by 2025.
• We continue to deliver our Inclusion & Diversity training for our people managers in the UK, enabling them to understand their role in creating diverse teams and nurturing inclusive behaviours.
• Beginning in 2021, our UK senior leadership and all their direct reports have undertaken a bespoke Inclusive Leadership Programme which is a key enabler to our business strategy.
• We launched our online I&D training for all colleagues in the UK with a focus on understanding non-inclusive behaviours.
• Global Inclusion & Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Policies were created in 2022 to set the standard of our inclusive culture within the business and how we can all value diversity.
• The delivery of our ‘Driving What Matters’ responsible business plans and Inclusion & Diversity Framework aim to ensure we have a safe operating environment with an inclusive and diverse culture and the best talent and skills for our future success.
• Continued promotion of the Code of Conduct and Speak Up helpline reinforces the desired values and behaviours to help embed an inclusive culture.
George Ashford - Chief Executive Officer, Inchcape UK
Justine Bates - Human Resources Director, Inchcape UK