National inclusion week

At Nest we’re proud to be marking National Inclusion Week from 23 to 29 September 2024. The theme of the week this year is ‘Impact matters’.

Research shows that when companies create inclusive work environments, this helps to recruit and retain staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This is important in helping us serve the broad range of backgrounds and experiences of Nest’s members. Plus, workplaces where people feel included also see improved business outcomes.

Making an impact

Inclusion is an ongoing journey, not something that can be resolved with a one-off initiative or by one person. It requires commitment from all, evaluation and continuous improvement.

One of the ways that Nest staff are making an impact is through our diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) working groups.  

We have 7 working groups which are led and made up of staff from across Nest. Each working group has a senior leader acting as champion. All the groups support and challenge us to be more inclusive as an organisation – in how we work and how we serve members like you.

We want to share with you some of the work they’re doing to make an impact:

Disability and neurodiversity working group

Group members reviewed learning modules and provided suggestions on how to make our office more inclusive for people with disabilities, long-term conditions and neurodiversity. They worked with members of our gender working group to see how we can support people returning to work after extended periods of leave, including for health reasons or caring. Feedback from the group also helped us to become a Disability Confident Leader in September 2024.

Gender working group

Group members produced a new fertility treatment policy and pregnancy loss policy and reviewed our menopause and menstruation policy. They played an important role in making sure that Nest staff have access to free menstrual products. They also worked with members of the disability and neurodiversity working group to see how we can support people returning to work after extended periods of leave, including for parenthood or caring.

Interfaith working group

Group members are working with the Canary Wharf Chaplaincy to deliver sessions, such as scripture reasoning, and exploring ways to make sure Nest is inclusive of both people of faith and those who aren't.

Members of our Muslim network meet monthly and our Christian network have informal get-togethers in the office.

LGBTQ+ working group

Group members produced and implemented our first transitioning at work policy. They’ve also partnered with LGBT Great, a specialist community for the financial services industry with the mission to empower organisations to positively influence change and create authentically inclusive workplaces.

Mental health working group

Group members helped to produce and launch Nest’s wellbeing work practices guidance. This lays out a set of working practices that aim to make sure that wellbeing is a priority across teams. The group also updated our wellbeing resources hub and have been key in ensuring that managers take the opportunity to complete ‘Mental Health Knowledge for Managers’ training to help managers understand how to support colleagues.

Race working group

Group members developed Nest’s race action plan in 2022 and 2023 and challenged the organisation to deliver on the actions, including the creation of a series of in-house podcasts and staff conversations to raise awareness about experiences of race and racism in the UK. They've also been working with other organisations and our leadership team to share learnings and drive improvements in racial equality. 

Social diversity working group

Group members have organised to make an impact outside Nest. As part of our membership with The Switch, they’ve attended schools in Tower Hamlets to support students and young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. They also played an important role in ensuring we could donate 342 old laptops to the Good Things Foundation’s National Device Bank, helping to expand computer access for people who need it. Nest is one of the first 50 contributing partners to the National Device Bank scheme.

Published 27 September 2024