Organisation – using government assets and resources to support and drive change

Lever 11: Business support, tools and diagnostics

Evidence

Lever 11 focuses on how businesses and other employing organisations can be supported to make changes in the direction of fair work through the provision of insight, tools and support. There is a wealth of business support available through the public agencies in Scotland. Our focus here is on support materials, tools and diagnostics that employers of all sizes and industries might access independently. Given the breadth of possible evidence here, the research focussed for illustrative purposes on how employers might be helped to improve a specific area of practice – equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) – which is fundamental element of meaningful fair work. The discussion below, however, might also apply to other areas of fair work practice.

To improve equality and inclusion outcomes in workplaces requires that employers have the inclination/motivation to identify the issue or challenge, assess their own data, can identify how to act effectively and can evaluate the outcomes of any actions they take. Notwithstanding that equality commitments are obligatory, convincing employers to address inequality relies heavily on being able to identify specific actions that they can take that can make a difference.

Unfortunately, however, while there is a significant evidence base that describes EDI practices and interventions, there is a global lack of research that evaluates the efficacy of approaches to improving EDI outcomes. In Scotland as elsewhere in the UK, most public sector employers rely on organisation-wide Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategies[135] and/or equalities-based training to promote inclusion.[136] Research on EDI practices shows that while many employers use anti-bias training and mentoring projects,[137] these are often limited in their effectiveness and impact.[138]

Despite the high predictive power of positive discrimination (e.g. reserving jobs or quota) and positive action (e.g. hosting special recruitment events) for EDI, research has documented a move away from such practices toward standardisation (e.g. formulating policy guidelines) and monitoring (e.g. reviewing procedures to detect differences in treatment).[139]

Research has also drawn attention to forms of resistance to what might be effective EDI practices.[140] Such practices can disrupt existing power relations[141], and result in conflict between workplace actors whose sense of self is threatened[142] [143] and also among potential beneficiaries of inclusion practices as they are relegated to ‘token’ status.[144] A range of arguments that act as obstacles to greater inclusion need to be surfaced and addressed to improve EDI outcomes: that existing (unequal) profiles and experiences in organisations reflect merit rather than characteristics;[145] that competence drives unequal outcomes;[146] [147] or that inequality will resolve itself over time.[148]

Evidence suggests that to improve EDI, practices that involve installing structures of responsibility in the organisation are the most effective long-term.[149] Other successful strategies for improved EDI include targeted internships,[150] evidenced senior management commitment[151] and shared organisational diversity plans.[152]

Given this complexity in the evidence base around the efficacy of employers’ EDI interventions, there are significant challenges in supporting employers to change their practice, even among employers who are inclined to do so. We have been unable to uncover evidence that points to the free availability and proven efficacy of, for example, diagnostic or other ‘how to’ tools that might support business in improving EDI.

Potential to improve fair work adoption and practice

EDI is one of a number of substantive areas of fair work practice where employers struggle to find practical support and advice on how to improve. Addressing the ‘how to’ issue for employers in relation to EDI (and indeed other areas of fair work practice) has the potential to leverage more substantial impact and change.

The development of EDI (and other fair work practice) support materials could help address the challenges employers face in understanding, measuring and addressing EDI issues in their workplaces. Scottish Enterprise, in conjunction with the FWC, has developed an employer tool to encourage employers to think about particular aspects of their fair work practice. We are not aware of any formal evaluation of its use and effectiveness. While the FWC has also developed a fair work survey tool aimed at supporting individuals to reflect on the fairness or otherwise of their work, there is no tool that we are aware of that links employer and employee or worker views and experiences of fair work. Findlay and colleagues have developed a bespoke survey tool for employers and workers at part of a major UKRI research project but to date this has only been available to employers participating in the research.[153] HIE have a fair work website and accompanying documentation that poses questions to employers about aspects of fair work, backed up by one to one business support with a specialist adviser and supporting documentation which appears to have stimulated interest in fair work issues. While there are examples of simple ‘how to’ infographic materials to support employers in delivering effective gender equality interventions[154], their use and effectiveness has not been evaluated.

Ownership of lever

There is a role for the Scottish Government, public agencies, the Fair Work Convention and equalities organisations to develop a suite of support materials around EDI and around fair work, to be free and easily accessible, and to be the basis of engagement with more direct business support services. In addition, given the importance of peer-to-peer engagement, there is potential to build networks of expertise around the development of these support materials to generate interest and insight into ‘what works’. Crucial to the effectiveness of this lever is the development of an evidence base that such tools and materials drive change in practice.

Dependencies and constraints

The key dependencies in developing and disseminating business support materials and tools are first, ensuring that these are fit for purpose, and second, ensuring that they are accessible to employers who wish to utilise them. Addressing both dependencies would require collaborative engagement between researchers who develop EDI or fair work support tools, public agencies, employers, unions and policymakers. A first step might be engagement with equalities organisations funded by the Scottish Government to identify and evaluate existing provision of business support. Another step may be an evaluation of the existing SE and HIE provision of support materials for EDI and/or fair work.

Locus and reach

While there are challenges in developing effective forms of support, particularly in relation to tools/diagnostics that would be available to the wider business base, such tools would have a potentially substantial reach, and may prove of particular use to smaller organisations with limited HR capability.

Lever 11 Insight: There is potential value in the Scottish Government leading other stakeholders in the development of high quality fair work support materials and tools, including in relation to EDI. This would require access to specialist technical expertise and the engagement of public agencies and workplace stakeholders in the dissemination and use of such support tools.

Lever 12: Supporting a dedicated fair work evidence hub

Evidence

Prior research points to how research evidence can influence and inform policy and practice. The literature on evidence-based policy[155] [156]points to five key mechanisms through which research can be deployed to support evidence-informed decision-making:

This framing may assist the policy and research communities to reflect on current practice and consider ‘what has worked and might work’ in engaging with employers and other stakeholders in ways that can influence decision-making around fair work.

In practical terms, Findlay and colleagues[157] – advising on how to inform employer practice on the Security dimension of fair work (and specifically on how to encourage action on in-work poverty) – called for consideration of a number of strategies for driving change, including:

Potential to improve fair work adoption and practice

There is already a substantial evidence base on the costs and benefits of, and practicalities of implementing fair work practices in a range of organisational contexts. This is held not just by academic/research communities but also by Scottish policy stakeholders and public agencies. Yet employers and other relevant stakeholders (including those advising employers on workplace practice, such as HR consultants and/or publicly funded business advice services) do not have easy access to this evidence base in a form that supports practice. Improving access to this evidence base among employers might better inform and incentivise take up of fair work practices.

While there are no current examples of such a publicly-supported fair work evidence hub or repository, previous research has demonstrated that a key barrier to the take-up of fair work practices is a lack of awareness of/access to data and intelligence that might better inform decision-making among employers.[158] [159] Research has also demonstrated that investments in practices to support effective knowledge transfer can promote evidence-informed decision-making.[160] There may be value, therefore, in providing support for activities to (a) synthesise and make accessible data on the benefits of fair work investments; and (b) engage employers in ways that might influence evidence-based decision-making and assist in practical decisions to support fair work.

Ownership of lever

The Scottish Government and partners have a key role to play in supporting and facilitating platforms where evidence of fair work practices and outcomes can be collated, evaluated and accessed. Ownership of data and insight, however, lies with multiple stakeholders in the research and business community and in civil society. There is a role for government in supporting collaborative engagement across these stakeholders to ensure that the best evidence and insight is more widely available to workplace stakeholders.

Dependencies and constraints

A challenge for this area of practice is that data on the potential benefits of fair work interventions are held by multiple stakeholders who currently lack both the incentive and the platform to share and synthesise intelligence. These stakeholders in the academic/research, professional/business services and policy communities need to be supported to pool resources and evidence and to develop new approaches to intelligence-sharing in line with the mechanisms discussed above.

Further, for this lever to be effective, universities, research teams and other stakeholders with access to research and intelligence on fair work must be encouraged or incentivised to share information in accessible formats and commit to knowledge transfer activities.

The key constraints on sharing data and intelligence on the impact of fair work practices relate to current lack of a shared format and platform to collate, evaluate and share information; and the inconsistent (and sometimes inaccessible) format in which evidence is shared and presented by its owners. There would also be a need for targeted work to communicate the benefits of engaging with the fair work evidence base to employers and their partners.

Locus and reach

Improving access to research and intelligence to inform decision-making on fair work has the potential to make a positive contribution across any industry or sector. Additionally, information-sharing and knowledge transfer activities can be shaped to target specific sectors facing fair work challenges.

Better fair work evidence – particularly on the positive outcomes associated with fair work – can benefit employers; stakeholders supporting employers, such as business support services; trade unions and other employee representative bodies; and employees who may be better informed to advocate for fair work practices.

Lever 12 Insight: There is potential value in the Scottish Government and partners developing a fair work evidence hub, providing a digital platform for knowledge exchange on good practice, costs and benefits, and long-term outcomes of fair work. However, this would involve resources and investment to ensure that evidence is presented in a format that is accessible to business and to support businesses understand and access the tools.