Blog: SECBE Awards 2022 finalist - Countryside Partnerships

01 April 2022

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion sponsored by Faithful + Gould

Countryside Partnerships 

EDI Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards 2022 Finalist

November 2021, Countryside launched its three-year DEI strategy, known internally as ‘Be You’, following board approval.

The strategy has four goals: two are internally focused, two are externally focused. The company believes this makes it different, because the team is not just looking internally, they are looking to make a much bigger impact in the DEI space, impacting communities and customers. Countryside Partnerships have galvanised support across the Group beyond HR to do this.

Countryside’s goals are:

Workplace – Create an employee experience where everyone can be themselves, belong and thrive and where difference is valued.

Workforce – Build a more diverse workforce that more broadly reflects our geographies.

Communities – Support the diverse communities in which we operate.

Marketplace – Support diverse customers and ensure diversity in our supply chain.

Key achievements:

• Our Disability & Carers forum has met with Countryside architects to set out their experience of disability and what would make homes more accessible for consideration in our modular house type designs. They have also trained our sales team in handling customers with disability. This included hidden disability. As a direct result our Sales teams have initiated the ‘sunflower’ logo in sales offices, and are looking into the first sensory play area in one of our sales offices. We have opened this forum to staff outside of Countryside and outside of Construction and have our first Construction, non-Countryside member attending.

• Our 3 annual Post Occupancy Evaluations as part of our Sustainability approach, will include elements of DEI. We have agreed Countryside will ensure diversity in the areas we select by ensuring we are not only selecting areas of white privilege. That we will ensure access to an evaluation is available to everyone (including those who can’t be outside a shop or use technology) and we will cut our data by demographic to ensure we are impacting all minority groups equally.

• We have raised awareness of race discrimination by initiating and executing a video with Black Professionals in Construction as part of Black History Month. Sending a clear message about the importance of race not just to Countryside but for the industry and challenging stereotypes of construction.

Find out who wins at the Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards 2022 Ceremony on Thurs 30th June 2022.

About the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (sponsored by Faithful + Gould  ): 

Construction clients have an important role to play in transforming the way the industry operates.  How projects come to market has a significant impact on the ability of the construction industry to provide innovative, whole life value-for-money solutions. More info.

>> Find out more about the other Constructing Excellence SECBE Awards finalists here