Commitment to change

As part of our new series profiling colleagues from our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) community, HR business partner - Royal Mail Fleet, Veesh Rathod, shares his story…

‘From my perspective and experience at Royal Mail over the last 14 years, I have always noticed a drive within the business to accelerate, develop and champion colleagues from all backgrounds through a variety of platforms and programmes. However, BAME under-representation is not only scarce in Royal Mail, but also a variety of other multinational organisations nationwide and throughout the world.

‘To improve BAME representation at senior and middle-management levels, I believe the importance of this subject and conversation needs to continue to be echoed from Board level, down to middle-management.

‘As a people-focused business, engagement is at the heart of everything we do and as a wider community, we should continue to highlight our growing diverse workforce. According to CIPD 2017 statistics, BAME employees, who are middle-managers and would like to progress to senior management positions, prefer mentoring opportunities and opportunities to work on cross-organisational projects to put their theories into practice. This is something Royal Mail could focus on further for the future. As a business, we also need to ensure we continue to drive equal opportunities across all roles to enable our people to develop and strengthen their skills, knowledge and experiences.

‘At Royal Mail, we have robust policies and procedures in place, which highlight both the importance of "stamping out" racism, as well as bullying and harassment. These were emphasised in the recent communication from chief HR officer, Sally Ashford. In order to consistently combat racism, we need to continue the conversation around these topics at all levels and drive home the firm message that Royal Mail has a zero- tolerance policy towards racism.

‘Anybody who comes into contact with our company has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and our policies, which define this, should be celebrated and widely promoted. We also have a dedicated First Class Support helpline (0800 6888 777), which provides confidential help and advice to all employees.

‘I believe we should continue to clarify our stance and values on racism. We need a systemic approach towards this issue, one where all colleagues can be involved in implementing practical solutions. We also need a commitment to sustained action through visible leadership and a willingness to change.’

Supporting BAME colleagues

Making our business a place where black, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues can achieve their potential remains a priority.

Career progression is a key focus as we work towards improving the representation of colleagues from BAME backgrounds across all levels of the business. We need to build greater awareness that the network exists and is there to support our people and shine a light on all the good positive things we are doing across the business. 

If you are thinking about holding a BAME cultural event in your unit, and need some help, please reach out to the BAME steering group, or volunteer to help out with their activities. You can contact the group by emailing bame@royalmail.com.