Eye on News NI business leaders put down marker of diversity and inclusion at Ulster Carpets

Ulster Carpets and Diversity Mark hosted a roundtable event in late February with guest speaker Sir David Sterling focusing on how industry leaders can embed a culture of Allyship and positively change environments and behaviours within the workplace.

With over 150 signatories to date, Diversity Mark offers accreditation, expert support and guidance to organisations navigating the Diversity and Inclusion landscape. Speaking at the event Nick Coburn, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Ulster Carpets, said: “We are delighted to host this roundtable discussion with Diversity Mark and to hear the experiences of many other manufacturers on the changing cultures and behaviours around inclusion.

“For over 85 years, we have prided ourselves on the employment opportunities that we have offered and the creation of an environment that rewards ambition and recognises talent. Inclusion and diversity is an ongoing process and we will be working alongside Diversity Mark to continue on that journey.”

A central theme to emerge from guests, which included Almac, Unicorn Group, Hyster Yale, Smiley Monroe, ABC Council, BDO, Finnebrougue, McQuillan’s Companies and Yellow

Door, was that value-based leadership is essential for a better working environment and a more effective organisation.

Commenting, Nuala Murphy Director Diversity Mark, said: “The main outcome from the event today is that everyone is on a journey and ultimately wants their employees to be the best they can be. However a deeper cultural shift is required to help embed a culture of allyship, equipping people with the skills and know-how to do better. Research tells us that there is a 20% perception gap between how inclusive C-Suite executives felt their organisation was versus how included employees actually felt. We can offer the support and guidance to an organisation as they embark upon their equality, diversity and inclusion journey by sharing the knowledge and expertise from our team and our generous community of leaders in this space.

“Key to Diversity Mark is fostering a culture where real conversations can happen enabling employees to feel valued and included. This must be implemented from the top down and our independently assessed accreditation journey will give any workplace a process to follow and an accountability framework to work towards. The panel is made up of experienced independent assessors who each have an array of sector knowledge and real world experience across diversity and inclusion, implementing best practices and seeing the positive results first hand, time and time again.”