We began our Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) journey some time ago, and whilst we’ve always recognised it’s played an important part within our business decisions, we also knew that more could be done to champion D&I both internally and externally. And this is where Grocery Aid came in!
Tactical Solutions is a proud partner of Grocery Aid, a charity that helps people who work or have worked in the grocery industry, whether that be for a supermarket, convenience or independent retailers and wholesalers, and service providers supplying the grocery trade. Across the industry the charity provides financial support and practical assistance, including support and guidance on health and wellbeing, personal issues, relationship support, benefits, careers, housing and legal issues. Each year the charity spends up to £4.7m on welfare support.
As part of our Grocery Aid membership we join over 70 partners, such as Asda, Tesco, Kellogg’s and Bird’s Eye, on a 12-month programme, where businesses can come together to discuss and progress D&I, creating a progressive industry environment where people can thrive.
The Grocery Aid program itself is split into three main areas: shared learning (Learning Labs), mentoring and the Grocery Live event.
Having access to the Learning Labs and shared content that is created by other partners allows us to broaden our thinking and understand what others are doing in this space, whilst also supporting the development of our own policies over time, ensuring that we’re nurturing diversity within the business.
What are Learning Labs?
Learning Labs are online calls that every member has access to. They’re created by headline and major partners to discuss different elements of the D&I ‘journey’, which is different in every business. Recently we attended Learning Labs hosted by Mondelēz and Unilever which discussed ‘Mental Wellbeing in 2022’ and ‘Social Mobility’, with The Power of Colleague Stories our next destination.
We’re taking away some key themes from each of the Learning Labs and will look to implement them within the business, for example revaluating social mobility within our Apprenticeship Scheme and looking at how we can empower our employees through the development of Mental Health Allies.
Cathy Evans, Tactical Solutions Managing Director, said: “We’ve worked hard to attain ‘pending’ BCorp certification and being a BCorp is all about using our business as a force for good and measuring our social and environmental impact. To ensure we do this effectively, it is vital that we have a diverse team of people who will bring new ideas and share unique perspectives.
“Diversity and Inclusion plays a fundamental part in ensuring that we build on our inclusive culture to ensure everyone’s perspectives are valued, different points of view are heard, and that people’s lived experiences enhance our effectiveness. Our involvement with Grocery Aid and the learnings we are taking from this partnership is further strengthening and shaping this quality within our business. We look forward to our continued journey.”
For more information about Grocery Aid visit: www.groceryaid.org.uk
