How to Embed Social Value and Diversity into UK Government Contracts

Last month the UK government announced reforms that require strategic suppliers to embed social value within contracts, while still complying with Nolan’s 7 Principles of Public Life, if they intend to continue delivering public services. The news came swiftly after a recent string of scandals related to high-profile contractors, prompting the government to evaluate contracts not just on value for money, but also on their social impact within the communities they serve.

Social value asks the question: ‘If £1 is spent on the delivery of services, can that same £1 also be used to produce a wider benefit to the community?’ To help contractors demonstrate value beyond the core contract, the UK government has published a balanced scorecard showing how procurement will balance value for money with wider social and economic considerations. The UK’s Supply Chain Sustainability School has released an Industry Briefing Note on Social Value to explain a range of approaches businesses can take to positively impact the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

One critical area of social value is employment, ethics and training. Contractors are bound by laws such as the Equality Act of 2010 to uphold high standards of fairness, inclusion, respect, equality, diversity, employee development and engagement to help communities and boost the well–being of people who live and work there. A key tenet of diversity is that employees should reflect the demographics of the communities they serve. Different communities have different characteristics, needs and opportunities and how effectively businesses identify and meet the particular needs of the communities in which they operate will increase the impact of their socially orientated activities.

For example, broadening leadership pipelines to include a range of employees with ethnic backgrounds that mirror the communities they serve will help government providers to positively impact social value by building a diverse senior leadership team. According to the Supply Chain School, the context around the activity determines the depth of its social impact and keeping a record of stories as well as measurements of success is critical.

Companies must nurture a culture where people from all backgrounds feel they belong, and where their efforts and unique contributions are recognised. When a company culture fails to include everyone, employees with diverse backgrounds are unlikely to progress and more likely to leave. But when diverse employees see people like themselves succeed in their organisation, then innovation and the improved financial rewards associated with true diversity will follow.

A Career Development Platform that Democratises Opportunities

WERKIN’s career development platform is powered by self-created profiles, which digitally capture the skills, qualifications and experiences of employees, increasing their visibility and prompting them to join projects and teams dynamically. By scanning all employees impartially for capabilities — and matching them with business challenges — the technology reduces bias by using technology rather than human instinct to select candidates for teams and assignments.

The UK government now requires that external providers embed social value within the delivery of public services, as well as within their workforces, if they intend to win government tenders. With WERKIN, it’s now possible to combine the latest advances in technology to democratise career development for diverse workforces. When you enable a diverse workforce to achieve their true potential, you deliver real social value not only to to the communities in which you operate, but also to your employees, expanding their opportunities to succeed.

ABOUT WERKIN

WERKIN’s tech-enabled mentoring platform helps global organisations manage, measure and scale diversity & inclusion programs in today’s workplace. Used in more than 20 financial institutions worldwide, WERKIN is accelerating underrepresented talent into senior executive positions.

Visit http://www.getwerkin.com to learn more.