We are very proud to have been awarded 'Gold' in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2023. Inclusive Employers are the UK's leading membership organisation for organisations looking to build inclusive workplaces.
Since 2019, Serco has been on a journey – from Bronze to Silver and now Gold – to become a best practice inclusive employer; that we are one of only two private sector organisations to have achieved the Gold standard to date is an encouraging indicator of our progress.
Our Gold award is independent recognition of a wide range of inclusive workplace activities and achievements across Serco. Of all our efforts in the last couple of years, one of which we are most proud is our work with the UK Black Talent Awards.
In 2023, Serco stepped up its support for the Black Talent Awards, which exists to recognise and celebrate the outstanding performance and achievements of Black professionals across the UK, including both employees and employers.
In 2022, Serco was actively involved as a headline sponsor for the event. In direct continuation of that collaborative relationship, Serco hosted the inaugural Black Talent Awards Conference at our Solihull office in March 2023.
This event regathered the Black Talent Awards community – including winners and other sponsoring organisations such as EY and Merlin Entertainments – for a day focused on continued professional development.
Working closely with Denise Myers, Black Talent Awards Founder, and her team, our colleagues helped to organise and deliver a successful day of networking, celebration and interactive discussion, knowledge sharing, advice and guidance.
Also attending were colleagues from across Serco UK, including representatives of Serco Embrace, our colleague network for race and ethnicity.
Lihem Ghirmay, Serco Operations Manager at London Cycle Hire, said: "As a black woman, for a company that I am working for [to be] sponsoring such an amazing event means they are investing in people like me, people that are upcoming, people that have been there for a while, and recognising that people are doing great work."
Later in the year, Lihem was recognised as one of three shortlisted nominees in the Transport, Logistics, Supply Chain & Facilities Management category at the Black Talent Awards 2023.
Once again, Serco proudly joined the proceedings as a headline sponsor, participating and lending support in various ways. Our colleague, Caroline Mayhead – People Director, Serco Citizen Services UK – has led Serco's collaboration with the Black Talent Awards and took part as a judge and guest speaker.
"The Black Talent Awards are part of our journey to make sure we have an inclusive workplace, where everybody feels they belong," said Caroline. "Congratulations to Lihem for her hard work and dedication and thank you to all our colleagues who champion employee belonging through diversity and inclusion."
"All too often, the achievements of Black individuals go unsung, and it is our privilege to help change that. Our sponsorship of the Black Talent Awards is about forging deep, meaningful connections – building bridges of understanding, trust and support with the Black talent community that extend far beyond this event. My heartfelt thanks to Denise and her team who have helped us foster relationships, nurture collaborations and continue the dialogue and actions that leads to progress."