The Art of the Possible – supporting the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
The drive to increase the diversity of the Civil Service is keenly shared by the Commission. As the regulator, we’re there to provide assurance that appointments are made fairly and on merit, so internal levers to increase diversity such as talent development programmes, temporary promotion, mentoring etc.. are not within our remit.
But with the Commission’s unique perspective across departments’ recruitment from chairing open competitions at senior levels and its role in auditing processes across government, we are using our experience and influence to help departments deliver on their ambition to be more representative of the country they serve.
Challenging the Civil Service to improve diversity in the SCS is one of the Commission’s strategic priorities, set out by Ian Watmore in 2016 Key strategic aims and actions that flow from this include:
How can the Commission support departments to get more diverse candidates?
- by increasing our own data capabilities (capture and analytics)
- better communications/encouraging applications
- increasing the Commission’s presence/raising our visibility
- improving departmental job packs and advertising strategies when chairing SCS competitions
How do we help departments maintain their focus on diversity?
- working with networks and other stakeholders
- regular discussion at the Commission board and diversity working group
- communications and events
- promote and challenge when chairing competitions
- use compliance visits to encourage and support HRD and Perm sec
How do we create challenge in the diversity agenda?
- recognise, join and promote the different outlets for work on diversity across government, for example, the People Board
- raise awareness at the outset of competitions, and ensure it is embedded at the planning stage- with action points for departments
- regular monitoring of data
- Commissioners feeding back on competitions, adding to our best practice guide and using these insights in future competitions
Link Commissioners
Our Commissioners are ideally placed to use their influence in competitions and in their roles as link Commissioners. The link Commissioner role pairs Commissioners with the 20 or so main departments and professions with the aim to meet regularly with Perm Secs and/or HRD’s/Heads of Profession to discuss recruitment activity. Link Commissioners act impartially and champion best practice and promote compliance with the Recruitment Principles and the Civil Service Code. The link Commissioners are ideally placed to provide advice and challenge on departmental plans to enhance diversity through recruitment.
Diversity working group
As well as overseeing competitions, our Commissioners, who bring broad experience across all sectors, engage in a wide range of Commission work, including working groups that have delivered a number of positive actions:
- Best Practice Guide, collecting information to enable Commissioners to better challenge departments to think more widely when recruiting to senior positions.
- D&I reporting is now a key component of compliance in the Commission’s audits, particularly around risk ratings given and the scorecards.
- Demystifying events to engage with different stakeholders on the Commission’s purpose and the application of the Recruitment Principles and the Code.
- Evening event with search firms and other interested stakeholders with the aim of strengthening mutual engagement around issues including the government’s diversity statistics, initiatives and barriers.
- A virtual event for candidates with disabilities who are interested in SCS roles, another demystifying event later in the year, and more blogs/short films on our website to promote careers in SCS for BAME and disabled candidates.
More information and statistics about the work of the Commission is available in our interactive annual report: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CSC-ARA-Report-201920-Interactive.pdf
If you would like to know more about the Commission’s role in recruitment, take a look at our short videos: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-principles/
If you would like to speak to one of our team about our work in supporting the Civil Service on diversity and inclusion, please email: info@csc.gov.uk
In the second blog in this series, John Knight CBE, who advises the Commission Board on disability, talks about his own experience and what more he thinks can be done to attract and support disabled candidates into senior Civil Service roles.
About John
John Knight’s career has spanned the voluntary and statutory sectors including the Department of Health, an international disability charity and as an assessor for the Commissioner for Public Appointments. He served on the Board of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (now part of the Care Quality Commission); the Charity Commission and was a member of a Cabinet Office Honours Appointments Committee. John was a Magistrate for 28 years.
He is currently a Board Member of a National Housing Association (which provides accessible housing to disabled people); a Governor of an Adult Education Institute and a London NHS Foundation Acute Trust as well being an advisor on disability issues to the Board of the Civil Service Commission.
He was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to disabled people.
John brings a vivid lived experience of disability to all his work, blending the personal with the professional.
What do you think the civil service needs to do to attract more candidates with a disability into senior roles? What advice do you have for recruiters?
A significant and visible cohort of SCS employees with a disability would be really helpful – if you can’t see yourself in the levels above it’s a struggle to be motivated to climb up. This principle extends to the universal need for diverse interview panels – again, if you can’t see yourself…
It is essential that we start to fully understand disabled applicant’s journeys through the SCS appointments process – the conversion rates are disappointing. What feedback, if any, are we systematically garnering and learning from those applicants who fell by the wayside?
Recruiters need to adopt more flexible and creative approaches to interpreting applicants’ skills and experiences e.g. greater use of the Success Profile Framework. Applicants with a disability need to mine their own extensive life experiences and use examples from the everyday of resilience; planning; teamwork and creativity to augment the harder skills in any essential criteria – they are really valuable and valid. I’d also encourage recruiters to take more risks, look at potential rather than always opting for a safe pair of hands. I would like to see the Commissioners chairing the panel to report more explicitly on their observations and experiences regarding applicants with a disability in their final reports in order to better understand how the process might be improved and raise the profile of disability.
What could the civil service do better to attract and retain civil servants with a disability overall (at any level)? What do you see as the barriers?
Mmm… Let me ask you some questions! Why are Civil Servants with a disability twice as likely as those without to report being bullied and harassed? Commissioners should, with their Link departments, hold Permanent Secretaries feet to the fire (nicely!) on both disability recruitment and bullying and harassment. Are disabled employees able to access the same career development postings and training opportunities that their colleagues without a disability can? Finally, unconscious bias (the “silent assassin”) training is prevalent across the service – but is anybody checking whether this training is having a positive impact?
What has been your experience of reasonable adjustments (if any), and how have these helped you to do your job?
All good in my experience. Increasingly adjustments are offered without me having to ask for them. It is amazing how colleagues’ knowledge, intuition and confidence have grown in working with people who have impairments, empowering them to act like this. It’s a great story.
What has been your personal experience of working in the civil service? What made a difference to you?
I was a very junior Civil Servant at the then DHSS (who remembers that?) for 5 years – an exhilarating and intellectual rollercoaster ride serving a then energetic administration. More recently I was a Public Appointments Assessor with OCPA where I factored diversity and in particular disability very much into my work to appoint senior people to national public roles. Now, as an Advisor to the Board of the Civil Service Commission, I have been wrestling with the conundrum of why more disabled people are not following through the journey towards appointment to SCS roles. The intellectual challenge, mutual respect and lack of judgement in the CS (and its satellites) made and still does, a real difference to me.
Why is diversity particularly important at senior levels?
Diverse senior leadership a) helps erode/challenge unconscious bias; b) sends out positive messages to people from a variety of backgrounds that they are welcome; c) imports positive, fresh, and sometimes challenging and innovative thinking into policy debates.
What experiences did you have working at a senior level in the private sector? Are there lessons that the civil service can learn from the private sector here?
I worked at a very junior level in a bank for 3 years after I graduated from University (an ill-thought-out “milk round” job) before moving into the public sector where I thrived. Sure, there are things the CS can learn from the private sector – but this definitely works both ways. I’m currently a Director of a National social housing association. This involves managing physical and financial assets, brand reputation and new property developments/land acquisitions.
What drives and motivates you in your career?
It used to be proving myself to others but now having matured I am driven by a quiet satisfaction of moderate achievement in public service over 35 years. My wonderful, unorthodox family is a major driver also – we mind each other’s backs.
Outside work I really enjoy Opera, cricket (watching not playing) and my grandson.
The Commission is running an online open event on 7 October 2020 aimed specifically at candidates for senior roles in the Civil Service who have a disability.
Last year, 6% of applicants reported having a disability in recruitment competitions chaired by Commissioners, although it is estimated that 18% of the working-age population in Britain are disabled as defined as by the Equality Act 2010.
The Commission is keen to use its influence to attract more disabled candidates to apply for senior Civil Service roles and has been working with an associate adviser, John Knight, to support its work in this area.
At the online event, Commissioners Jan Cameron and June Milligan will cover a range of topics of relevance to candidates for senior roles who have a disability:
- What to expect from a recruitment process chaired by a Commissioner
- What you can ask for as a candidate with a disability
- Top tips from Commissioners
- Disability Confident Scheme (GIS)
- Reasonable adjustments
- Q and A throughout via Slido
This event is being held from 15:00 – 16:30 on 7 October 2020. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.
Please share this event with colleagues inside and outside the Civil Service who may be interested in attending.
The Commission will also be publishing blogs from senior leaders in the Civil Service who have a disability. Click here to read the first blog in the series.
In the first of a series of articles about disability and working in the Civil Service, Alistair Watters, Director Grenfell Site and Programme at MCHLG, talks about his own experience in both the private and public sector and what needs to happen to build candidates’ confidence that their disability won’t count against them.
About Alistair
Having started my career in sales and marketing of pharmaceuticals, I went on to set up and lead a number of small service businesses. While this was enormously hard work it was also amazingly rewarding both personally and professionally. The downside of this was a form of loneliness where I spent so much time away from home that it was increasingly hard to maintain relationships with friends and acquaintances, so I decided to move into the corporate world.
I worked across many industries in the private sector including pharmaceuticals, financial services, telecoms, technology, media and broadcast media and retail. As a consequence I had the opportunity to lead a variety of functions varying from customer & marketing, property, technology, operations and programme management – often leading large corporate restructures to achieve a profit objective or delivering changes that organisations had tried (and often failed) to deliver. It was a great career and I value every second of it – but it wasn’t enough for me. I felt I wanted to do more than just deliver profits and “numbers” and to deliver things that really mattered – where better than the civil service?
In 2017 I joined DEFRA to lead their Programme Management Office to be ready for EU Exit and then in 2019 I took the opportunity to come and work with an amazing team managing the Grenfell Tower and engaging with the local community to realise the vision of the community led memorial commission to deliver a fitting and lasting memorial to the 72 people who lost their lives in the tragedy.
The Civil Service is an absolutely fabulous place to work. Its values ensure that as a disabled colleague I am guaranteed that this will not adversely impact on my career. To attract more disabled candidates this has to become not just a fact – but a widely acknowledged fact based on lived experience. As senior leaders in the Civil Service who happen to be disabled – it’s our duty to lead on this, shout about it and work with recruiters and others to make it an obvious truth.
I think that many disabled candidates and colleagues believe – even if they won’t say it – that there is an unconscious bias that will “get in their way” when they are competing against candidates without a disability. We have to ensure that we go beyond acknowledging it to the point where we are building it into the fabric of recruitment processes.
I think this goes well beyond “right to interview” and every hiring manager should be asked to consider how they will ensure this will not happen. It does not, by itself, overcome the doubt of the candidates that the bias is there – that will take time and a lot more work that we must do. We’ve achieved it with other protected characteristics – this should be no different.
What has been your experience of reasonable adjustments (if any), and how have these helped you to do your job?
In truth I’ve had mixed success in the time I have been in the Civil Service. My situation is a bit idiosyncratic so it makes it much more difficult and the team are working with me to achieve the right results. The process itself has been brilliant, it’s just finding the solution that’s been a bit difficult.
I’ve seen some brilliant examples of where reasonable adjustments have been made for disabled colleagues. These have ranged from completely different working patterns to specific solutions that deal with a disability. I’ve not seen this to this degree in any other organisation I’ve worked with.
What has been your personal experience of working in the civil service? What made a difference to you?
I came to the Civil Service naively expecting it to be a “nicer” version of the private sector but still with the same drivers and motivations. What I found was completely different from what I expected. People genuinely do come first here and that makes such a huge difference.
For example. when my wife was pregnant with our son in 2017 and I needed to take time off – I assumed I’d have to ensure that nothing dropped and so when I went to my DG I had “plans” for all of this – what I was met with was genuine concern and the question “Why are you still even here? Go home and be with your family.” It was a huge revelation to me – and the point at which I utterly believed that what was being said, was meant.
Why is diversity particularly important at senior levels?
With my childhood in Belfast, working background and training I just don’t act, think, speak and especially write like many of my colleagues – I think they are awesome by the way. However, because of this I bring different lived experiences and perspectives to a conversation, I anticipate different issues and challenges and have other solutions that others don’t perceive.
The importance of diversity at senior levels is this lived experience and difference of thought and perspective. Actively bringing it into the conversations from different groups with different background means you get the best of many and not just the best of a few.
What experiences did you have working at a senior level in the private sector? Are there lessons that the civil service can learn from the private sector in terms of recruiting disabled staff, provision of reasonable adjustments etc?
I was lucky enough to have worked for a number of great private sector organisations at senior levels. One in particular had a policy of providing people with whatever equipment and adjustments they needed to successfully fulfil their role – and they did.
They made company processes including IT, estates and others work with the individual to ensure they had what they needed. In seven years at the organisation I didn’t once hear – or say – “no, that’s not possible” when a request was made for this.
What drives and motivates you in your career?
Throughout my career I’ve had several things that have driven me in whatever role I take. I love to make a difference with what I do – I recognised early in my career that organisations get “stuck” when trying to make changes. By being different, adaptable and flexible in how I think, how I act and how I lead a team I have learned that I can move things on and deliver the outcome needed. I also recognise that I inherited an ethos from my father of hard work who was a self-employed piano tuner and had to work incredibly hard to look after us.
At the end of the day (often 10pm with an 8am start) he’d come in, sit down, have a cuppa and give a big sigh of satisfaction – knowing he’d done a hard day’s work well. I like that feeling too. Finally, I’m interested in service and achieving outcomes that others value – whether that be a “safe and ambitious exit from the EU” or better internet services or better banking. To achieve all of these takes ambition to be better, curiosity, imagination, hard work and leadership.
What are your interests and hobbies outside work?
From a very young age, I’ve had a real interest in cars – something else I got from my dad. I find driving one of the ways to switch off and truly be “in the moment”. I read voraciously and love listening to music of all sorts. We have a two-year-old son – so right now the majority of interests and hobbies revolve around him. One of the huge benefits of the Civil Service is that I feel I can give him the time and attention that he needs and let work fit around this. What a great organisation to be part of.
This article is part of a series being produced by the Civil Service Commission ahead of the online Disability & Senior Civil Service Recruitment event, which is being held on 7 October from 15:00 – 16:30. For more information and to register to attend, please click here.
The Commission held its first online event on Wednesday 22nd July where we set out to Demystify the Civil Service Code. During this event the Chief Executive of the Civil Service Commission was joined by two Civil Service Commissioner's and two members of the Commission's secretariat, to talk in depth about the Civil Service Code. The session covers:
- An introduction to the Commission
- The Civil Service Code, what it is, and who it applies to
- Raising a concern under the Code - Outcomes of cases investigated by the Commission
- Maintaining the balance between policy and impartiality - Audience Q & A
Please find the full recording of the event through the link below:
PRESS NOTICE 20 July 2020
The independent Civil Service Commission, which regulates Civil Service appointments to provide assurance that they are made on merit after fair and open competition, published its annual report for 2019 – 20 today.
The annual report contains a range of statistics and information about the Commission’s work including:
- 39,654 people were recruited to the Civil Service through open and fair competition this year, down 21.5% on the previous year
- Commissioners chaired 161 competitions at senior levels this year, down from 197 in the previous year.
- Black and minority ethnic candidates made up 19% of people recruited (SCS Pay band 2 and below) in 2019 – 2020, down from 20% in the previous year
- where declared 6% of people recruited reported having a disability.
- 97 Code appeals received this year.
Ian Watmore, First Civil Service Commissioner, said:
“The scale of the challenge faced by the government and the Civil Service in dealing with the global Covid-19 pandemic has never been seen in peacetime. Civil servants across the country are playing their part, actively serving the government to deliver its priorities and support citizens and businesses through this time of crisis. Website https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk
“As the regulator, the Commission responded to help departments to continue to recruit and deploy front line staff quickly in line with the Recruitment Principles, producing guidance for Departments to answer emerging recruitment questions and approving significant appointments by Exceptions within hours where necessary.
“This year there has been fewer recruitment competitions chaired by Civil Service Commissioners for posts at senior levels (161 in 19-20 compared to 197 in the previous year). This is likely to be a consequence of both the December 2019 election, when appointments tend to slow, and a return to more usual levels of recruitment following EU exit. There were 7,146 applicants for those 161 posts, demonstrating that working in the Civil Service continues to be a highly attractive career.
“And while the data shows some improvement this year in the proportion of some diverse groups from application to interview to being found appointable by the panel, there are still questions around why the progress of all candidates is not proportionally similar. Supporting departments to improve the diversity of their staff is one of the Commission’s strategic objectives. It’s clear that departments need to do more, especially in the planning stages of each recruitment campaign, to ensure they are going to reach and attract a strong and diverse field of candidates for each role.”
Download the Commission’s annual report
Notes to Editors
1. Media enquiries about the work of the Commission should go to
Maggie O’Boyle on 07880 740 627.
2. More information about the work of the Commission is available on its website www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk
3. You can also follow the Commission on twitter @CivServComm
4. The Civil Service Commission was established as a statutory body in November 2010 under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Commission is independent of Ministers and the Civil Service. It is responsible for upholding the requirement that recruitment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
5. The Commission comprises senior figures from the private, public and third sectors. Civil Service Commissioners are appointed by the Crown for five-year non-renewable terms of office. The Commission and the Cabinet Office are currently recruiting five new Commissioners.
“One of the things I really enjoy as a Commissioner overseeing appointments processes is the huge diversity of roles and responsibilities in the Civil Service. The new Covid-19 response campaign HereForYou really highlights that.” Isabel Doverty, Civil Service Commissioner HereForYou really highlights that.”
Isabel Doverty, Civil Service Commissioner
From sourcing and procurement and to prisons and mental health support, the campaign showcases the work of the Civil Service in supporting the Government to deliver for citizens.
The Commission regulates recruitment to the Civil Service to provide assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and to help safeguard an impartial Civil Service.
“As someone whose career has been largely in the private sector, I was surprised just how many different types of jobs there are in the Civil Service. When I am chairing panels for senior appointments, I’m often struck by how exciting and challenging some of these roles are. Departments are always keen to attract a wider field of candidates from different backgrounds or with new experience, and I hope the #HereForYou campaign makes people think about whether the Civil Service is somewhere they might want to put their skills and experience to use.”
To find out about vacancies in the Civil Service
You can follow the Commission on twitter @CivServComm
Watch our short videos about the role of the Commission
Please find the Commission's response to general enquiries to dealing with recruitment during the current time. This is based on the questions we have been receiving. We ask that you check this in the first instance, before contacting the Commission directly. If the answer to the question is not there, please call 0207 271 0831 or email info@csc.gov.uk.
This guidance has been agreed with Civil Service Employee Policy (CSEP). The Commission will be working with CSEP to develop further guidance and we will keep our own website reviewed and refreshed.
Departments are able to offer interviews in alternative format, such as Skype, Google hang outs, video calls etc. The option of last resort would be the “traditional” phone call. This will be dependent on the IT capability of departments, and of the candidates themselves. The Recruitment Principles are not overly prescriptive and provide departments with the ability to design an assessment process which suits business needs. Success Profiles also provides departments with the option to provide for a range of assessments.
For example, if you have stated in the candidate pack that a presentation will be required, consider whether it is possible to ask the candidate to submit something in writing, to be discussed with the panel by phone or video conferencing.
If you need to reconsider whether you can offer all the stages of the process in a campaign, whether at assessment centre or otherwise, you can remove an advertised stage, for example an exercise/role play. You should disregard any scores you may already have given to candidates who have already gone through this part of the process so that all candidates are assessed on the same criteria. The Commission will not consider this to be a breach as long as what you have done, and the reason, is clearly documented.
Where possible, try to offer a consistent format for interviews to all candidates (i.e. all by video preferably or all by phone). If that is not possible for some candidates, due to the access of IT, take a reasoned approach, and ensure that approach is documented. The Commission cannot provide you with technological advice.
- Interviews should be consistent, as usual, and ask the same questions on the same behaviours or strengths. You should follow the information published in your candidate packs.
Please remember where a Commissioner is chairing a competition they should be consulted on all aspects and decisions should not be taken without their knowledge or prior agreement. You must make arrangements and agree with them on any IT based approach to ensure their IT has appropriate capability. Planning and shortlist meetings can take place via phone or skype, you must discuss interview arrangements with the Commissioner in advance of the campaign launching.
There are some campaigns which could assess candidates using solely written evidence, and/or the results of online assessments. This is a decision for the department, you must be assured that you are able to make a sound judgement using the information available. Departments must have the same amount of evidence for each candidate and not consider anything else they may be aware of eg for internal candidates known to them.
In instances where candidates refuse alternative formats for interview, the offer can be withdrawn, unless the request is in relation to a reasonable adjustment, and in relation to a disability. We would expect you to offer candidates a reasonable amount of time in which to allow a candidate to respond to communications, particularly where you are introducing changes.
There may be some instances where campaigns will need to be paused, or cancelled. This decision is the department’s to make, the Commission would not advise on how best to manage staff resources.
In relation to submitting ID, the Commission has advised that no candidate should be unduly disadvantaged if they are unable to provide evidence of their ID at interview. The arrangements for submitting ID are being discussed and CSEP/ GRS will provide more information in due course. The Commission will publish this guidance.
Best practice usually leads to a three person panel. The Commission is hoping that this best practice can continue, however, the Recruitment Principles require there to be a minimum of two people on a panel. Please note that the panel and process must be chaired by a civil servant for all recruitment at PB1 and below, and the Commission will expect to see evidence that this has been observed at all times.
You should also, where possible, give due regard to the diversity of panels.
If the answer to the question is not there, please call 0207 271 0831 or email info@csc.gov.uk.
This week, the Commission held another open event in Horseguards Road on ‘Demystifying the Civil Service Code’.
Two Commissioners – Sarah Laessig and Jane Burgess, and members of the Commission secretariat were on hand to talk about the Code and the Commission’s role in hearing appeals from civil servants.
Jane Burgess said:
“The core values – impartiality, honesty, objectivity and integrity – should run through every civil servant. They are an important part of serving the government of the day, of whatever political colour.As well as testing these values at interview when people join the senior Civil Service, we play a role in promoting the Code and hearing appeals from civil servants of all grades who are unhappy with their own Department’s response. I was really encouraged by the level of understanding and knowledge during the discussion at our event and would like to thank all of those who took part on Friday. We will be running more open events so keep an eye on our website and sign up."
If you were unable to attend the event, but are interested in learning about the Code, you can watch the event here.
You can also look at Code appeals decisions by the Commission.
Follow the Commission on twitter @CivServComm.
Last week, the Civil Service Commission hosted two students for work experience. Both students, Shuayb Alom and Ikram Miah, are currently in the sixth form at Oaks Park High School, Ilford.
The Commission organised a week-long programme of events including visits to the Government Digital Service and Parliament, as well as meeting our Commissioners. They were also given the chance to practice future interview skills in a mock panel and hear about the types of roles and opportunities open to them should they wish to pursue a career in the Civil Service.
Shuayb said:
'What I found most enjoyable during my time with the Commission was getting to know the team and talking to the Commissioners. I had the opportunity to take part in a mock interview which was really helpful, and I learnt lots about the Civil Service and the work that people do.’
Ikram said:
'I really enjoyed developing my knowledge and understanding of the Civil Service. The atmosphere was friendly and welcoming, and I was impressed at how diverse it was. I most enjoyed the mock interview which helped my confidence, and hearing from the Commissioners about their careers and getting advice about my own.'
Pete Lawrence, Chief Executive of the Commission said:
My team really enjoyed hosting Shuayb and Ikram. As well as a good thing to do for young peoples’ CVs, work experience is a good way for us to highlight the wide variety of roles available in the Civil Service. Shuyab and Ikram were a credit to their school and we wish them well with their future careers.'
If you would like to find out more about Civil Service roles go to:
