Attest team visits Tech Talent Charter’s Diversity in Tech Roadshow

The day started with an introductory talk from Debbie Forster, Co-CEO of the Tech Talent Charter, running through some of the key themes from the report. A quote from Debbie that really stood out was that she would give tech a C+ but that a lot of organisations are “quiet quitting” on DEI — something that Attest definitely will not be doing! 

Attest was one of the founding signatories with the Tech Talent Charter and we’ve worked closely with them as their official research and data partner since 2017. 

Here’s Attest’s Founder and CEO Jeremy on why our partnership with the Tech Talent Charter is so important: 

Attest exists to inform every decision and dissolve any doubt, and that’s why we love working with the Tech Talent Charter to uncover and share new insights that can generate positive change across industries and nations. This work is important, and also helps Attest learn and improve, including seeing just how much progress we still need to make to create genuinely diverse and inclusive environments in tech.

There was then a Q and A session with panel members from a wide variety of organisations, talking through what was working well and what could be even better. We left the session with lots of ideas and things to put into action once we got back to the office. 

After lunch we broke into ten different groups to discuss some of the key challenges to recruiting, retaining and developing diverse employees in Tech. 

Melanie Pieters, our Senior Product Manager, hosted one of the round table discussions talking about how managers can be both gatekeepers to the ladder, but can also enable their teams’ success. Mel reported back that line managers play a crucial role in their teams’ success and she shared three top tips on how line managers can truly support diverse employees.

1. Line managers should be role models in demonstrating inclusive behaviours and broadcasting these across the organisation. This could be putting childcare pick ups or doctors appointments into diaries, not contacting employees outside of working hours and taking time off when they are unwell. In a nutshell, an organisation can have great policies or benefits but line managers make it clear whether behaviours are acceptable or not. 
2. Line managers should ensure continuous communication. 121s are a great opportunity for line managers and team members to have ongoing open and honest dialogue. These conversations should not just be about business as usual or tasks but also the support that they need and their career aspirations with development opportunities to get there. 
3. People or HR teams also have a key role in supporting line managers to help their employees’ success and climb up the ladder (if that is what they want to do!). It’s important to make sure that all activities add genuine value, rather than being tick box exercises or activities just for the sake of it. People and HR teams can ensure fairness, consistency and objectivity. 

We then had the opportunity to take a tour around Bletchley Park and learn about the amazing people that have worked there. 

Attesters attend events like this as although we already have initiatives in place to help support diversity in tech, we know that there is more to do in this space. We would love to hear what is working well in your workplace or if you have ideas of what we can do.