EDI: A Comprehensive Approach.

In today’s ever-evolving workplace, it’s essential to understand the significance of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered. At its core, equality ensures that every individual has access to the same opportunities without discrimination, while diversity celebrates the unique differences among people. Inclusion goes a step further by creating a welcoming atmosphere where all voices are heard and respected.

The importance of EDI in organisations cannot be overstated. Embracing these principles enhances innovation and creativity, improves employee performance and engagement, and broadens the talent pool. Furthermore, adhering to legal and ethical standards regarding equality and diversity is a fundamental responsibility for all businesses.

As an organisation, we acknowledge that diverse and inclusive workplaces are not only more financially successful but also socially responsible, genuinely reflecting the communities they serve. Read on to learn more about how DMA is leading the charge in implementing EDI initiatives to drive lasting positive change in our business landscape.

Fostering Excellence Through EDI: Our Path to Success

We have three core business objectives: Great People, Great Service, and Great Results. To reach these goals, we must excel in EDI. In our view, a truly great business should reflect the modern society we live in.

Our EDI strategy and our overall mission are interconnected; each one enhances the other. We engage with three strategies that are driving impressive results for us in this area.

1. Fostering a Community Embodying Our Shared Values

Our core values—Teamwork, Respect, and Quality—serve as the foundation for DMA’s character and the behaviours expected of all team members.

We appreciate that this environment isn’t for everyone; over the past year, our attrition rate for individuals in their probationary period who did not align with our values stands at 20%.

However, when we identify the right fit, DMA becomes a thriving, safe, inclusive, and rewarding workplace. This is reflected in our satisfaction scores and the fact that 20% of our team chooses to remain with us for more than a decade.

2. BiO® is Creating a Level Playing Field

We believe our service management platform BiO® represents a once-in-a-generation achievement, conceived in 2016 through the collaboration of colleagues across every department.

Our goal is to enable anyone, anywhere in the world, to join DMA. To accomplish this, we needed to establish system equality. BiO® is designed for use by anyone with basic training; currently, it’s available only to English speakers, but we plan to expand in the future. The system accommodates a broad spectrum of abilities, including those with hidden disabilities. Through effective process engineering, users are guided through their tasks in an intuitive and user-friendly manner.

BiO® processes transaction data instantaneously, providing real-time insights to all stakeholder dashboards. This eliminates room for bias or prejudice, ensuring that performance remains entirely transparent. Such transparency fosters trust, teamwork, and an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Our commitment to performance transparency clarifies the skills required for each role and outlines how these skills are taught and nurtured. Our team understands their place in our narrative and recognises the value of their contributions. By significantly reducing mundane administrative tasks, we have enhanced both productivity and job satisfaction.

We firmly believe that BiO® technology stands at the cutting edge of the industry, a belief reinforced by its growing recognition. We have been honoured with accolades such as ‘change-maker’ and ‘disruptor’ from the press. The DMA brand continues to expand its reach, increasingly resonating with younger generations, and local schools and colleges are now approaching us to establish work experience and apprenticeship programs. We are confident in our capability to bridge the skills gap within the industry.

3. Creating a Safe and Diverse Environment for All

As we continue our EDI journey, our success with the BiO®, along with our dedicated efforts to cultivate a positive workplace culture at DMA, have already yielded impressive statistics. These efforts have not only enhanced employee satisfaction but have also fostered a sense of belonging among our diverse workforce, contributing to our overall organisational success and growth.

We are proud to see tangible results that reflect our commitment to these vital principles:

• Females occupy significant leadership roles, making up 66% of our workforce by headcount and 75% of our Senior Management Team.
• Overall, 40% of our people are female, compared to the industry average of 29%.
• Our ethnic diversity stands at 23%, exceeding the industry average of 14%.
• We maintain pay equality with a 100% pay equality rate.
• Our age profile is diverse, with the youngest employee at 18 and the oldest at 77, resulting in an average age of 41.
• 7% of our workforce consists of apprentices.
• High engagement and satisfaction levels are reflected in our employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of 51, or 8.7 out of 10, with a 74% response rate.
• Since implementing BiO®, we have achieved zero reportable accidents due to its built-in safety features, including dynamic risk assessments.

BiO® has revolutionised our approach to EDI, and in turn our increasingly diverse organisation is driving continuous improvement in BiO®. DMA fosters an inclusive and diverse workplace, our technology ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or abilities, can thrive.

Enhancing Workplace Culture Through EDI Initiatives

As part of our EDI strategy, we have established clear, achievable goals: to become the preferred employer and partner in Facilities Management (FM) and to gain global recognition for our people and technology.

We are excited to share our ongoing initiatives aimed at enhancing skills and fostering growth within our organisation and the wider community. As we strive to equip every colleague with the tools they need to succeed, we are implementing a comprehensive skills playbook and training plan, alongside a performance dashboard to monitor our progress. Our commitment to bridging the skills gap includes engaging a diverse workforce and collaborating with educational institutions to develop relevant curricula. Additionally, we are launching a virtual training academy to ensure accessibility for all, while also prioritising international growth with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion.

In conclusion, the initiatives we have undertaken at DMA to cultivate a positive and inclusive workplace culture have significantly strengthened our organisational framework and overall performance. With impressive metrics reflecting our focus on gender and ethnic diversity, pay equality, and safety, we not only surpass industry averages but also set a benchmark for best practices in our sector. The implementation of BiO® has been instrumental in fostering a safe and equitable environment that empowers all employees to excel. As we continue to prioritise these values, we remain committed to enhancing our workplace, ensuring that every team member feels valued and supported in their professional journey.

“DMA’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is rooted deeply in my own personal upbringing; I was born into a family of educators who instilled in me the importance of these principles from an early age and shaped my belief that authentic leadership is crucial for achieving meaningful EDI outcomes. Eleven years ago, I joined DMA to initiate a transformative journey from a traditional organisation into a modern business. From that pivotal moment, our focus has been on people and technology, ensuring that our initiatives not only foster an inclusive workplace but also drive growth and innovation.”

— Andrew Wood, CEO of DMA