Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy 2022 - 2027

I am delighted to share with you the Police Digital Service Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy 2022 – 2027.

A photograph of Ian Bell, CEO, PDS, smiling towards the camera

We want everyone to have a sense of belonging at PDS. We recognise that we are all individuals, and we want an environment where all differences of thought and outlook are not only respected but are expected, valued, and celebrated. We want PDS employees to feel accepted and supported to reach their full potential.

This strategy outlines our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, where people feel free to contribute and influence different perspectives and ideas, and for all to have equal access to opportunities. We know that creating an environment of respect and inclusion leads to better decision-making, greater innovation, engagement at work and ultimately will support us in achieving our vision; to enable and deliver digital services for world class policing.

I am committed to making this much more than just a strategy document. We all have a role to play in promoting a fair, equitable and supportive work setting. The achievement of the DE&I strategy will require a collective effort from everyone across PDS to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion as an integral part of everything we do.

I look forward to working with all of you to achieve the vision set out in this strategy.

Ian Bell

PDS Chief Executive Officer

Click on each of the headings below to expand the information contained within that section.

Introduction
This strategy sets out the real and lasting progress the Police Digital Service aspires to achieve in diversity, equity & inclusion.

DE&I are embedded as key objectives of the Police Digital Service business strategy and we have already taken action to improve our practices across recruitment & selection, employee engagement and diversity data. We have increased the data we collect so we can better understand our organisation and, crucially, make informed decisions. We have also considered the way in which we recruit, expanding our reach into more diverse job markets when we advertise our roles and checking and improving the language we use in our adverts, to embed inclusion right at the start of the employee life cycle.

From the feedback we have received from employees we know that the diversity, equity and inclusion we strive for is not felt by everyone and that there is much more to be done. We must challenge ourselves to do all we can to ensure that DE&I is embedded in our culture and in our processes. The PDS senior leadership and management teams are committed to promoting DE&I by striving to model positive behaviours and challenging what is being done personally and in our teams.

However, this cannot and must not be a Strategy that is exclusively dictated or driven from the top down; it was important to us that this strategy was formed with the input of PDS employees at every stage. Focus groups have been used to gather feedback and have informed the vision and objectives laid out in this strategy. We also recognise that, as a growing organisation, the challenges, and opportunities we face in our DE&I agenda will continue to change and grow with us. We will take a proactive and driven approach to keep our pace of change the same as that of the world around us.

We all share a collective responsibility to the objectives of this strategy and to drive the actions that will allow us to be a genuinely inclusive organisation.

What do we mean by diversity? Understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people including those:
- of different ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual orientations
- with differences in education, personalities, skill sets, experiences, and knowledge bases
What do we mean by equity?

Ensuring everybody has an equal chance to take up opportunities to fulfil their potential. We’ve chosen equity instead of equality or equal because we’re focused on giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality means treating people the same, but that only works if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help. So we’re working to make sure everyone is starting from the same place, with tailored help.

What do we mean by inclusion?

A culture in which a mix of people can work in a collaborative, supportive, and respectful environment, increasing the participation and contribution of all.

Our vision

Our vision

To create an inclusive culture that values diversity, where differences drive innovative solutions that allow us to deliver better outcomes for the company, our people and policing.

Our objectives

An environment where we can all be ourselves and treat each other with respect. Providing unique opportunities for our people to learn and to grow.

Developing effective and inclusive leaders at all levels.  

Attracting, nurturing and sustaining the right mix of capable people with varied perspectives to help generate better ideas to help policing solve the complex problems it faces in a changing and increasingly diverse world.

A structured approach
To achieve the aspirations set out in this strategy we need to create action, not just words. To drive this, we have worked with employees to create an Implementation Plan which underpins the overarching strategy by setting out tactical and strategic actions, focusing on five key work streams:
- Leadership and culture
- Attraction/recruitment
- Retention
- Progression
- Wellbeing
The Implementation Plan is a live document that will evolve with us as we learn and grow. The work streams set out in the plan will be driven by the data we gather and feedback from our employees.

A DE&I group will embed the DE&I strategy through the ongoing monitoring, development and performance of the Implementation Plan.

The group will report into the Senior Management Team with Ian Bell, Chief Executive Officer, acting as the Champion of the DE&I Strategy and Implementation Plan. The group will harness insights and ideas from across PDS and will consider the future strategic agenda in order to advise and make recommendations on appropriate initiatives and activities that will help PDS achieve its DE&I vision.

A summary of the DE&I Implementation Plan can be found in Appendix A and outlines the work streams for each of the five key areas.

Monitoring and measuring our progress

The monitoring and measurement of the objectives detailed in this plan will be driven by direct feedback and data. We will report on progress in a transparent way and be honest in communicating where progress may not have been achieved, engaging internally and externally to address this. Escalation will be through the Senior Management Team in the first instance.

We will seek out feedback on how well we are delivering against this strategy. We will measure our representation across the organisation, at each level, through diversity data. Recruitment data, where available, will be harnessed to measure our success in recruiting diverse talent.

A key function of the DE&I Group will be to monitor our progress in achieving the actions detailed in the Implementation Plan, which underpins this strategy.

Looking forward

By 2027 we want to have reached a point where diverse thinking and inclusive action are part of how PDS operates. We want to see the changes proposed in our implementation plan drive cultural changes within the whole company. By making DE&I an issue that everyone in PDS understands we hope to embed it in both what we do and how we do it.

PDS is committed to realising all the opportunities that DE&I presents to us and our people.

Appendix 1 - summary implementation plan

Our vision

To create an inclusive culture that values diversity, where differences drive innovative solutions that allow us to offer better solutions for the company, our people and policing.

Objectives

An environment where we can all be ourselves and treat each other with respect. Providing unique opportunities for our people to learn and to grow.
Developing effective and inclusive leaders at all levels.
Attracting, nurturing and sustaining the right mix of capable people with varied perspectives to help generate better ideas to help policing the solve complex problems it faces in a changing and increasingly diverse world.

Work stream	Strategic/tactical action
Leadership & Culture	Leaders that create an inclusive culture within our organisation. Developing DE&I capabilities from the top down. Ensuring leadership behaviours are consistent with our values. Building an inclusive culture through better knowledge. Improving data capture and recording to establish a baseline and monitor performance. Improving our methods for measuring inclusion. Creating a structure for the ongoing monitoring, development and performance of the DE&I strategy and implementation plan. Ensuring our policies and processes are fully inclusive and that their impact on equity and inclusion are assessed.
Recruitment/attraction	Using technology to build inclusive recruitment processes. Identifying and removing barriers in the recruitment process to ensure equal opportunities. Broadening the reach of our recruitment campaigns. Ensuring recruitment materials state commitment to increase DE&I. Being transparent about our DE&I commitment at the attraction and recruitment stage. Building DE&I into the recruitment decision making process.
Retention	Developing a pay progression process that is transparent and applied consistently. Promoting positive behaviours and empower people to challenge inappropriate behaviours. Listening and responding to our workforce, ensuring our employees have a voice in the DE&I agenda.
Progression	Encouraging and enabling the development and progression of all our employees with a focus on providing equal opportunities. Investing in our employees by providing opportunities to develop through a mentoring scheme.
Wellbeing	Developing our wellbeing support in line with the values of our organisation. Promoting a culture where our attitudes and behaviours allow all staff to be their true self at work.

The PDS Community

DE&I Network

Made up of volunteers from across PDS, this network harnesses insight and ideas from across PDS to ensure all our employees have a voice in developing and embedding our DE&I strategy.

Accessibility Working Group

This working group promotes and champions accessibility both internally and externally with customers and partners.

Our Partnerships