Best Practice | Count Me In: Diversity & Inclusion at Mitie



Mitie’s Count Me In learning and development programme is aimed at challenging the way colleagues think about diversity and inclusion, while stimulating healthy conversation. The programme was developed based on feedback from Mitie colleagues regarding their experiences with inclusion.

This is just a snapshot of Mitie’s innovative best practice; you can find the full practice on our HR Best Practices database that is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges and learnings experienced by certified Top Employers. Access it now or learn more about it here!

Why was the practice needed?    

When certified Top Employer, Mitie Group, created a new Head of Diversity and Inclusion they saw an opportunity to step beyond traditional unconscious bias training for a more mindful approach to issues around D&I. After receiving employee feedback that showed a need for the organisation to focus more on the needs of women in the workplace, race and ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and age-diversity. These were all issues that fall under the umbrella term of diversity and inclusion.

In 2021, against the backdrop of the company’s recent merger with Interserve, the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, Mitie’s Count Me In programme was able to deeply connect their people to each other. The aim of the programme was to not only understand their own company culture but also the culture of their employees and the challenges that are brought with different cultures. The programme also wanted to try and represent all these different cultures and people in their company story.

How was the practice implemented?

Mitie wanted to challenge the way that their people think with their Count Me In programme by encouraging them to have authentic and open conversations. Most importantly, Mitie wanted to create an environment where every employee felt able to bring their authentic and whole self to work. To meet these goals, they designed the programme as a journey of growth that would happen over four phases:

1. Count on Me: starting point in which employees look at their own strengths and biases.
2. Count on Us: this phase focuses on team culture and provides the opportunity for teams to create an environment of trust and empathy in which colleagues feel safe to speak up.
3. Count on Mitie: as part of an inclusive organisation all employees feel a sense of belonging.
4. Count on the Future: the Count Me In initiative continues to support and encourage an inclusive culture as well as to ensure that ED&I strategies remain in focus going forward.

Across the programme, Count Me In covered the following topics:

• Assumptions and bias
• Strengths and superpowers
• What is and isn’t ok to say
• Banter
• Inclusive conversations
• Conscious Inclusion
• Building relationships
• Allyship
• D&I basics
• Speaking up
• Inclusive leadership behaviours

The first two phases of the programme encouraged employees to reflect on their own understanding of diversity and inclusion while developing new awareness around it. While doing this they also worked on creating an environment that was safe for everyone to speak up in. The programme was not designed to be stagnant. Instead Mitie carefully constructed the training to be continuously developed over time with new training developed on further feedback from employees at the organisation.

When the programme progressed the focus shifted from internal reflection to ensuring that the organisation had a culture of psychological safety that allowed them to speak up and speak out.

The programme was not only limited to non-executive employees, but rather it extended into leadership levels with reverse mentoring and training to help manage escalations. Throughout the programme employees were helped to identify people that they could reach out to for various types of help. Management needed to be prepared for conversations that required the highest level of care and consideration.

While this was happening, the Executive Leadership and Group Leadership teams pledged their commitment to the overarching objective of the programme, which was to create an environment of inclusion throughout the organisation where each person feels comfortable in being themselves at work. In all of the leadership meetings at Mitie D&I is a standing topic with quantifiable metrics for follow-up and measurement across the company.

To learn more about how they implemented the programme you can find this practice on our HR Best Practice database. Access it now or learn more about how to become part of a global network of employers of choice!

Results of implementing Count Me In.

The programme’s first activity was an online self-assessment was completed by over 6 000 people at Mitie. It was followed by ‘Let me tell you a story…’ during which over 4 000 participants listened to a story being told before they were asked to answer questions designed to illuminate biased assumptions about the characters.

After the programme was implemented across Mitie they found:

• Over 24 000 employees have engaged with some or all the learning activity.
• Average NPS across all activities is 99%.
• Over 17 000 inclusivity commitments have been made by employees at all levels.

There were also several strategic benefits revealed by the programme:

• The number of colleagues registered in Mitie’s diversity networks grew fivefold. 
• Mitie continued to report their Gender Pay Gap and they voluntarily published their Ethnicity Pay Gap report.
• This initiative helped Mitie to become number 10 in the top 50 Inclusive Employers in the UK.
• Mitie has improved gender and racially diverse representation in senior leadership roles, 21% of Women and 8% of Racially Diverse.

To get more details about how Mitie made their Count Me In programme work find this practice on our HR Best Practice database. Access it now or learn more about it here!

Boosting Morale by Giving Back with CPFL Energy

CPFL Energy Fosters Goodwill by Creating a Sustainability Plan 

Giving back is an important part of a company’s presence in a local community and, for larger companies, the world at-large. Charity work improves a company’s image, creates a better place to live and work for employees and local residents alike, and fosters a sense of goodwill. With so many worthy causes, companies often focus their philanthropic efforts on an issue that resonates with their services, mission, and values. For CPFL Energy, a Certified Top Employer, that cause is climate change.

CPFL Energy is the largest energy company in South America. Headquartered in Campinas, Brazil the company was founded in 1912 and operations are supported by 13 000 employees. Their focus is on the distribution, generation, and commercialization of energy services to over 10 million addresses, which represents more than 22 million people.

The company recently implemented a Strategic Sustainability Plan with 15 commitments and an investment of R$1.8 billion from 2020 – 2024. CPFL’s plan is fully aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals. Some of their goals include maintaining at least 95% renewable energy sources in their generation portfolio, reducing greenhouse gas emissions – which they did by 24% in 2020, and generating carbon credits by assisting consumers’ energy transition with decarbonization and energy efficient solutions.

Three value pillars are the basis for CPFL’s sustainability plan: sustainable energies, smart solutions, and shared value. These values succinctly summarise how the company will focus its efforts on creating a smaller environmental footprint. It’s a clear way to share with both the global business community and the local community they serve how they are taking action.

In addition to the obvious benefits of combating climate change, this initiative contributes to greater employee cohesion and job satisfaction. Working for a company that gives back improves employee regard for company leadership and fosters a positive sense of connection.  Good morale is an important ingredient for successful operations and a giving back initiative is a great way to bolster it.

Rodolfo Nardez Sirol, CPFL’s Environmental and Sustainability Director, offers more detail about the company’s sustainability plan and what motivated them to devote so many company resources to it in this video. He describes how employees collaboratively developed the plan and what they are doing to keep up momentum. Check out the video to hear more about how CPFL finds fulfilment in giving back. 

Inclusion at Scale

Understanding HCL Technologies’ Diversity & Inclusion Best Practices 

Certified Top Employer HCL Technologies is a global technology company that helps businesses adapt to and excel in the digital age. With four decades of experience, 187 000 ‘ideaprenuers,’ and operations in over 50 countries, the company’s technology products and services are enhanced by its long history and extensive network. At the core of their longevity and management of such successful, large-scale operations is a commitment to fostering a positive workplace environment. 

A robust diversity and inclusion programme is a key part of their company culture. “Inclusion at Scale” is an internal programme that translates their diversity and inclusion goals into continuous education, practical application, and awareness initiatives. Featuring four phases, the programme entails micro-learning opportunities, conversation guides, performance management processes, and an LGBTQ educational series about key issues in the community and allyship. Ultimately, the programme’s goal is for these diversity and inclusion practices to become the default, part of business as usual. 

The programme’s guiding philosophy believes that unless inclusion is a priority, exclusion happens unintentionally. Diversity is a seat at the table, while inclusion is a voice at the table. It is essential to treat these two values equally and that they work in partnership. With these values firmly in place, employees have a safe space to share their unique skills and ideas. 

HCL’s desire to foster a safe and healthy work environment and continuously improve their products and services motivates the company to prioritise this initiative. Diverse teams outperform homogenous groups in innovation, creativity, empathy, and other key metrics. Productivity increases, subsequently increasing revenue. Additionally, an inclusive environment makes employees feel valued and that their contributions are taken seriously. They feel more invested in the company’s future. High employee satisfaction is a powerful recruitment and retention tool, meaning there will be more talent to choose from as the company grows. 

The benefits are not only internal. Having a diverse and inclusive team better enables a company to connect with potential and current clients. When employees have a similar background to the client, they understand cultural nuances at play in the relationship. Customers feel more respected and understood. Just as employee satisfaction increases because of these values, so does customer satisfaction. With so many internal and external benefits, these practices are clearly relevant to everyone and not limited to certain groups or minorities. 

Watch this video to hear Debasis Sarkar, Vice President of Human Resources, Head HCL APAC & Middle East and Enterprise HR Head HCL Technologies, share more insights about the company’s diversity and inclusion philosophy and the impact of their programmes. He describes three key actions all employees are encouraged to take, the importance of learning nudges at all levels of leadership, and other best practices from HCL’s Inclusion at Scale programme.

Winning the Battles for Talent



I think it’s time that we stop saying we’re in a war for talent. Not because the fight is cooling off, but rather, because it is intensifying. It is worth changing our perspective on the concept itself; its real form is not that of a war, but of continuous battles for talent. Organisation’s ability to attract, engage and stay committed to and excited about the talent they need is not something we win or lose at once. It is a process of continuous improvement – a thrilling one at that – in which the areas of people management play a decisive role.

Maximising the Employer Brand Strategy

88% of companies worldwide certified as Top Employers have an employer brand strategy that incorporates their employee value proposition as a core element. Naturally, all organisations offer some kind of value proposition to their employees.if they didn’t, it would be difficult to attract anyone, or keep them in the company for that matter – but here we are talking about effectively addressing the challenge of identifying, developing and communicating what you can offer to the talent you require, both during the hiring process and once they are in the company. A value propositon is something that makes the organisation unique, makes it a company that professionals want to belong to, where they want to work and thrive. That, undoubtedly, is a competitive advantage that sweeps away any competition.

Optimising the Candidate’s Journey

The best companies want to make sure they deliver on what they promise, and they achieve it by embarking on a process of listening and continuous improvement. That  is why 89% of Top Employers design and review the key stages of their talent acquisition process so that they are aligned with the pillars or key characteristics of their employer brand. What’s more, 70% of Top Employers systematically measure their employer reputation among their potential candidates – their target market for talent – while 70% also map their candidate’s journey, allowing them to optimise it. They outline what the experience will be like, both from their perspective and that of the candidate, and work with the information they collect from surveys to implement a process of continuous improvement at each focal point. The aim of this is to improve the candidate’s experience so that the hiring process is agile and reflects the pillars of the employer’s brand, making the company more attractive.

Measuring the Experience of Newcomers

These steps are not limited to candidates; they are also aimed at employees, both existing and new. 79% of certified Top Employers measure the experience of new employees, but it is interesting to note that 40% also focus on discovering whether the perception of the employer brand the employee had before joining the organisation has matched their actual experience in their first few weeks of company life. This is very insightful information. It reflects the fact that they are companies with a daring attitude, that are very committed to people, and that thrive in the spirit of continuous improvement. The results they capture inevitably lead to action, and either they change the experience or they will have to change the employer brand.

The best companies will need to work to build trust in their employer brand with the aim of maintaining their commitment to their promise of value throughout the talent life cycle of the organisation. 85% of companies certified as Top Employers ensure that there is a clear alignment between the employer brand and the perception and experience that employees have. They are consistent and coherent brands that work to ensure that no disparity arises between how they consider themselves to be and how they really are in the day-to-day life of the company.

The EVP at the Core of the Employer Brand

An employer brand strategy should have the employee value proposition (EVP) at its core. This is, after all, what gives it consistency, because it brings together the tangible and intangible benefits offered to employees and is aligned with the pillars of the employer brand, related especially with the current and aspirational values of the company.

80% of Top Employers are clear on the fact that, for an employee, a good value proposition must include an effective listening process. For this reason, they actively involve representatives from different groups of employees in defining their value proposition, evaluating their needs, aspirations, and current work experiences. Best practices in this respect shows us the relevance of segmenting employee samples and analysing whether there is a gap between the company’s vision and that of the employee – something which is usually the joint work of management and human resources.

Mapping the Employee Experience

Of course, the EVP, the heart of the employer brand strategy, is certainly not the result of a one-off exercise; the best companies – 72% of Top Employers – increase their value by regularly assessing it, and they continue the systematic exercise of listening to employees. 46% of them use effective tools like employee experience mapping, which details the employee’s perception at every touch point of their journey in their relationship with the company.

Final Thoughts

Talent battles are continually being fought. Socrates, with very good judgment, left us with this reflection: “The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear”. Consistency between what we say we are and what we really are is what builds trust in the employer brand. The best companies invest time, resources, and enthusiasm, as they embark on a process of continuous improvement to achieve what they promise.

Key takeaways | Why diversity is not enough: the importance of inclusion



The Top Employers 2021 Certificate Celebration held on 28 January 2021 brought together HR industry experts from around the world to celebrate the work done in HR and knowledge share the best people practices. 

One of the breakout sessions called “Why diversity is not enough: the importance of inclusion”, focused on how to create a sense of belonging in the workplace.  

The session was hosted by Jonas Van Wees, HR Auditor at Top Employers Institute,  with guest speakers Mechell Chetty (Unilever SA), Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas (Alstom) and Raj Verma (Sanofi). The session highlights the importance of inclusion in the workplace and emphasised it as a competitive advantage for employers. Organisations that prioritise diversity and inclusion in their teams far outperform competitors. Furthermore, an inclusive workplace also drives higher levels of productivity and retention, and positively affects employee engagement.  

Watch the full session by filling in the form or read the key takeaways here:  

Takeaway # 1: Leaders need to create psychological safety 

During the session, Mechell Chetty (Uniliver SA) aptly noted that inclusion is about providing employees with a sense of comfort. An organisation’s priority is to harnesses each employee’s uniqueness and potential by creating psychological safety. This is an environment where employees can truly express themselves, innovate, take risks, and be part of solutions that are born from employees unique characteristics.  

To create a psychologically safe environment, leaders have to shift away from blaming ‘unconscious bias’ but instead work towards being consciously competent.  Thus, the conversation must shift to how leaders can create competence, whether it is on matters of gender, disabilities, or race.  

Takeaway #2: Diversity and inclusion is a vital part of employee experience 

To create an inclusive culture is to create great employee experiences that people will relate to  and remember. As an example of this, Raj Verma holds the title of Chief Diversity and Experience Officer at Sanofi – a clear indication of how important the two fields are related to each other. Employee experience starts at the pre-hire stage, up until the point of resignation or retirement. Inclusion involves creating a great employee experience at all these vital touchpoints in an employee’s lifecycle.  

Verma explained diversity and inclusion with a simple process, where the input is a great employee experience, and the output is to maintain and grow diverse talent at every level. Inclusion and creating a sense of belonging is what brings the two points together.  

Takeaway #3: Raise awareness of inclusion in the workplace 

One of the most important aspects of inclusion is creating purposeful communication and awareness in the workplace. As an example of this, Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas shared some initiatives that Alstom created. To raise awareness of inclusiveness in the workplace, Alstom collects all the best practices from their teams around the world. An award is given to the best initiative, which creates positive momentum and spreads the best diversity and inclusion practices across the organisation. Another example is that Alstom created an ‘All-abilities toolkit’, which is a series of tips to help people with different workplace abilities.