INCLUDABILITY - THE HOME OF INCLUSIVE EMPLOYERS
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
This sentiment is likely to resonate with anyone who has been fortunate enough to meet (either virtually or in person) Paul Smith and Dave Holby-Wolinski, the Founder and Director respectively of UK-based B1G1 Members Includability.
They’ve created - with the help of a great team - an incredible platform which truly sets the standard for an inclusive, sustainable and mentally healthy workplace culture.
UNDER-REPRESENTED TALENT
When speaking with Dave recently, he recalled how during the pandemic, EllisKnight, a brilliant recruitment company (who are also B1G1 members that Paul and Dave are Directors of), were being asked by organisations they were working with how they could tap into under-represented talent.
Although there were some fantastic specialist job boards that focused on certain under-represented groups, a lot of them seemed very expensive and none appeared to offer support for all under-represented groups and provide candidates with an accessible route to employment.
Paul and Dave saw an opportunity to create something new themselves.
Dave reflected,
Initially, our desire was to create a job board where we could provide accessible pathways to employment for everyone but also build partnerships with organisations which specialised in a variety of amazing areas. Our hope was that this would mean candidates going through the process would feel comfortable asking any question they had.”
And likewise for employers, if they needed support with a particular area (e.g. accessible advertising, support of the LGBTQ+ community, how they could build a more diverse workforce or create a more sustainable and mentally healthy workplace culture), then all of these great things would be accessible through our various partners and ambassadors in the Includability community.”
INCLUDABILTY COMMITTED EMPLOYERS
Paul and Dave were able to create a financially accessible verification process for companies to go through before advertising on the job board.
This was primarily so that candidates could be safe in the knowledge that the companies they were applying to work for were committed and on the right path to creating an inclusive culture.
What Paul and Dave discovered was that the companies they were dealing with absolutely loved the verification process and were keen to build on their knowledge and the knowledge of their teams.
As a result, it soon became apparent that the job board was really just an added benefit to becoming an ‘Includability Committed Employer’.
Since then Includability has developed an Includability Committed Educational Setting where they support schools, academies, colleges, universities and more.
Dave said,
If we can get the relevant information across to our brilliant teachers then hopefully they can use the resources, which can then in turn be of support to the children and students too. After all, they are the commercial generation of tomorrow so if they’ve been empowered and given this knowledge to take through to the workplace then that’s fantastic!”
Paul and Dave are now working on verification processes for governing bodies and sporting associations too, so stay tuned for more on this!
EMPLOYEE SUPPORT GROUPS
Dave explained that they ultimately wanted to create a space where organisations and individuals could build relationships and grow their knowledge without fear of reprisal; for people to be able to ask questions to brilliant experts who have lived experience and amazing consultancies that could also provide guidance and advice.
He noted,
As the community grew we found that the best means of enabling this was by running monthly Employee Support Groups (ESGs) where the Includability community could come together to connect and listen to a variety of fantastic guest speakers. And B1G1 has played such a huge part in the joy of these ESGs as we’ve embedded Impact Creation into all of them. For every person that attends, we help a farmer in Kenya run their beekeeping business for a day. We also pre-select 3 projects before each ESG and let those in attendance vote on which one is given to - they love it!”
THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATING B1G1
As you can see from their Impact Stories below, it’s not just their ESGs which Includability have integrated into B1G1:
As Dave observed,
B1G1 is ingrained into everything we do. We love it. We just absolutely love it. We love what it stands for. We love the excitement it generates within our team. And also, I think it makes us more attractive to other organisations, who know they’re also doing good by partnering with us.”
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Embedding the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within Includability was also extremely important to them. Dave said,
We knew from our experience with EllisKnight that the very best way to do this was to partner with B1G1 immediately from the outset - which was back in April 2021. It was about making sure that we were commercially on point and purpose-led and that went hand in hand with having the closest possible relationship with B1G1.”
THE TIME TO CREATE IMPACTS IS NOW
Dave also reflected,
We had always thought that in order to create any kind of impact, we needed to raise £100 or £500 or a £1000 for a local charity or community project, but B1G1 changed all that.”
B1G1 not only enables us to create meaningful impacts from very small monetary amounts, but it provides us with the opportunity to share in the joy that we get through giving regularly.”
Includability’s first Impact Report is certainly testament to the profound impact they’re having in our world.
And Dave’s message to others who are also thinking about following suit? The time to create impacts is now!
He puts it this way,
To any business that feels it’s hard to give or that there’s never quite enough time or you need just a few more pennies in the bank before you can begin, you don’t need to wait any longer. B1G1 is the most amazing, accessible, fun platform that we’ve ever come across that enables us to create incredible global impacts every day.”
Dave’s absolutely right, you really don’t need to wait any longer.
If you’re not already a B1G1 Member and would like to join the thousands of like-minded businesses (just like Includability) who are already changing our world, please head here.