Plenitude

Helen Artlett-Coe

The ultimate goal for a truly diverse and inclusive firm, is one that has their core values innately woven throughout the culture. In a world of ever-growing requirements imposed on firms and on employees, there is a creeping sense of fatigue surrounding the blanket application of DE&I initiatives. The perception that such initiatives are performative ‘tick-box’ exercises that neither reflect not contribute to improve a company’s work culture, has often deterred employees from engaging wholeheartedly with DE&I forums. I’ve often seen that well-meaning firms set themselves up for failure by striving for unachievable or unsustainable goals. There can be a sense that DE&I outputs ought to change everything that is wrong with a company and its industry right from the start. Over the last 10 years, I have learnt that the key to a successful DE&I initiative is in striving to make a real difference for at least one person.

Big change, even in a small business, is daunting and can take a long time to yield tangible results. I’ve found that the best way to tackle this mountain is to break it down into manageable blocks. Each block acts independently of the next, and is easier to design and implement – over time, the culmination of these blocks turn into a truly solid foundation that is able to stand the test of time.

Beyond having the right the tools to build this foundation, the value lies in how these tools are utilised. The best way to achieve this is to actively involve and closely listen to all members of staff. By empowering people of all backgrounds to express their worries, ideas, and needs - and by meeting those needs when and how they arise, one can begin to foster an environment of trust and openness that is crucial not only to the success of any DE&I initiative, but also to the success of the firm.

Plenitude’s DE&I council is a positive example of what can happen when Senior Leadership commits to a bottom[1]up approach to diversity and inclusion. Plenitude already had a well-established DE&I Council when I joined the firm. The Council was founded in 2020 under the initiative of Josephine Otuagomah. Its establishment reflected a genuine interest by Josephine to acknowledge the cataclysmic cultural and political shifts that Black Lives Matter drove forth. The Council aimed to create a space where black professionals could safely discuss the ways in which these world events were impacting their personal and professional life. From this, the Council has flourished into a driving force of true diversity and inclusion within the firm. No matter your background – ethnicity, gender, culture, career, age, etc.– it has fostered an open dialogue which allows all members of the firm to feel they have the space to be heard and understood.

"I’ve found that the best way to tackle this mountain is to break it down into manageable blocks"

 The Council has since become a fundamental component of Plenitude’s internal governance. A number of factors have determined its success. Firstly, members of the DE&I Council do not just reflect the target demographic of the council’s policies, but actually represent the broader demographic diversity among Plenitude’s staff. Secondly, the bottom-up nature of the Council’s establishment, and its policy of vetting only applications of potential members who self-nominate for the role, ensures that the Council’s members are genuinely engaged in the role and committed to making a difference. Thirdly, not only are the members of the Council setting their own agenda, but their choice to pick a single issue per quarter has yielded greater focus, in the spirit of ‘fewer things CXO Insights I’ve found that the best way to tackle this mountain is to break it down into manageable blocks Josephine Otuagomah, Founder of the Council but better’. Finally, the Council enjoys full support from Senior Leadership, who ensure adequate quality senior representation at each meeting.

Most importantly, the DE&I Council has made a commitment towards quality over quantity, favouring small and effective efforts over grandiose but unsustainable gestures. The Council has focused on small, tangible changes to real issues faced by Plenitude’s staff. One particularly successful initiative concerned women’s equity in the workplace. The firm offered one-on-one coaching with by Vantage Point’s Paula Leach, for every female-identifying staff member within our advisory teams. Our initiative around men’s mental health also proved to be extremely impactful and resulted in the appointment of our very first male trained mental health first aider in the office. Both initiatives highlighted how crucial it is to go beyond not only celebrating differences or acknowledging existing issues, but to also provide employees with practical resources to make a difference to their day-to-day lives. When people feel supported in their struggles, they feel like they belong. This sense of belonging drives greater authenticity and openness in the workplace, fostering a culture based on listening rather than ordering. This, in my experience, is what will drive greater changes in the way the industry operates.

Realistically, you won’t single handedly change the world, but if you can make lots of small differences to many of the people you work with, then that is a great starting point. It is one which I have seen have a real impact on individuals, which is to be celebrated.