Compass Group UK & Ireland has been recognising National Inclusion Week (25th September – 1st October 2023) with a range of listening and sharing activities and resources available. The highlight of the week was an event held at Twickenham, attended by around 100 people.

The theme of National Inclusion Week is 'Take Action, Make Impact'. Activity across Compass has been led by its employee networks - Within; Pride in Food; YouMatter, Ability and Women in Food and have included webinars, InclusiviTEAs, case studies and opportunities to hear and share experiences. The ‘Inclusioneers’ event, was informative and collaborative, recognising achievements and successes and focussing on forward-facing initiatives.

Attendees heard from guest speaker Paralympian, Aaron Phipps MBE who is the Levy UK + Ireland Disability Employment Ambassador, advising teams on supporting disability in the workplace. He was joined by Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE, a former English cricketer who is now a commentator for the BBC and Sky, she is also the Levy UK + Ireland Ethnicity Employment Ambassador. They shared their personal stories with Ebony describing what it was like being the first black woman to play for the England cricket team. Aaron spoke about his journey to becoming a gold medal winning Paralympic champion and the first disabled person to scale Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted. Robin Mills, Compass Group UK & Ireland Managing Director also spoke to guests, emphasising the importance of this agenda within Compass. 

Aaron Phipps MBE commented; “It’s great to work with Levy UK + Ireland to support how they approach disability within their organisation. So, attending this event and speaking to the wider audience of Compass colleagues was brilliant. They have clearly made inroads on their D&I journey, but it’s high on their agenda and the momentum is building.”

Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE agreed: “This was such a fantastic event – to see so many engaged people working for an organisation like Compass, who clearly want to continue to drive the inclusion agenda. National Inclusion Week, is just one week, but we’ve been talking about work that goes on all year round and how this can continue for the years ahead. It’s been a great opportunity to share and learn.”

Amanda Scott, Talent, Learning and D&I Director, Compass Group UK & Ireland: “Our networks are run by our colleagues, for colleagues, with the aim of creating welcoming and inclusive environments for all. Importantly the networks are led by people from all kinds of jobs, from all parts of the business and from different backgrounds, some from the communities they represent, some allies. All groups are safe spaces focused on making a difference and it’s been brilliant having everyone together.”

Last year, Compass launched Our Social Promise, which includes the Mission to a Million commitment, to provide support to one million people by 2030 through jobs, training, community engagement and development. It also outlined targets to improve diversity across the company. The commitments include ambitious gender, ethnicity (with specific targets on Black representation) and the industry’s first socio-economic representation targets. These targets are set for the executive and leadership team, middle management, junior management and frontline workers.